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

What is a 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 a prepress operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.71 an hour? That's $41,006 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -14% and produce -1,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePrepress OperatorUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $41,006

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.2

Growth rate -14%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.66%

Asian 8.42%

Black or African American 8.02%

Hispanic or Latino 19.57%

Unknown 3.24%

White 60.09%

Gender

female 33.10%

male 66.90%

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 prepress operator

Explore prepress operator education requirements

Most common prepress operator degrees

Bachelor's

47.8 %

Associate

34.8 %

High School Diploma

8.0 %

Start to develop specific prepress operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Mac	8.10%
Graphic Design	7.75%
Adobe Creative Suite	6.75%
PC	5.91%
BARS	5.85%

Complete relevant prepress operator training and internships

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

Research prepress operator duties and responsibilities

Make PDF files manages fonts, scans using flat bed scanners and download PDF files and import them into page layout.
Perform G7 color certification Epson inkjet proofing systems.
Provide customers with troubleshooting assistance and procedures on postscript, imposition, trapping, color management and PDF issues.
Work in Macintosh and PC environment.

Prepare your prepress operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your 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 a 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 prepress operator resume templates

Build a professional 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 prepress operator resume.