How To Become An Electronic Prepress Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is an electronic prepress operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an electronic prepress operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.76 an hour? That's $51,509 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -14% and produce -1,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreElectronic Prepress OperatorUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,509

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.2

Growth rate -14%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.67%

Asian 9.01%

Black or African American 7.75%

Hispanic or Latino 18.62%

Unknown 3.25%

White 60.71%

Gender

female 34.34%

male 65.66%

Age - 49.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 49.5

Stress level

5.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.8

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an electronic prepress operator

Explore electronic prepress operator education requirements

Most common electronic prepress operator degrees

Bachelor's

49.7 %

Associate

30.3 %

High School Diploma

9.0 %

Start to develop specific electronic prepress operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Computer Software	15.39%
Electronic Prepress	9.63%
Adobe Photoshop	8.16%
Color Correction	7.88%
Platemaking	7.20%

Complete relevant electronic prepress operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New electronic prepress operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an electronic prepress operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real electronic prepress operator resumes.

Research electronic prepress operator duties and responsibilities

Ensure ISO certification are achieved on an annual basis.
File preparation for PDF driven workflow.
Involve in daily schedule planning with pressroom and sales.
Prepare customer files for printing by trapping and outputting to film and PDF.

Prepare your electronic prepress operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your electronic prepress operator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an electronic prepress operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable electronic prepress operator resume templates

Build a professional electronic prepress operator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your electronic prepress operator resume.