Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

typesettertoprepress 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.

From typesetter
56%
Overlap1
To prepress technician
29 Skills carried over
11 Required, not held
55.8 Difficulty2
Career overlap Partial match

56%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

55.8/ 100

1 Share of the prepress technician role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the typesetter profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A prepress technician role treats 18 of its required skills as things a typesetter already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • 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

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.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • 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

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 28 missing skills fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier
01 working with machinery and specialised equipment 5 required, 4 supplementary
  • required, not held operate laser plate maker machine required
  • required, not held prepare printing form required
  • required, not held scale copies required
  • required, not held scan negatives required
  • required, not held 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
02 arts and humanities 2 required, 2 supplementary
  • required, not held printing on large scale machines required
  • required, not held reprography required
  • optional, not held offset printing optional
  • optional, not held printing media optional
03 working with computers 1 required, 5 supplementary
  • required, not held 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
04 assisting and caring 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held follow safety precautions in printing required
  • optional, not held handle scanning material safely optional
05 information skills 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held output electronic files required
  • optional, not held process printing input optional
06 business, administration and law 1 required
  • required, not held proofing methods required

3 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

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.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 29 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • 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
Skill to acquire Tier
07 management skills 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held prevent paper jams optional
  • optional, not held meet deadlines optional
08 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held apply opaque optional
09 handling and moving 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held store negatives optional
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • 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
Skill Type
  • 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.

Skill to acquire Tier
  • required, not held printing on large scale machines required
  • required, not held proofing methods required
  • required, not held reprography required
  • optional, not held offset printing optional
  • optional, not held printing media optional
Index

Other moves recorded from typesetter

Full index of moves from typesetter

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.