Flexographic press operator to digital printer
A flexographic press operator already meets 64% of what the digital printer role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
42.8/ 100
1 How much of what a digital printer is expected to do is already part of a flexographic press operator’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 digital printer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A digital printer role treats 13 of its required skills as things a flexographic press operator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- follow production schedule
- follow safety precautions in printing
- maintenance of printing machines
- monitor automated machines
- perform test run
- printing materials
What stands in the way is 5 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. A digital printer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a flexographic press operator 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 13 the digital printer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 7 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 set colour profiles required
- still to learn use colour printing programs required
- optional, not held prepare documents for scanning optional
- optional, not held reproduce documents optional
- optional, not held calibrate electronic instruments optional
- still to learn operate digital printers required
- optional, not held create digital files optional
- optional, not held set scanner controls optional
- optional, not held use word processing software optional
- still to learn digital printing required
- still to learn feed press cylinders required
- optional, not held produce scanned images optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held follow a brief optional
- optional, not held order supplies optional
- optional, not held printed goods processes optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a digital printer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 feed press cylinders practise this
- 02 digital printing study this
- 03 operate digital printers practise 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 maintenance of printing machines knowledge
- already held monitor automated machines skill
- already held perform test run skill
- already held printing materials knowledge
- already held printing on large scale machines 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 perform machine maintenance skill
- already held printing media knowledge
- already held printing techniques knowledge
- already held process printing input skill
- already held record production data for quality control skill
- already held report defective manufacturing materials skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held monitor stock level optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held create digital files optional
- optional, not held monitor stock level optional
- optional, not held prepare documents for scanning optional
- optional, not held produce scanned images optional
- optional, not held reproduce documents optional
- optional, not held set scanner controls optional
- optional, not held calibrate electronic instruments optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held follow a brief optional
- optional, not held order supplies optional
- optional, not held printed goods processes optional
- optional, not held use word processing software optional
16 held skills the digital printer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role clean ink rollers skill
- not needed by the target role determine colour shades skill
- not needed by the target role flexography knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle chemical cleaning agents skill
- not needed by the target role manage process of flexographic print skill
- not needed by the target role mix ink skill
- not needed by the target role narrow web flexographic printing press knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate flexographic printing machine skill
- not needed by the target role pack goods skill
- not needed by the target role polygraphy knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare printing form skill
- not needed by the target role printing plate making knowledge
- not needed by the target role screen printing inks knowledge
- not needed by the target role tend laser marking machine skill
- not needed by the target role wear appropriate protective gear skill
- not needed by the target role wide web flexographic printing press knowledge
2 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 digital printing required
- optional, not held printed goods processes optional
Other moves recorded from flexographic press operator
Common questions about this move
Can a flexographic press operator become a digital printer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A flexographic press operator already covers 64% of what a digital printer is expected to do: 22 skills carry over, 13 of which the digital printer role treats as required.
What skills does a flexographic press operator need to become a digital printer?
5 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with machinery and specialised equipment. The single most important is feed press cylinders.
How hard is the move from flexographic press operator to digital printer?
Its learning distance is 42.8 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.