prepress techniciantoprepress operator
A prepress technician already meets 65% of what the prepress operator role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
65%
42/ 100
1 Share of the prepress operator role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the prepress technician profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.
Why this move works
A prepress operator role treats 16 of its required skills as things a prepress technician already does. These are the ones it depends on most.
- 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 · What you already bring
Of the 25 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A prepress operator 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.
- already held output electronic files information skills
- already held proofing methods business, administration and law
- already held prepress processes arts and humanities
- already held maintain lithographic printing plates working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held interpret illustration needs communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held reprography arts and humanities
All 25 carried skills, including the 16 the prepress operator role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you would need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.
- required, not held follow a brief required
- required, not held provide customised products required
- optional, not held proofread text optional
- required, not held perform image editing required
- required, not held use microsoft office required
- optional, not held use markup languages optional
- required, not held arrange printer sheets required
- optional, not held manage process of flexographic print optional
- optional, not held calibrate electronic instruments optional
- optional, not held perform machine maintenance optional
- required, not held types of paper required
- required, not held inspect printing output required
- optional, not held cut page edges optional
- optional, not held mix ink optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a prepress operator role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 arrange printer sheets skill · sector specific
- 02 inspect printing output skill · sector specific
- 03 types of paper knowledge · sector specific
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 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 follow safety precautions in printing skill
- 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 prepress processes knowledge
- already held printing techniques knowledge
- already held produce prepress proof skill
- already held proofing methods knowledge
- already held quality standards knowledge
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held maintain lithographic printing plates skill
- already held maintenance of printing machines knowledge
- already held manage offset printing process skill
- already held output electronic files skill
- already held printing materials knowledge
- already held reprography knowledge
- already held troubleshoot skill
- already held use colour printing programs skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held screen printing process optional
- optional, not held wear appropriate protective gear optional
- optional, not held digitization optional
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held cut page edges optional
- optional, not held manage process of flexographic print optional
- optional, not held mix ink optional
- optional, not held screen printing process optional
- optional, not held use markup languages optional
- optional, not held calibrate electronic instruments optional
- optional, not held digitization optional
- optional, not held perform machine maintenance optional
- optional, not held proofread text optional
- optional, not held wear appropriate protective gear optional
32 held skills the prepress operator role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role align content with form skill
- 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 digitise documents skill
- not needed by the target role edit photographs skill
- not needed by the target role graphic design knowledge
- 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 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 films for printing plates 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 printed goods processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role printing media knowledge
- not needed by the target role printing on large scale machines 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 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 colour profiles 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 typography knowledge
- not needed by the target role use presentation software skill
- not needed by the target role use typesetting software skill
- not needed by the target role use word processing 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.
- required, not held types of paper required
- optional, not held screen printing process optional
- optional, not held digitization optional
Other moves recorded from prepress technician
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.