Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Prepress technician to imagesetter

A prepress technician already meets 69% of what the imagesetter role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From prepress technician
69 % overlap
Strong match
To imagesetter
33 You already bring
7 Still to learn
52 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

41.9/ 100

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

Why

Why this move works

An imagesetter role treats 21 of its required skills as things a prepress technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • GIMP (graphics editor software)
  • Microsoft Visio
  • SketchBook Pro
  • Synfig

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

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 33 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An imagesetter role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a prepress technician background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held output electronic files information skills
  • already held use typesetting software working with computers
  • already held prepare films for printing plates working with machinery and specialised equipment
  • already held set colour profiles working with machinery and specialised equipment
  • already held align content with form communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held maintain lithographic printing plates working with machinery and specialised equipment

All 33 carried skills, including the 21 the imagesetter role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 19 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 working with machinery and specialised equipment 3 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn operate imagesetter required
  • still to learn arrange printer sheets required
  • still to learn prepare imposition required
  • optional, not held operate scanner optional
  • optional, not held reduce dots optional
  • optional, not held reproduce documents optional
  • optional, not held use a telecine optional
02 working with computers 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn operate digital printers required
  • still to learn apply desktop publishing techniques required
  • optional, not held perform image editing optional
03 arts and humanities 1 required
  • still to learn print stripping required
04 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 required
  • still to learn typesetting machines required
05 communication, collaboration and creativity 4 supplementary
  • optional, not held create digital images optional
  • optional, not held develop film optional
  • optional, not held proofread text optional
  • optional, not held track changes in text editing optional
06 business, administration and law 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held publishing industry optional

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an imagesetter 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 33 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held Adobe Illustrator knowledge
  • already held Adobe Photoshop knowledge
  • already held GIMP (graphics editor software) knowledge
  • already held Microsoft Visio knowledge
  • already held SketchBook Pro knowledge
  • already held Synfig knowledge
  • already held align content with form skill
  • already held follow safety precautions in printing skill
  • already held graphic design knowledge
  • already held graphics editor software knowledge
  • already held interpret illustration needs skill
  • already held lay out digital written content skill
  • already held operate printing machinery skill
  • already held output electronic files skill
  • already held printing materials knowledge
  • already held printing techniques knowledge
  • already held produce prepress proof skill
  • already held quality standards knowledge
  • already held reprography knowledge
  • already held typography knowledge
  • already held use typesetting software skill
  • already held communicate with customers skill
  • already held digitise documents skill
  • already held maintain lithographic printing plates skill
  • already held maintenance of printing machines knowledge
  • already held prepare films for printing plates skill
  • already held prepress processes knowledge
  • already held printed goods processes knowledge
  • already held printing media knowledge
  • already held printing plate making knowledge
  • already held set colour profiles skill
  • already held use colour printing programs skill
  • already held use word processing software skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 information skills 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held inspect printing output optional
08 management skills 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held follow work schedule optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held inspect printing output optional
  • optional, not held operate scanner optional
  • optional, not held reduce dots optional
  • optional, not held reproduce documents optional
  • optional, not held use a telecine optional
  • optional, not held create digital images optional
  • optional, not held develop film optional
  • optional, not held follow work schedule optional
  • optional, not held perform image editing optional
  • optional, not held proofread text optional
  • optional, not held publishing industry optional
  • optional, not held track changes in text editing optional
24 held skills the imagesetter role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role apply opaque skill
  • not needed by the target role create digital files skill
  • not needed by the target role develop digital content skill
  • not needed by the target role edit photographs skill
  • not needed by the target role handle scanning material safely skill
  • not needed by the target role ink printing plates skill
  • not needed by the target role manage digital documents skill
  • not needed by the target role manage offset printing process skill
  • not needed by the target role meet deadlines skill
  • not needed by the target role offset printing knowledge
  • not needed by the target role operate laser plate maker machine skill
  • not needed by the target role prepare offset printing machine skill
  • not needed by the target role prepare printing form skill
  • not needed by the target role prevent paper jams skill
  • not needed by the target role printing on large scale machines knowledge
  • not needed by the target role process printing input skill
  • not needed by the target role proofing methods knowledge
  • not needed by the target role scale copies skill
  • not needed by the target role scan negatives skill
  • not needed by the target role scan photos skill
  • not needed by the target role set scanner controls skill
  • not needed by the target role store negatives skill
  • not needed by the target role troubleshoot skill
  • not needed by the target role use presentation 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn print stripping required
  • still to learn typesetting machines required
  • optional, not held publishing industry optional
Index

Other moves recorded from prepress technician

Full index of moves from prepress technician

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a prepress technician become an imagesetter?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. A prepress technician already covers 69% of what an imagesetter is expected to do: 33 skills carry over, 21 of which the imagesetter role treats as required.

What skills does a prepress technician need to become an imagesetter?

7 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with machinery and specialised equipment. The single most important is operate imagesetter.

How hard is the move from prepress technician to imagesetter?

Its learning distance is 41.9 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.