prepress operatortodigital printer
A prepress operator already meets 40% of what the digital printer role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
40%
62.9/ 100
1 Share of the digital printer role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the prepress operator 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 this move works
A digital printer role treats 8 of its required skills as things a prepress operator already does. These are the ones it depends on most.
- follow safety precautions in printing
- maintenance of printing machines
- printing materials
- produce prepress proof
- quality standards
- troubleshoot
What stands in the way is 10 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 14 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 prepress operator background worth leading with.
- already held use colour printing programs working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held produce prepress proof handling and moving
- already held inspect printing output information skills
- already held follow safety precautions in printing assisting and caring
- already held printing materials arts and humanities
- already held maintenance of printing machines arts and humanities
All 14 carried skills, including the 8 the digital printer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you would need to learn
The 25 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.
- required, not held set colour profiles required
- required, not held monitor automated machines required
- required, not held supply machine required
- optional, not held prepare documents for scanning optional
- optional, not held reproduce documents optional
- required, not held operate digital printers required
- required, not held set up the controller of a machine required
- optional, not held create digital files optional
- optional, not held set scanner controls optional
- optional, not held use word processing software optional
- required, not held digital printing required
- required, not held printing on large scale machines required
- optional, not held printing media optional
- required, not held perform test run required
- required, not held feed press cylinders required
- required, not held follow production schedule required
3 further areas in the appendix
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 skill · occupation specific
- 02 digital printing knowledge · sector specific
- 03 operate digital printers skill · sector specific
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 14 skills that carry over
- already held follow safety precautions in printing skill
- already held maintenance of printing machines knowledge
- already held printing materials knowledge
- already held produce prepress proof skill
- already held quality standards knowledge
- already held troubleshoot skill
- already held types of paper knowledge
- already held use colour printing programs skill
- already held calibrate electronic instruments skill
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held follow a brief skill
- already held inspect printing output skill
- already held perform machine maintenance skill
- already held printing techniques knowledge
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held monitor stock level optional
- optional, not held process printing input optional
- optional, not held consult technical resources optional
- optional, not held keep records of work progress optional
- optional, not held record production data for quality control optional
- optional, not held report defective manufacturing materials optional
- optional, not held produce scanned images optional
- optional, not held order supplies optional
- optional, not held printed goods processes optional
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held create digital files optional
- optional, not held monitor stock level 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 consult technical resources optional
- optional, not held keep records of work progress optional
- optional, not held order supplies optional
- optional, not held printed goods processes optional
- optional, not held printing media optional
- optional, not held record production data for quality control optional
- optional, not held report defective manufacturing materials optional
- optional, not held use word processing software optional
28 held skills the digital printer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role Adobe Illustrator knowledge
- not needed by the target role Adobe Photoshop knowledge
- not needed by the target role GIMP (graphics editor software) knowledge
- not needed by the target role Microsoft Visio knowledge
- not needed by the target role SketchBook Pro knowledge
- not needed by the target role Synfig knowledge
- not needed by the target role arrange printer sheets skill
- not needed by the target role cut page edges skill
- not needed by the target role digitization knowledge
- not needed by the target role graphics editor software knowledge
- not needed by the target role interpret illustration needs skill
- not needed by the target role lay out digital written content skill
- not needed by the target role maintain lithographic printing plates skill
- not needed by the target role manage offset printing process skill
- not needed by the target role manage process of flexographic print skill
- not needed by the target role mix ink skill
- not needed by the target role operate printing machinery skill
- not needed by the target role output electronic files skill
- not needed by the target role perform image editing skill
- not needed by the target role prepress processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role proofing methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role proofread text skill
- not needed by the target role provide customised products skill
- not needed by the target role reprography knowledge
- not needed by the target role screen printing process knowledge
- not needed by the target role use markup languages skill
- not needed by the target role use microsoft office skill
- not needed by the target role wear appropriate protective gear skill
4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- required, not held digital printing required
- required, not held printing on large scale machines required
- optional, not held printed goods processes optional
- optional, not held printing media optional
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.