Digital printer to offset printer
A digital printer already meets 60% of what the offset printer role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
45.9/ 100
1 How much of what an offset printer is expected to do is already part of a digital printer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the offset printer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An offset printer role treats 12 of its required skills as things a digital printer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- follow production schedule
- follow safety precautions in printing
- monitor automated machines
- perform test run
- printing on large scale machines
- printing techniques
What stands in the way is 6 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 22 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An offset printer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a digital printer background worth leading with.
- already held process printing input information skills
- already held produce prepress proof handling and moving
- already held inspect printing output information skills
- already held printing media arts and humanities
- already held follow safety precautions in printing assisting and caring
- already held printing on large scale machines arts and humanities
All 22 carried skills, including the 12 the offset printer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 18 missing skills fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn operate offset printing machine required
- still to learn prepare printing form required
- still to learn prepare offset printing machine required
- optional, not held operate letterpress optional
- optional, not held maintain lithographic printing plates optional
- optional, not held perforate printed media optional
- optional, not held manage offset printing process optional
- still to learn offset printing required
- still to learn polygraphy required
- optional, not held print stripping optional
- optional, not held printing plate making optional
- optional, not held screen printing inks optional
- still to learn clean ink rollers required
- optional, not held cut page edges optional
- optional, not held handle chemical cleaning agents optional
- optional, not held pack goods optional
- optional, not held prepare colour mixtures optional
- optional, not held wear appropriate protective gear optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an offset printer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 operate offset printing machine practise this
- 02 offset printing study this
- 03 polygraphy study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 22 skills that carry over
- already held follow production schedule skill
- already held follow safety precautions in printing skill
- already held monitor automated machines skill
- already held perform test run skill
- already held printing on large scale machines knowledge
- already held printing techniques knowledge
- already held produce prepress proof skill
- already held quality standards knowledge
- already held set up the controller of a machine skill
- already held supply machine skill
- already held troubleshoot skill
- already held types of paper knowledge
- already held consult technical resources skill
- already held inspect printing output skill
- already held keep records of work progress skill
- already held maintenance of printing machines knowledge
- already held perform machine maintenance skill
- already held printing materials knowledge
- already held printing media knowledge
- already held process printing input skill
- already held record production data for quality control skill
- already held report defective manufacturing materials skill
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held operate letterpress optional
- optional, not held cut page edges optional
- optional, not held maintain lithographic printing plates optional
- optional, not held perforate printed media optional
- optional, not held print stripping optional
- optional, not held printing plate making optional
- optional, not held screen printing inks optional
- optional, not held handle chemical cleaning agents optional
- optional, not held manage offset printing process optional
- optional, not held pack goods optional
- optional, not held prepare colour mixtures optional
- optional, not held wear appropriate protective gear optional
17 held skills the offset printer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role calibrate electronic instruments skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role create digital files skill
- not needed by the target role digital printing knowledge
- not needed by the target role feed press cylinders skill
- not needed by the target role follow a brief skill
- not needed by the target role monitor stock level skill
- not needed by the target role operate digital printers skill
- not needed by the target role order supplies skill
- not needed by the target role prepare documents for scanning skill
- not needed by the target role printed goods processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role produce scanned images skill
- not needed by the target role reproduce documents skill
- not needed by the target role set colour profiles skill
- not needed by the target role set scanner controls skill
- not needed by the target role use colour printing programs skill
- not needed by the target role use word processing software skill
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn offset printing required
- still to learn polygraphy required
- optional, not held print stripping optional
- optional, not held printing plate making optional
- optional, not held screen printing inks optional
Common questions about this move
Can a digital printer become an offset printer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A digital printer already covers 60% of what an offset printer is expected to do: 22 skills carry over, 12 of which the offset printer role treats as required.
What skills does a digital printer need to become an offset printer?
6 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with machinery and specialised equipment. The single most important is operate offset printing machine.
How hard is the move from digital printer to offset printer?
Its learning distance is 45.9 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.