Offset printer to screen printer
An offset printer already meets 62% of what the screen printer role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
45.4/ 100
1 How much of what a screen printer is expected to do is already part of an offset 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 screen printer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A screen printer role treats 12 of its required skills as things an offset 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
- prepare printing form
- printing on large scale machines
What stands in the way is 7 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 25 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A screen printer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an offset printer background worth leading with.
- already held polygraphy arts and humanities
- already held screen printing inks arts and humanities
- already held prepare printing form working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held inspect printing output information skills
- already held printing media arts and humanities
- already held follow safety precautions in printing assisting and caring
All 25 carried skills, including the 12 the screen printer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 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 operate screen printing press required
- still to learn prepare screen printing required
- still to learn adjust drying process to goods required
- optional, not held use colour printing programs optional
- still to learn clean equipment required
- still to learn determine colour shades required
- optional, not held mix ink optional
- still to learn screen printing process required
- optional, not held screen printing machines optional
- still to learn use doctor blade required
- optional, not held monitor stock level optional
- optional, not held check quality of raw materials optional
- optional, not held monitor conveyor belt optional
- optional, not held verify feasibility optional
- optional, not held printed goods processes optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a screen printer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 operate screen printing press practise this
- 02 prepare screen printing practise this
- 03 adjust drying process to goods 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 25 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 prepare printing form skill
- already held printing on large scale machines knowledge
- already held printing techniques knowledge
- already held quality standards knowledge
- already held screen printing inks knowledge
- already held set up the controller of a machine skill
- already held supply machine skill
- already held troubleshoot skill
- already held consult technical resources skill
- already held handle chemical cleaning agents skill
- already held inspect printing output skill
- already held keep records of work progress skill
- already held maintenance of printing machines knowledge
- already held pack goods skill
- already held perform machine maintenance skill
- already held polygraphy knowledge
- already held printing media knowledge
- already held record production data for quality control skill
- already held report defective manufacturing materials skill
- already held types of paper knowledge
- already held wear appropriate protective gear skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held screen printing machines optional
- optional, not held mix ink optional
- optional, not held monitor stock level optional
- optional, not held use colour printing programs optional
- optional, not held check quality of raw materials optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held monitor conveyor belt optional
- optional, not held printed goods processes optional
- optional, not held verify feasibility optional
15 held skills the screen printer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role clean ink rollers skill
- not needed by the target role cut page edges skill
- not needed by the target role maintain lithographic printing plates skill
- not needed by the target role manage offset printing process skill
- not needed by the target role offset printing knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate letterpress skill
- not needed by the target role operate offset printing machine skill
- not needed by the target role perforate printed media skill
- not needed by the target role prepare colour mixtures skill
- not needed by the target role prepare offset printing machine skill
- not needed by the target role print stripping knowledge
- not needed by the target role printing materials knowledge
- not needed by the target role printing plate making knowledge
- not needed by the target role process printing input skill
- not needed by the target role produce prepress proof 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 screen printing process required
- optional, not held screen printing machines optional
- optional, not held printed goods processes optional
Common questions about this move
Can an offset printer become a screen printer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An offset printer already covers 62% of what a screen printer is expected to do: 25 skills carry over, 12 of which the screen printer role treats as required.
What skills does an offset printer need to become a screen printer?
7 required skills are missing, plus 9 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 operate screen printing press.
How hard is the move from offset printer to screen printer?
Its learning distance is 45.4 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.