Prepress Technicians and Workers
US occupation · SOC 51-5111
Job titles people report: Desktop Operator, Electronic Prepress Operator (EPP Operator), Electronic Prepress Technician (EPP Tech), Plate Maker, Plate Mounter, Pre-Press Proofer, Prepress Operator, Prepress Specialist, Prepress Stripper, Prepress Technician
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $48,690
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $40,930 – $58,580
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 23,840
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- -15.3%
- Shrinking (below 0%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 2,100
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- BLS
- All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
- Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
- Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.
What the work involves
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.
Main tasks
- Generate prepress proofs in digital or other format to approximate the appearance of the final printed piece.
- Proofread and perform quality control of text and images.
- Enter, position, and alter text size, using computers, to make up and arrange pages so that printed materials can be produced.
- Perform "preflight" check of required font, graphic, text and image files to ensure completeness prior to delivery to printer.
- Operate and maintain laser plate-making equipment that converts electronic data to plates without the use of film.
- Enter, store, and retrieve information on computer-aided equipment.
- Maintain, adjust, and clean equipment, and perform minor repairs.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- O*NET Job Zone 3
- Medium preparation
- Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
- Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
- Artistic: creating, designing and self-expression
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 8 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.
Fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.
Communications Technologies/Technicians and Support Services
- Graphic Communications, General
- Printing Management
- Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design
- Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production
- Platemaker/Imager
- Printing Press Operator
- Computer Typography and Composition Equipment Operator
- Graphic Communications, Other
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Printing Press Operators
$45,780 median · -8.7% projected
- Etchers and Engravers
$43,310 median · -0.7% projected
- Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic
$58,000 median · -22.8% projected
- Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
$52,800 median · -13.2% projected
- Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
$47,720 median · +0.7% projected
- Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers
$68,120 median · +5.9% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 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. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk