Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Scanning operator to prepress operator

A scanning operator already meets 34% of what the prepress operator role asks for. The move turns on 15 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From scanning operator
34 % overlap
Distant match
To prepress operator
14 You already bring
15 Still to learn
42 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

70.7/ 100

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

Why

Why this move works

A prepress operator role treats 8 of its required skills as things a scanning operator 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
  • perform image editing
  • printing techniques

What stands in the way is 15 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 prepress operator role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a scanning operator background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held cut page edges handling and moving
  • already held reprography arts and humanities
  • already held lay out digital written content information skills
  • already held inspect printing output information skills
  • already held digitization social sciences, journalism and information
  • already held follow safety precautions in printing assisting and caring

All 14 carried skills, including the 8 the prepress operator role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 28 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 information and communication technologies (icts) 7 required
  • 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
02 working with machinery and specialised equipment 2 required, 5 supplementary
  • still to learn arrange printer sheets required
  • still to learn operate printing machinery 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 manage offset printing process optional
  • optional, not held perform machine maintenance optional
03 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn interpret illustration needs required
  • still to learn provide customised products required
  • optional, not held communicate with customers optional
  • optional, not held proofread text optional
04 business, administration and law 2 required
  • still to learn proofing methods required
  • still to learn quality standards required
05 arts and humanities 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn prepress processes required
  • optional, not held printing materials optional
  • optional, not held screen printing process optional
06 handling and moving 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn produce prepress proof required
  • optional, not held mix ink optional

3 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

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.

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 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 perform image editing skill
  • already held printing techniques knowledge
  • already held types of paper knowledge
  • already held use microsoft office skill
  • already held calibrate electronic instruments skill
  • already held cut page edges skill
  • already held digitization knowledge
  • already held maintenance of printing machines knowledge
  • already held reprography knowledge
  • already held troubleshoot skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 assisting and caring 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held wear appropriate protective gear optional
08 information skills 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held output electronic files optional
09 working with computers 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held use markup languages optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • 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 printing materials 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 communicate with customers optional
  • optional, not held manage offset printing process optional
  • optional, not held perform machine maintenance optional
  • optional, not held proofread text optional
  • optional, not held wear appropriate protective gear optional
22 held skills the prepress operator role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role check for flaws in scanned material skill
  • not needed by the target role copyright legislation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role create digital files skill
  • not needed by the target role create digital images skill
  • not needed by the target role digital printing 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 imaging techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role maintain system logs 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 numerical sequences knowledge
  • not needed by the target role operate scanner skill
  • not needed by the target role perforate printed media skill
  • not needed by the target role prepare documents for scanning 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 produce scanned images skill
  • not needed by the target role set scanner controls skill
  • not needed by the target role use spreadsheets software skill
  • not needed by the target role use word processing software skill
  • not needed by the target role write calibration report skill
12 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 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 prepress processes required
  • still to learn quality standards required
  • optional, not held printing materials optional
  • optional, not held screen printing process optional
Index

Other moves recorded from scanning operator

Full index of moves from scanning operator

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a scanning operator become a prepress operator?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A scanning operator already covers 34% of what a prepress operator is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 8 of which the prepress operator role treats as required.

What skills does a scanning operator need to become a prepress operator?

15 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 9 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 scanning operator to prepress operator?

Its learning distance is 70.7 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.