Pre-press technician vs electronic prepress operator

The differences between pre-press technicians and electronic prepress operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a pre-press technician and an electronic prepress operator. Additionally, an electronic prepress operator has an average salary of $51,509, which is higher than the $39,811 average annual salary of a pre-press technician.

The top three skills for a pre-press technician include adobe photoshop, mac and troubleshoot. The most important skills for an electronic prepress operator are computer software, electronic prepress, and adobe photoshop.

Pre-press technician vs electronic prepress operator overview

	Pre-Press Technician	Electronic Prepress Operator
Yearly salary	$39,811	$51,509
Hourly rate	$19.14	$24.76
Growth rate	3%	-14%
Number of jobs	11,187	28,606
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

Pre-press technician vs electronic prepress operator salary

Pre-press technicians and electronic prepress operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Pre-Press Technician	Electronic Prepress Operator
Average salary	$39,811	$51,509
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $53,000	Between $37,000 And $71,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between pre-press technician and electronic prepress operator education

There are a few differences between a pre-press technician and an electronic prepress operator in terms of educational background:

	Pre-Press Technician	Electronic Prepress Operator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common major	Graphic Design	Graphic Design
Most common college	University of Texas at Austin	Stanford University

Pre-press technician vs electronic prepress operator demographics

Here are the differences between pre-press technicians' and electronic prepress operators' demographics:

	Pre-Press Technician	Electronic Prepress Operator
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 67.4% Female, 32.6%	Male, 65.7% Female, 34.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 3.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 8.9% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 3.2% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 9.0% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between pre-press technician and electronic prepress operator duties and responsibilities

Pre-press technician example 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.
Preflight and prepare jobs using Kodak Prinergy.
Experience in the Prinergy and InSite workflow.

Electronic prepress operator example 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.
Work closely with the pressroom and shipping to guarantee jobs meet critical deadlines.
Work with planners, scheduling, estimating, ISO coordinator and the maintenance department.

Pre-press technician vs electronic prepress operator skills

Common pre-press technician skills

Adobe Photoshop, 10%
Mac, 8%
Troubleshoot, 7%
Adobe Indesign, 6%
Adobe Illustrator, 6%
Graphic Design, 5%

Common electronic prepress operator skills

Computer Software, 15%
Electronic Prepress, 10%
Adobe Photoshop, 8%
Color Correction, 8%
Platemaking, 7%
PC, 7%

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Pre-Press Technician
Pre-Press Technician vs Electronic Prepress Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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