Imagesetter to digital printer
An imagesetter already meets 41% of what the digital printer role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
61.3/ 100
1 How much of what a digital printer is expected to do is already part of an imagesetter’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 8 of its required skills as things an imagesetter already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- follow safety precautions in printing
- maintenance of printing machines
- operate digital printers
- printing materials
- produce prepress proof
- quality standards
What stands in the way is 10 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 15 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 an imagesetter background worth leading with.
- already held operate digital printers working with computers
- already held set colour profiles working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held reproduce documents working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held use colour printing programs working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held produce prepress proof handling and moving
- already held inspect printing output information skills
All 15 carried skills, including the 8 the digital printer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 24 missing skills fall into 9 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 monitor automated machines required
- still to learn supply machine required
- optional, not held prepare documents for scanning optional
- optional, not held calibrate electronic instruments optional
- optional, not held perform machine maintenance optional
- still to learn digital printing required
- still to learn printing on large scale machines required
- still to learn troubleshoot required
- optional, not held produce scanned images optional
- optional, not held follow a brief optional
- optional, not held order supplies optional
- still to learn set up the controller of a machine required
- optional, not held create digital files optional
- optional, not held set scanner controls optional
- still to learn perform test run required
- still to learn types of paper required
3 further areas 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 printing on large scale machines 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 15 skills that carry over
- already held follow safety precautions in printing skill
- already held maintenance of printing machines knowledge
- already held operate digital printers skill
- already held printing materials knowledge
- already held produce prepress proof skill
- already held quality standards knowledge
- already held set colour profiles skill
- already held use colour printing programs skill
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held inspect printing output skill
- already held printed goods processes knowledge
- already held printing media knowledge
- already held printing techniques knowledge
- already held reproduce documents skill
- already held use word processing software skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn feed press cylinders required
- still to learn follow production schedule required
- optional, not held monitor stock level optional
- optional, not held process printing input optional
- optional, not held consult technical resources optional
- optional, not held keep records of work progress optional
- optional, not held record production data for quality control optional
- optional, not held report defective manufacturing materials optional
14 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 process printing input optional
- optional, not held produce scanned images optional
- optional, not held set scanner controls optional
- optional, not held calibrate electronic instruments optional
- optional, not held consult technical resources optional
- optional, not held follow a brief optional
- optional, not held keep records of work progress optional
- optional, not held order supplies optional
- optional, not held perform machine maintenance optional
- optional, not held record production data for quality control optional
- optional, not held report defective manufacturing materials optional
37 held skills the digital printer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role Adobe Illustrator knowledge
- not needed by the target role Adobe Photoshop knowledge
- not needed by the target role GIMP (graphics editor software) knowledge
- not needed by the target role Microsoft Visio knowledge
- not needed by the target role SketchBook Pro knowledge
- not needed by the target role Synfig knowledge
- not needed by the target role align content with form skill
- not needed by the target role apply desktop publishing techniques skill
- not needed by the target role arrange printer sheets skill
- not needed by the target role create digital images skill
- not needed by the target role develop film skill
- not needed by the target role digitise documents skill
- not needed by the target role follow work schedule skill
- not needed by the target role graphic design knowledge
- not needed by the target role graphics editor software knowledge
- not needed by the target role interpret illustration needs skill
- not needed by the target role lay out digital written content skill
- not needed by the target role maintain lithographic printing plates skill
- not needed by the target role operate imagesetter skill
- not needed by the target role operate printing machinery skill
- not needed by the target role operate scanner skill
- not needed by the target role output electronic files skill
- not needed by the target role perform image editing skill
- not needed by the target role prepare films for printing plates skill
- not needed by the target role prepare imposition skill
- not needed by the target role prepress processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role print stripping knowledge
- not needed by the target role printing plate making knowledge
- not needed by the target role proofread text skill
- not needed by the target role publishing industry knowledge
- not needed by the target role reduce dots skill
- not needed by the target role reprography knowledge
- not needed by the target role track changes in text editing skill
- not needed by the target role typesetting machines knowledge
- not needed by the target role typography knowledge
- not needed by the target role use a telecine skill
- not needed by the target role use typesetting software skill
3 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
- still to learn printing on large scale machines required
- still to learn types of paper required
Common questions about this move
Can an imagesetter become a digital printer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An imagesetter already covers 41% of what a digital printer is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 8 of which the digital printer role treats as required.
What skills does an imagesetter need to become a digital printer?
10 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 9 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 imagesetter to digital printer?
Its learning distance is 61.3 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.