Prepress Technicians and Workers

Median salary

$48,690

Average salary

$50,800

Employment

23,840

Projected growth

14.6% decline

Annual openings

2,800

Typical entry education

Postsecondary nondegree award

What Prepress Technicians and Workers Do

Format and proof text and images submitted by designers and clients into finished pages that can be printed. Includes digital and photo typesetting. May produce printing plates.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: None
Self-employed: 12.9%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 3 of 5

Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed

Experience: Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations.
Education: Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Job training: Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

Computers and Electronicsimportance 4.0/5
English Languageimportance 3.6/5
Designimportance 3.5/5
Mathematicsimportance 3.4/5
Production and Processingimportance 3.3/5
Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.2/5
Administrativeimportance 2.9/5
Communications and Mediaimportance 2.7/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

Time Pressure4.9/5
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.7/5
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.6/5
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.6/5
E-Mail4.5/5
Telephone Conversations4.4/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Dental Hygienists95% skill match
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers95% skill match
Nuclear Medicine Technologists94% skill match
Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians94% skill match
Radiation Therapists93% skill match
Respiratory Therapists93% skill match
Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians93% skill match
Veterinary Technologists and Technicians92% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

Time Managementimportance 3.1/5
Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.0/5
Operations Monitoringimportance 3.0/5
Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.0/5
Social Perceptivenessimportance 2.9/5
Persuasionimportance 2.9/5
Instructingimportance 2.8/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Hot Technologies

Other Software Used

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Cautiousness
Perseverance
Adaptability
Cooperation
Achievement Orientation

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

ConventionalHigh
RealisticHigh
ArtisticMedium
InvestigativeLow
SocialLow
EnterprisingLow

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where prepress technicians and workers make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).