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Prepress Technicians and Workers in Pennsylvania

Considering working as a Prepress Technicians and Workers in Pennsylvania? Below are the key facts. 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.

What do Prepress Technicians and Workers Make in Pennsylvania?

The prepress technicians and workers working in Pennsylvania, the typical annual salary is $46,990 per year (or roughly $22.59/hour).Pay can range from $33,700 at the 10th percentile to $66,240 at the 90th percentile.

Wage Statistic	Annual	Hourly
10th percentile	$33,700	$16.20
25th percentile	$38,050	$18.29
Median (50th)	$46,990	$22.59
75th percentile	$54,680	$26.29
90th percentile	$66,240	$31.85

The location quotient — a measure of how concentrated this occupation is in Pennsylvania compared to the national average — is 0.81, indicating fewer prepress technicians and workers per worker than the national average.

National Wage Comparison

Nationally, prepress technicians and workers earn a median of $25,852 per year ($12.43/hour), exceeding the Pennsylvania median.

Employment Outlook

There are roughly 394,314 prepress technicians and workers in the U.S.. In Pennsylvania alone, around 730 people work in this role. That puts the state above the typical state, which employs around 350 prepress technicians and workers.

Top Pennsylvania Metros for Prepress Technicians and Workers

The metro areas below employ the most prepress technicians and workers in Pennsylvania.

Metro Area	Number Employed	Annual Median Salary
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	330	$52,290
Pittsburgh, PA	130	$47,410
York-Hanover, PA	60	$48,970
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA	50	$47,950
Lancaster, PA	50	$47,840
Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA	40	$46,590

Top States for Prepress Technicians and Workers Employment

View the states that employ the most prepress technicians and workers work.

State	Number Employed
California	2,180
Texas	1,690
Wisconsin	1,420
Minnesota	1,340
New York	1,130
Florida	1,070
Illinois	1,060
Ohio	1,040
Kentucky	890
Indiana	790
Kansas	750
Pennsylvania	730
Tennessee	690
Michigan	600
Massachusetts	550
North Carolina	540
New Jersey	520
Connecticut	500
Virginia	460
Missouri	450

Highest-Paying States for Prepress Technicians and Workers

These states pay the most for prepress technicians and workers.

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

Skills

Top prepress technicians and workers skills, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Knowledge Areas

Important knowledge areas for this occupation, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Abilities

The abilities that matter most for prepress technicians and workers, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Daily Tasks

Prepress Technicians and Workers typically:

• 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.
• Operate presses to print proofs of plates, monitoring printing quality to ensure that it is adequate.
• Select proper types of plates according to press run lengths.
• Examine finished plates to detect flaws, verify conformity with master plates, and measure dot sizes and centers, using light boxes and microscopes.
• Examine unexposed photographic plates to detect flaws or foreign particles prior to printing.
• Examine photographic images for obvious imperfections prior to plate making.

Work Activities

• Working with Computers
• Getting Information
• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Thinking Creatively
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
• Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
• Scheduling Work and Activities
• Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials

Tools & Technology

Technologies frequently used: Hot technologies: Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Creative Cloud software In-demand technologies: Adobe Creative Cloud software

Related Careers

Careers similar to prepress technicians and workers include:

• Calibration Technologists and Technicians
• Special Effects Artists and Animators
• Desktop Publishers
• Office Machine Operators, Except Computer
• Camera and Photographic Equipment Repairers
• Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers

Also Known As

Ad Compositor, Ad Setter, Advertisement Compositor, Advertising Layout Worker, Bankman, Blueprint Blocker, Blueprint Cutter, Blueprint Developer, Blueprint Duplicator, Blueprint Machine Operator, Blueprint Maker, Blueprint Processor, Blueprint Reproducer, Blueprinter, Blueprinting Machine Operator.

References

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — https://www.bls.gov/oes/
• O*NET Online — https://www.onetonline.org/
• BLS Employment Projections — https://www.bls.gov/emp/
• O*NET-SOC code: 51-5111.00