Reprographics technician to prepress operator
A reprographics technician already meets 42% of what the prepress operator role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
64.7/ 100
1 How much of what a prepress operator 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 prepress operator role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A prepress operator role treats 10 of its required skills as things a reprographics technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- follow a brief
- follow safety precautions in printing
- inspect printing output
- lay out digital written content
- operate printing machinery
- perform image editing
What stands in the way is 13 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 17 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 reprographics technician background worth leading with.
- already held prepress processes arts and humanities
- already held reprography arts and humanities
- already held manage offset printing process working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held lay out digital written content information skills
- already held inspect printing output information skills
- already held follow safety precautions in printing assisting and caring
All 17 carried skills, including the 10 the prepress operator role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 25 missing skills fall into 11 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 Adobe Illustrator required
- still to learn Adobe Photoshop required
- still to learn GIMP (graphics editor software) required
- still to learn Microsoft Visio required
- still to learn SketchBook Pro required
- still to learn Synfig required
- still to learn graphics editor software required
- still to learn interpret illustration needs required
- still to learn provide customised products required
- optional, not held proofread text optional
- still to learn arrange printer sheets required
- optional, not held maintain lithographic printing plates optional
- optional, not held manage process of flexographic print optional
- optional, not held use colour printing programs optional
- optional, not held calibrate electronic instruments optional
- still to learn produce prepress proof required
- optional, not held cut page edges optional
- optional, not held mix ink optional
- still to learn proofing methods required
- still to learn types of paper required
5 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 Adobe Illustrator study this
- 02 Adobe Photoshop study this
- 03 GIMP (graphics editor software) 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 17 skills that carry over
- already held follow a brief skill
- already held follow safety precautions in printing skill
- already held inspect printing output skill
- already held lay out digital written content skill
- already held operate printing machinery skill
- already held perform image editing skill
- already held prepress processes knowledge
- already held printing techniques knowledge
- already held quality standards knowledge
- already held use microsoft office skill
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held maintenance of printing machines knowledge
- already held manage offset printing process skill
- already held perform machine maintenance skill
- already held printing materials knowledge
- already held reprography knowledge
- already held troubleshoot skill
The 5 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held screen printing process optional
- optional, not held wear appropriate protective gear optional
- optional, not held output electronic files optional
- optional, not held digitization optional
- optional, not held use markup languages optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held cut page edges optional
- optional, not held maintain lithographic printing plates optional
- optional, not held manage process of flexographic print optional
- optional, not held mix ink optional
- optional, not held output electronic files optional
- optional, not held screen printing process optional
- optional, not held use colour printing programs optional
- optional, not held use markup languages optional
- optional, not held calibrate electronic instruments optional
- optional, not held digitization optional
- optional, not held proofread text optional
- optional, not held wear appropriate protective gear optional
19 held skills the prepress operator 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 manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role meet deadlines skill
- not needed by the target role monitor stock level skill
- not needed by the target role operate binder machine skill
- not needed by the target role operate digital printers skill
- not needed by the target role operate scanner skill
- not needed by the target role order supplies skill
- not needed by the target role produce scanned images skill
- not needed by the target role report defective manufacturing materials skill
- not needed by the target role reproduce documents skill
- 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 set colour profiles skill
- not needed by the target role supply machine skill
- not needed by the target role unbind books skill
11 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 Adobe Illustrator required
- still to learn Adobe Photoshop required
- still to learn GIMP (graphics editor software) required
- still to learn Microsoft Visio required
- still to learn SketchBook Pro required
- still to learn Synfig required
- still to learn graphics editor software required
- still to learn proofing methods required
- still to learn types of paper required
- optional, not held screen printing process optional
- optional, not held digitization optional
Common questions about this move
Can a reprographics technician become a prepress operator?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A reprographics technician already covers 42% of what a prepress operator is expected to do: 17 skills carry over, 10 of which the prepress operator role treats as required.
What skills does a reprographics technician need to become a prepress operator?
13 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information and communication technologies (icts). The single most important is Adobe Illustrator.
How hard is the move from reprographics technician to prepress operator?
Its learning distance is 64.7 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.