What You Need to Know About Prepress Technician
Occupation Description 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.
Life As a Prepress Technician: What Do They Do?
- Operate and maintain laser plate-making equipment that converts electronic data to plates without the use of film.
- Punch holes in light-sensitive plates and insert pins in holes to prepare plates for contact with positive or negative film.
- Operate and maintain a variety of cameras and equipment, such as process, line, halftone, and color separation cameras, enlargers, electronic scanners, and contact equipment.
- Operate presses to print proofs of plates, monitoring printing quality to ensure that it is adequate.
- Generate prepress proofs in digital or other format to approximate the appearance of the final printed piece.
- Enter, position, and alter text size, using computers, to make up and arrange pages so that printed materials can be produced.
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Prepress Technician Skills
These are the skills Prepress Technicians say are the most useful in their careers:
Time Management: Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Related Job Titles for this Occupation:
- Proofsheet Corrector
- Pantographer
- Negative Assembler
- Manufacturing Operator
- Scanner
Are There Job Opportunities for Prepress Technicians?
There were about 34,600 jobs for Prepress Technician in 2016 (in the United States). There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Prepress Technician. The BLS estimates 3,000 yearly job openings in this field.
The states with the most job growth for Prepress Technician are Idaho, Maryland, and Nevada. Watch out if you plan on working in Kentucky, Kansas, or North Dakota. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Prepress Technician Salary
Prepress Technicians make between $24,940 and $62,420 a year.
Prepress Technicians who work in District of Columbia, New Jersey, or Delaware, make the highest salaries.
How much do Prepress Technicians make in different U.S. states?
| State | Annual Mean Salary |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $33,710 |
| Arizona | $39,910 |
| Arkansas | $35,880 |
| California | $42,670 |
| Colorado | $41,840 |
| Connecticut | $44,620 |
| Delaware | $51,020 |
| District of Columbia | $84,120 |
| Florida | $38,320 |
| Georgia | $40,320 |
| Hawaii | $37,310 |
| Idaho | $39,150 |
| Illinois | $48,110 |
| Indiana | $38,280 |
| Iowa | $35,930 |
| Kansas | $33,300 |
| Kentucky | $40,950 |
| Louisiana | $33,470 |
| Maine | $38,550 |
| Maryland | $44,840 |
| Massachusetts | $45,110 |
| Michigan | $41,320 |
| Minnesota | $48,000 |
| Mississippi | $35,990 |
| Missouri | $39,380 |
| Montana | $37,870 |
| Nebraska | $43,250 |
| Nevada | $45,000 |
| New Hampshire | $41,430 |
| New Jersey | $53,580 |
| New Mexico | $42,760 |
| New York | $45,860 |
| North Carolina | $40,830 |
| North Dakota | $36,840 |
| Ohio | $40,800 |
| Oklahoma | $36,590 |
| Oregon | $44,520 |
| Pennsylvania | $42,180 |
| Rhode Island | $40,810 |
| South Carolina | $38,940 |
| South Dakota | $33,930 |
| Tennessee | $37,480 |
| Texas | $38,980 |
| Utah | $38,050 |
| Vermont | $45,160 |
| Virginia | $42,770 |
| Washington | $41,750 |
| West Virginia | $35,880 |
| Wisconsin | $38,950 |
Tools & Technologies Used by Prepress Technicians
Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Prepress Technicians:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office
- Web browser software
- Adobe Systems Adobe Acrobat
- Adobe Systems Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Systems Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe Systems Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Systems Adobe Flash
- Corel CorelDraw Graphics Suite
- Adobe Systems Adobe PageMaker
- QuarkXPress
- Adobe Systems Adobe FreeHand
- Adobe Systems Adobe FrameMaker
- Corel Painter
- Adobe Systems Adobe Director
- File transfer protocol FTP software
- Adobe Systems Adobe LifeCycle Enterprise Suite
Becoming a Prepress Technician
What education is needed to be a Prepress Technician?
How many years of work experience do I need?
Who Employs Prepress Technicians?
Prepress Technicians work in the following industries:
Similar Careers
Are you already one of the many Prepress Technician in the United States? If you’re thinking about changing careers, these fields are worth exploring:
References:
Image Credit: Auburn University College of Architecture, Design and Construction via Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
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