Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Prepress operator to digital printer

A prepress operator already meets 40% of what the digital printer role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From prepress operator
40 % overlap
Distant match
To digital printer
14 You already bring
10 Still to learn
39 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

62.9/ 100

1 How much of what a digital printer is expected to do is already part of a prepress 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

Why this move works

A digital printer role treats 8 of its required skills as things a prepress operator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • follow safety precautions in printing
  • maintenance of printing machines
  • printing materials
  • produce prepress proof
  • quality standards
  • troubleshoot

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

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 14 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 prepress operator background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • 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
  • already held follow safety precautions in printing assisting and caring
  • already held printing materials arts and humanities
  • already held maintenance of printing machines arts and humanities

All 14 carried skills, including the 8 the digital printer role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 25 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 working with machinery and specialised equipment 3 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn set colour profiles required
  • still to learn monitor automated machines required
  • still to learn supply machine required
  • optional, not held prepare documents for scanning optional
  • optional, not held reproduce documents optional
02 working with computers 2 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn operate digital printers required
  • 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
  • optional, not held use word processing software optional
03 arts and humanities 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn digital printing required
  • still to learn printing on large scale machines required
  • optional, not held printing media optional
04 constructing 1 required
  • still to learn perform test run required
05 handling and moving 1 required
  • still to learn feed press cylinders required
06 management skills 1 required
  • still to learn follow production schedule required

3 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

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.

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

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 14 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held follow safety precautions in printing skill
  • already held maintenance of printing machines knowledge
  • already held printing materials knowledge
  • already held produce prepress proof skill
  • already held quality standards knowledge
  • already held troubleshoot skill
  • already held types of paper knowledge
  • already held use colour printing programs skill
  • already held calibrate electronic instruments skill
  • already held communicate with customers skill
  • already held follow a brief skill
  • already held inspect printing output skill
  • already held perform machine maintenance skill
  • already held printing techniques knowledge
The 3 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 information skills 6 supplementary
  • 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
08 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held produce scanned images optional
  • optional, not held order supplies optional
09 business, administration and law 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held printed goods processes optional
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • 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 reproduce documents optional
  • optional, not held set scanner controls optional
  • optional, not held consult technical resources optional
  • optional, not held keep records of work progress optional
  • optional, not held order supplies optional
  • optional, not held printed goods processes optional
  • optional, not held printing media optional
  • optional, not held record production data for quality control optional
  • optional, not held report defective manufacturing materials optional
  • optional, not held use word processing software optional
28 held skills the digital printer role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • 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 arrange printer sheets skill
  • not needed by the target role cut page edges skill
  • not needed by the target role digitization 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 manage offset printing process 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 operate printing machinery 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 prepress processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role proofing methods knowledge
  • not needed by the target role proofread text skill
  • not needed by the target role provide customised products skill
  • not needed by the target role reprography knowledge
  • not needed by the target role screen printing process knowledge
  • not needed by the target role use markup languages skill
  • not needed by the target role use microsoft office skill
  • not needed by the target role wear appropriate protective gear skill
4 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 digital printing required
  • still to learn printing on large scale machines required
  • optional, not held printed goods processes optional
  • optional, not held printing media optional
Index

Other moves recorded from prepress operator

Full index of moves from prepress operator

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a prepress operator become a digital printer?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A prepress operator already covers 40% of what a digital printer is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 8 of which the digital printer role treats as required.

What skills does a prepress operator need to become a digital printer?

10 required skills are missing, plus 15 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 prepress operator to digital printer?

Its learning distance is 62.9 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.