RecordMove

Lithographer to prepress technician

A lithographer already meets 44% of what the prepress technician role asks for. The move turns on 17 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional

From lithographer

Partial match

To prepress technician

26 You already bring

17 Still to learn

57 Skills in the target role2

Learning distance Substantial retraining

65.8/ 100

adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change

1 How much of what a prepress technician is expected to do is already part of a lithographer’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 prepress technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A prepress technician role treats 12 of its required skills as things a lithographer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

follow safety precautions in printing
lay out digital written content
maintenance of printing machines
operate laser plate maker machine
prepare films for printing plates
prepare printing form

What stands in the way is 17 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 26 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A prepress technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a lithographer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held operate laser plate maker machine working with machinery and specialised equipment
already held scale copies working with machinery and specialised equipment
already held apply opaque communication, collaboration and creativity
already held ink printing plates working with machinery and specialised equipment
already held scan negatives working with machinery and specialised equipment
already held prepare films for printing plates working with machinery and specialised equipment

All 26 carried skills, including the 12 the prepress technician role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 31 missing skills fall into 8 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.

Skill to pick up Tier

01 information and communication technologies (icts) 7 required

still to learn Adobe Illustrator required
still to learn Adobe Photoshop required
still to learn GIMP (graphics editor software) required
still to learn Microsoft Visio required
still to learn SketchBook Pro required
still to learn Synfig required
still to learn graphics editor software required

02 arts and humanities 4 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn printing on large scale machines required
still to learn prepress processes required
still to learn reprography required
still to learn typography required

optional, not held graphic design optional

03 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required, 2 supplementary

still to learn align content with form required
still to learn troubleshoot required

optional, not held interpret illustration needs optional
optional, not held communicate with customers optional

04 working with machinery and specialised equipment 2 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn operate printing machinery required
still to learn set colour profiles required

optional, not held prepare offset printing machine optional

05 working with computers 1 required, 7 supplementary

still to learn develop digital content required

optional, not held create digital files optional
optional, not held scan photos optional
optional, not held use typesetting software optional
optional, not held digitise documents optional
optional, not held manage digital documents optional
optional, not held use presentation software optional
optional, not held use word processing software optional

06 information skills 1 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn output electronic files required

optional, not held process printing input optional

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a prepress technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 26 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held follow safety precautions in printing skill
already held lay out digital written content skill
already held maintenance of printing machines knowledge
already held operate laser plate maker machine skill
already held prepare films for printing plates skill
already held prepare printing form skill
already held printing plate making knowledge
already held produce prepress proof skill
already held proofing methods knowledge
already held scale copies skill
already held scan negatives skill
already held set scanner controls skill
already held apply opaque skill
already held edit photographs skill
already held ink printing plates skill
already held maintain lithographic printing plates skill
already held manage offset printing process skill
already held offset printing knowledge
already held prevent paper jams skill
already held printed goods processes knowledge
already held printing materials knowledge
already held printing media knowledge
already held printing techniques knowledge
already held quality standards knowledge
already held store negatives skill
already held use colour printing programs skill

The 2 learning areas not shown above

Skill to pick up Tier

07 assisting and caring 1 supplementary

optional, not held handle scanning material safely optional

08 management skills 1 supplementary

optional, not held meet deadlines optional

14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to pick up Tier

optional, not held create digital files optional
optional, not held handle scanning material safely optional
optional, not held interpret illustration needs optional
optional, not held process printing input optional
optional, not held scan photos optional
optional, not held use typesetting software optional
optional, not held communicate with customers optional
optional, not held digitise documents optional
optional, not held graphic design optional
optional, not held manage digital documents optional
optional, not held meet deadlines optional
optional, not held prepare offset printing machine optional
optional, not held use presentation software optional
optional, not held use word processing software optional

17 held skills the prepress technician role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role digital printing knowledge
not needed by the target role edit negatives skill
not needed by the target role follow production schedule skill
not needed by the target role manage inventory skill
not needed by the target role mix ink skill
not needed by the target role order supplies skill
not needed by the target role oversee quality control skill
not needed by the target role perform image editing skill
not needed by the target role perform machine maintenance skill
not needed by the target role photoengraving knowledge
not needed by the target role prepare colour mixtures skill
not needed by the target role print stripping knowledge
not needed by the target role read job ticket instructions skill
not needed by the target role reduce dots skill
not needed by the target role screen printing inks knowledge
not needed by the target role train employees skill
not needed by the target role wear appropriate protective gear skill

12 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier

still to learn Adobe Illustrator required
still to learn Adobe Photoshop required
still to learn GIMP (graphics editor software) required
still to learn Microsoft Visio required
still to learn SketchBook Pro required
still to learn Synfig required
still to learn graphics editor software required
still to learn printing on large scale machines required
still to learn prepress processes required
still to learn reprography required
still to learn typography required
optional, not held graphic design optional

Index

Other moves recorded from lithographer

Full index of moves from lithographer

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a lithographer become a prepress technician?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A lithographer already covers 44% of what a prepress technician is expected to do: 26 skills carry over, 12 of which the prepress technician role treats as required.

What skills does a lithographer need to become a prepress technician?

17 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information and communication technologies (icts). The single most important is Adobe Illustrator.

How hard is the move from lithographer to prepress technician?

Its learning distance is 65.8 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.