Prepress operator vs plate mounter

The differences between prepress operators and plate mounters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a prepress operator and a plate mounter. Additionally, a prepress operator has an average salary of $41,006, which is higher than the $38,369 average annual salary of a plate mounter.

The top three skills for a prepress operator include mac, graphic design and adobe creative suite. The most important skills for a plate mounter are flexo, tape measure, and lean manufacturing.

Prepress operator vs plate mounter overview

	Prepress Operator	Plate Mounter
Yearly salary	$41,006	$38,369
Hourly rate	$19.71	$18.45
Growth rate	-14%	-
Number of jobs	25,849	156
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	High School Diploma, 45%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

Prepress operator vs plate mounter salary

Prepress operators and plate mounters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Prepress Operator	Plate Mounter
Average salary	$41,006	$38,369
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $57,000	Between $22,000 And $66,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between prepress operator and plate mounter education

There are a few differences between a prepress operator and a plate mounter in terms of educational background:

	Prepress Operator	Plate Mounter
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	High School Diploma, 45%
Most common major	Graphic Design	Graphic Communications
Most common college	University of Texas at Austin	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

Prepress operator vs plate mounter demographics

Here are the differences between prepress operators' and plate mounters' demographics:

	Prepress Operator	Plate Mounter
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 66.9% Female, 33.1%	Male, 79.8% Female, 20.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 3.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.6% Asian, 8.4% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 3.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.9% Asian, 7.9% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between prepress operator and plate mounter duties and responsibilities

Prepress operator example 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.
Output printing plates using Creo Trendsetter.
Work perform on Macintosh and PC computers.

Plate mounter example responsibilities.

Maintain professional correspondence with pressroom and with prepress department.
Assemble and balance tires for Freightliner trucks.

Prepress operator vs plate mounter skills

Common prepress operator skills

Mac, 8%
Graphic Design, 8%
Adobe Creative Suite, 7%
PC, 6%
BARS, 6%
Desktop, 5%

Common plate mounter skills

Flexo, 26%
Tape Measure, 24%
Lean Manufacturing, 11%
Press Runs, 11%
Customer Specifications, 6%
Production Schedules, 6%