Typesetter to prepress technician
A typesetter already meets 56% of what the prepress technician role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
55.8/ 100
1 How much of what a prepress technician is expected to do is already part of a typesetter’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 18 of its required skills as things a typesetter already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe Photoshop
- GIMP (graphics editor software)
- Microsoft Visio
- SketchBook Pro
- Synfig
What stands in the way is 11 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 29 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 typesetter background worth leading with.
- already held use typesetting software working with computers
- already held prepare films for printing plates working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held align content with form communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held prepress processes arts and humanities
- already held printing plate making arts and humanities
- already held typography arts and humanities
All 29 carried skills, including the 18 the prepress technician role treats as required.
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.
- still to learn operate laser plate maker machine 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 prepare offset printing machine optional
- still to learn printing on large scale machines required
- still to learn reprography required
- optional, not held offset printing optional
- optional, not held printing media optional
- still to learn set scanner controls required
- optional, not held create digital files optional
- optional, not held edit photographs optional
- optional, not held scan photos optional
- optional, not held manage digital documents optional
- optional, not held use presentation software optional
- still to learn follow safety precautions in printing required
- optional, not held handle scanning material safely optional
- still to learn output electronic files required
- optional, not held process printing input optional
- still to learn proofing methods required
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 follow safety precautions in printing practise this
- 02 operate laser plate maker machine practise this
- 03 output electronic files 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 29 skills that carry over
- already held Adobe Illustrator knowledge
- already held Adobe Photoshop knowledge
- already held GIMP (graphics editor software) knowledge
- already held Microsoft Visio knowledge
- already held SketchBook Pro knowledge
- already held Synfig knowledge
- already held align content with form skill
- already held develop digital content skill
- already held graphics editor software knowledge
- already held lay out digital written content skill
- already held maintenance of printing machines knowledge
- already held operate printing machinery skill
- already held prepare films for printing plates skill
- already held prepress processes knowledge
- already held printing plate making knowledge
- already held produce prepress proof skill
- already held troubleshoot skill
- already held typography knowledge
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held digitise documents skill
- already held graphic design knowledge
- already held interpret illustration needs skill
- already held manage offset printing process skill
- already held printed goods processes knowledge
- already held printing materials knowledge
- already held printing techniques knowledge
- already held quality standards knowledge
- already held use typesetting software skill
- already held use word processing software skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held prevent paper jams optional
- optional, not held meet deadlines optional
- optional, not held apply opaque optional
- optional, not held store negatives optional
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply opaque optional
- optional, not held create digital files optional
- optional, not held edit photographs optional
- optional, not held handle scanning material safely optional
- optional, not held ink printing plates 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 process printing input optional
- optional, not held scan photos optional
- optional, not held store negatives optional
- optional, not held use colour printing programs optional
- optional, not held manage digital documents optional
- optional, not held meet deadlines optional
- optional, not held prepare offset printing machine optional
- optional, not held printing media optional
- optional, not held use presentation software optional
19 held skills the prepress technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply desktop publishing techniques skill
- not needed by the target role apply grammar and spelling rules skill
- not needed by the target role consult with editor skill
- not needed by the target role digital printing knowledge
- not needed by the target role draw design sketches skill
- not needed by the target role follow a brief skill
- not needed by the target role follow work schedule skill
- not needed by the target role inspect printing output skill
- not needed by the target role manage data skill
- not needed by the target role perform image editing skill
- not needed by the target role prepare imposition skill
- not needed by the target role proofread text skill
- not needed by the target role publishing industry knowledge
- not needed by the target role respect data protection principles skill
- not needed by the target role track changes in text editing skill
- not needed by the target role transcribe texts skill
- not needed by the target role typesetting machines knowledge
- not needed by the target role use markup languages 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 printing on large scale machines required
- still to learn proofing methods required
- still to learn reprography required
- optional, not held offset printing optional
- optional, not held printing media optional
Common questions about this move
Can a typesetter become a prepress technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A typesetter already covers 56% of what a prepress technician is expected to do: 29 skills carry over, 18 of which the prepress technician role treats as required.
What skills does a typesetter need to become a prepress technician?
11 required skills are missing, plus 17 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 follow safety precautions in printing.
How hard is the move from typesetter to prepress technician?
Its learning distance is 55.8 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.