Reprographics technician to digital printer
A reprographics technician already meets 45% of what the digital printer role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
58.4/ 100
1 How much of what a digital printer is expected to do is already part of a reprographics 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 digital printer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A digital printer role treats 8 of its required skills as things a reprographics technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- follow safety precautions in printing
- maintenance of printing machines
- operate digital printers
- printing materials
- quality standards
- set colour profiles
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 · What you already bring
Of the 18 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 reprographics technician background worth leading with.
- already held operate digital printers working with computers
- already held produce scanned images communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held set colour profiles working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held reproduce documents working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held inspect printing output information skills
- already held follow safety precautions in printing assisting and caring
All 18 carried skills, including the 8 the digital printer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 21 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.
- still to learn use colour printing programs required
- still to learn monitor automated machines required
- optional, not held prepare documents for scanning optional
- optional, not held calibrate electronic instruments optional
- still to learn digital printing required
- still to learn printing on large scale machines required
- optional, not held printing media optional
- still to learn feed press cylinders required
- still to learn produce prepress proof 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
- still to learn perform test run required
- still to learn types of paper required
3 further areas in the appendix
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.
- 01 feed press cylinders practise this
- 02 digital printing study this
- 03 printing on large scale machines study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 18 skills that carry over
- already held follow safety precautions in printing skill
- already held maintenance of printing machines knowledge
- already held operate digital printers skill
- already held printing materials knowledge
- already held quality standards knowledge
- already held set colour profiles skill
- already held supply machine skill
- already held troubleshoot skill
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held follow a brief skill
- already held inspect printing output skill
- already held monitor stock level skill
- already held order supplies skill
- already held perform machine maintenance skill
- already held printing techniques knowledge
- already held produce scanned images skill
- already held report defective manufacturing materials skill
- already held reproduce documents skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn follow production schedule required
- 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 printed goods processes optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held create digital files optional
- optional, not held prepare documents for scanning optional
- optional, not held process printing input optional
- optional, not held set scanner controls optional
- optional, not held calibrate electronic instruments optional
- optional, not held consult technical resources optional
- optional, not held keep records of work progress 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 use word processing software optional
18 held skills the digital printer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role binding technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role copyright legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role digitise documents skill
- not needed by the target role handle scanning material safely skill
- not needed by the target role lay out digital written content skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets 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 operate binder machine skill
- not needed by the target role operate printing machinery skill
- not needed by the target role operate scanner 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 reprography knowledge
- not needed by the target role respect data protection principles skill
- not needed by the target role scan photos skill
- not needed by the target role unbind books skill
- not needed by the target role use microsoft office skill
5 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 digital printing required
- still to learn printing on large scale machines required
- still to learn types of paper required
- optional, not held printed goods processes optional
- optional, not held printing media optional
Common questions about this move
Can a reprographics technician become a digital printer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A reprographics technician already covers 45% of what a digital printer is expected to do: 18 skills carry over, 8 of which the digital printer role treats as required.
What skills does a reprographics technician need to become a digital printer?
10 required skills are missing, plus 11 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 reprographics technician to digital printer?
Its learning distance is 58.4 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.