How To Become A Pre-Press Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a pre-press technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average pre-press technician salary is $39,811. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an graphic design major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become a pre-press technician. Pre-press technicians with a Certified Graphics Communications Manager (CGCM) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 6,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePre-Press TechnicianUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $39,811

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.2

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.73%

Asian 8.89%

Black or African American 7.57%

Hispanic or Latino 18.63%

Unknown 3.31%

White 60.87%

Gender

female 32.61%

male 67.39%

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 a pre-press technician

Explore pre-press technician education requirements

Most common pre-press technician degrees

Bachelor's

43.2 %

Associate

34.4 %

High School Diploma

14.2 %

Start to develop specific pre-press technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Adobe Photoshop	9.73%
Mac	8.28%
Troubleshoot	6.93%
Adobe Indesign	6.33%
Adobe Illustrator	6.25%

Complete relevant pre-press technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New pre-press technicians 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 a pre-press technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real pre-press technician resumes.

Research pre-press technician duties and responsibilities

Demonstrate ability in the trouble-shooting of provide files and the timely creation of PDF and Epson proofs for customer approval.
Create signs, banners, brochures, posters, forms, stationery, logos, ads, etc.
Identify page layout issues (wrong margins, no page bleed, wrong page count, etc .).
Guarantee adhesive cleanliness for aircraft windows.

Prepare your pre-press technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your pre-press technician 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 a pre-press technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable pre-press technician resume templates

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