Screen printer to digital printer
A screen printer already meets 63% of what the digital printer role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
44.3/ 100
1 How much of what a digital printer is expected to do is already part of a screen printer’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 12 of its required skills as things a screen printer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- follow production schedule
- follow safety precautions in printing
- maintenance of printing machines
- monitor automated machines
- perform test run
- printing on large scale machines
What stands in the way is 6 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 23 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 screen printer background worth leading with.
- already held use colour printing programs working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held inspect printing output information skills
- already held printed goods processes business, administration and law
- already held printing media arts and humanities
- already held follow safety precautions in printing assisting and caring
- already held printing on large scale machines arts and humanities
All 23 carried skills, including the 12 the digital printer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 missing skills fall into 6 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 digital printing required
- still to learn printing materials required
- still to learn feed press cylinders required
- still to learn produce prepress proof required
- still to learn operate digital printers 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 set colour profiles required
- optional, not held prepare documents for scanning optional
- optional, not held reproduce documents optional
- optional, not held calibrate electronic instruments optional
- optional, not held produce scanned images optional
- optional, not held follow a brief optional
- optional, not held order supplies optional
- optional, not held process printing input optional
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 operate digital printers practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 23 skills that carry over
- already held follow production schedule skill
- already held follow safety precautions in printing skill
- already held maintenance of printing machines knowledge
- already held monitor automated machines skill
- already held perform test run skill
- already held printing on large scale machines knowledge
- already held quality standards knowledge
- already held set up the controller of a machine skill
- already held supply machine skill
- already held troubleshoot skill
- already held types of paper knowledge
- already held use colour printing programs skill
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held consult technical resources skill
- already held inspect printing output skill
- already held keep records of work progress skill
- already held monitor stock level skill
- already held perform machine maintenance skill
- already held printed goods processes knowledge
- already held printing media knowledge
- already held printing techniques knowledge
- already held record production data for quality control skill
- already held report defective manufacturing materials skill
10 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 produce scanned images optional
- optional, not held reproduce documents optional
- optional, not held set scanner controls optional
- optional, not held calibrate electronic instruments optional
- optional, not held follow a brief optional
- optional, not held order supplies 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 adjust drying process to goods skill
- not needed by the target role check quality of raw materials skill
- not needed by the target role clean equipment skill
- not needed by the target role determine colour shades skill
- not needed by the target role handle chemical cleaning agents skill
- not needed by the target role mix ink skill
- not needed by the target role monitor conveyor belt skill
- not needed by the target role operate screen printing press skill
- not needed by the target role pack goods skill
- not needed by the target role polygraphy knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare printing form skill
- not needed by the target role prepare screen printing skill
- not needed by the target role screen printing inks knowledge
- not needed by the target role screen printing machines knowledge
- not needed by the target role screen printing process knowledge
- not needed by the target role use doctor blade skill
- not needed by the target role verify feasibility skill
- not needed by the target role wear appropriate protective gear skill
2 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 materials required
Common questions about this move
Can a screen printer become a digital printer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A screen printer already covers 63% of what a digital printer is expected to do: 23 skills carry over, 12 of which the digital printer role treats as required.
What skills does a screen printer need to become a digital printer?
6 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by arts and humanities. The single most important is feed press cylinders.
How hard is the move from screen printer to digital printer?
Its learning distance is 44.3 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.