Scanning operator to prepress technician
A scanning operator already meets 25% of what the prepress technician role asks for. The move turns on 22 required skills not yet in the profile.
80.6/ 100
1 How much of what a prepress technician 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 technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A prepress technician role treats 7 of its required skills as things a scanning operator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- follow safety precautions in printing
- lay out digital written content
- maintenance of printing machines
- printing on large scale machines
- reprography
- set scanner controls
What stands in the way is 22 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 15 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A prepress technician 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.
- already held create digital files working with computers
- already held handle scanning material safely assisting and caring
- already held set scanner controls working with computers
- already held reprography arts and humanities
- already held process printing input information skills
- already held lay out digital written content information skills
All 15 carried skills, including the 7 the prepress technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 42 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 operate laser plate maker machine required
- still to learn operate printing machinery required
- still to learn prepare films for printing plates required
- still to learn prepare printing form required
- still to learn scale copies required
- still to learn scan negatives required
- still to learn set colour profiles required
- optional, not held ink printing plates optional
- optional, not held maintain lithographic printing plates optional
- optional, not held use colour printing programs optional
- optional, not held manage offset printing process optional
- optional, not held prepare offset printing machine optional
- 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 printing plate making required
- still to learn prepress processes required
- still to learn typography required
- optional, not held offset printing optional
- optional, not held printing materials optional
- optional, not held graphic design optional
- optional, not held printing media optional
- still to learn develop digital content required
- optional, not held edit photographs optional
- optional, not held scan photos optional
- optional, not held use typesetting software optional
- optional, not held use presentation software optional
- still to learn align content with form required
- optional, not held apply opaque optional
- optional, not held interpret illustration needs optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- still to learn proofing methods required
- optional, not held printed goods processes optional
- optional, not held quality standards optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a prepress technician 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 15 skills that carry over
- already held follow safety precautions in printing skill
- already held lay out digital written content skill
- already held maintenance of printing machines knowledge
- already held printing on large scale machines knowledge
- already held reprography knowledge
- already held set scanner controls skill
- already held troubleshoot skill
- already held create digital files skill
- already held digitise documents skill
- already held handle scanning material safely skill
- already held manage digital documents skill
- already held meet deadlines skill
- already held printing techniques knowledge
- already held process printing input skill
- already held use word processing software skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn produce prepress proof required
- optional, not held store negatives optional
- still to learn output electronic files required
- optional, not held prevent paper jams optional
20 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply opaque optional
- optional, not held edit photographs optional
- optional, not held ink printing plates optional
- optional, not held interpret illustration needs optional
- optional, not held maintain lithographic printing plates optional
- optional, not held offset printing optional
- optional, not held prevent paper jams optional
- optional, not held printing materials optional
- optional, not held scan photos optional
- optional, not held store negatives optional
- optional, not held use colour printing programs optional
- optional, not held use typesetting software optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held graphic design optional
- optional, not held manage offset printing process optional
- optional, not held prepare offset printing machine optional
- optional, not held printed goods processes optional
- optional, not held printing media optional
- optional, not held quality standards optional
- optional, not held use presentation software optional
21 held skills the prepress technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role calibrate electronic instruments skill
- 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 images skill
- not needed by the target role cut page edges skill
- not needed by the target role digital printing knowledge
- not needed by the target role digitization knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow a brief skill
- not needed by the target role imaging techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect printing output skill
- not needed by the target role maintain system logs 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 perform image editing skill
- not needed by the target role prepare documents for scanning skill
- not needed by the target role produce scanned images skill
- not needed by the target role types of paper knowledge
- not needed by the target role use microsoft office skill
- not needed by the target role use spreadsheets software skill
- not needed by the target role write calibration report skill
17 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 printing plate making required
- still to learn proofing methods required
- still to learn prepress processes required
- still to learn typography required
- optional, not held offset printing optional
- optional, not held printing materials optional
- optional, not held graphic design optional
- optional, not held printed goods processes optional
- optional, not held printing media optional
- optional, not held quality standards optional
Common questions about this move
Can a scanning operator become a prepress technician?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A scanning operator already covers 25% of what a prepress technician is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 7 of which the prepress technician role treats as required.
What skills does a scanning operator need to become a prepress technician?
22 required skills are missing, plus 20 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 Adobe Illustrator.
How hard is the move from scanning operator to prepress technician?
Its learning distance is 80.6 out of 100, which is the career change 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.