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Prepress Technicians and Workers: Career Overview
Format and proof text and images submitted by designers and clients into finished pages that can be printed. Includes digital and photo typesetting. May produce printing plates.
The Daily Work of Prepress Technicians and Workers Do?
The core tasks performed by prepress technicians and workers include:
- Generate prepress proofs in digital or other format to approximate the appearance of the final printed piece.
- Proofread and perform quality control of text and images.
- Enter, position, and alter text size, using computers, to make up and arrange pages so that printed materials can be produced.
- Perform "preflight" check of required font, graphic, text and image files to ensure completeness prior to delivery to printer.
- Operate and maintain laser plate-making equipment that converts electronic data to plates without the use of film.
- Enter, store, and retrieve information on computer-aided equipment.
- Maintain, adjust, and clean equipment, and perform minor repairs.
What Prepress Technicians and Workers Need to Know
Top prepress technicians and workers combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Top Skills
These are the skills that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Knowledge Areas
Related Job Titles
This career also goes by job titles like:
- Ad Compositor
- Ad Setter
- Advertisement Compositor
- Advertising Layout Worker
- Bankman
- Blueprint Blocker
- Blueprint Cutter
- Blueprint Developer
Employment and Demand
The U.S. employs around 394,314 prepress technicians and workers working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to grow by +12.2% over the projection horizon.
Salary for Prepress Technicians and Workers
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $25,852 |
| Hourly median | $12.43 |
| 10th percentile | $20,000 |
| 25th percentile | $22,000 |
| 75th percentile | $30,072 |
| 90th percentile | $34,292 |
Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.
How Much Do Prepress Technicians and Workers Make in Different U.S. States?
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $98,780 |
| New Jersey | $59,210 |
| Delaware | $58,470 |
| Massachusetts | $57,930 |
| Oregon | $57,140 |
| Nevada | $56,410 |
| Illinois | $55,490 |
| Colorado | $51,090 |
| Washington | $50,810 |
| Maryland | $50,690 |
| California | $49,850 |
| Vermont | $49,430 |
| North Carolina | $49,210 |
| Georgia | $48,630 |
| New York | $48,480 |
| Michigan | $48,250 |
| Montana | $48,210 |
| Missouri | $48,070 |
| Arizona | $47,840 |
| Virginia | $47,730 |
| Indiana | $47,450 |
| Pennsylvania | $46,990 |
| Ohio | $46,880 |
| New Hampshire | $46,770 |
| Wisconsin | $46,600 |
| Tennessee | $46,560 |
| Maine | $46,350 |
| Idaho | $46,230 |
| Florida | $46,050 |
| Kansas | $45,900 |
| Iowa | $45,850 |
| Minnesota | $45,520 |
| Kentucky | $44,850 |
| South Carolina | $44,800 |
| Connecticut | $44,740 |
| Rhode Island | $44,130 |
| Arkansas | $43,520 |
| Texas | $40,800 |
| Nebraska | $39,620 |
| Louisiana | $38,030 |
| Utah | $37,590 |
| South Dakota | $37,560 |
| Alabama | $34,980 |
| West Virginia | $34,320 |
| Mississippi | $33,550 |
| Puerto Rico | $28,880 |
| Oklahoma | $22,170 |
Top-Paying U.S. Regions
Compensation for prepress technicians and workers differ across the country. Top regions by median wage:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Atlantic | $53,297 | 13.1% | 0.85 |
| New England | $50,801 | 5.7% | 1.39 |
| Far Western US | $50,793 | 13.2% | 0.79 |
| Great Lakes | $48,916 | 21.9% | 1.84 |
| Southeast | $45,952 | 21.1% | 1.23 |
| Plains States | $45,797 | 13.0% | 2.64 |
| Rocky Mountains | $44,067 | 2.7% | 0.78 |
| Southwest | $40,212 | 8.6% | 0.76 |
Where the Jobs Cluster
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | DC | $64,320 | 440 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $61,210 | 130 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | MA | $58,340 | 380 |
| Springfield, MA | MA | $58,050 | 70 |
| Reno, NV | NV | $57,650 | 40 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | OR | $57,560 | 180 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | IL | $56,410 | 910 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | NV | $56,410 | 100 |
Industry Breakdown
The largest employers of prepress technicians and workers work in these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 17,780 | $48,070 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 1,500 | $42,050 |
| Information | 1,050 | $39,380 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 750 | $39,620 |
| Wholesale Trade | 380 | $40,280 |
| Retail Trade | 230 | $35,360 |
| Educational Services | 210 | $57,130 |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 70 | $44,800 |
Prepress Technicians and Workers work in the following industries:
Tech Stack
- Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Creative Cloud software (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Illustrator (hot technology)
- Desktop publishing software: Adobe InDesign (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Photoshop (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
What the Workplace Is Like
The work environment for prepress technicians and workers tends to involve the following characteristics:
- Time Pressure
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
How to Become Prepress Technicians and Workers
Typical prepress technicians and workers positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. This occupation sits in Medium Preparation Needed (Job Zone 3), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.
Related Careers
Similar Occupations
- Calibration Technologists and Technicians (Supplemental)
- Special Effects Artists and Animators (Supplemental)
- Desktop Publishers (Supplemental)
- Office Machine Operators, Except Computer (Primary-Short)
- Camera and Photographic Equipment Repairers (Supplemental)
- Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers (Supplemental)
- Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (Primary-Long)
- Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (Primary-Long)
Sources
Statistics shown above are sourced from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 51-5111.00 (Prepress Technicians and Workers).
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