Post job

Prepress operator vs prepress digital technician

The differences between prepress operators and prepress digital technicians 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 prepress digital technician. Additionally, a prepress operator has an average salary of $41,006, which is higher than the $39,859 average annual salary of a prepress digital technician.

The top three skills for a prepress operator include mac, graphic design and adobe creative suite. The most important skills for a prepress digital technician are mac, adobe illustrator, and adobe photoshop.

Prepress operator vs prepress digital technician overview

Prepress OperatorPrepress Digital Technician
Yearly salary$41,006$39,859
Hourly rate$19.71$19.16
Growth rate-14%-14%
Number of jobs25,84921,965
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 48%Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Average age4848
Years of experience44

Prepress operator vs prepress digital technician salary

Prepress operators and prepress digital technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Prepress OperatorPrepress Digital Technician
Average salary$41,006$39,859
Salary rangeBetween $29,000 And $57,000Between $27,000 And $57,000
Highest paying City-Philadelphia, PA
Highest paying state-Alaska
Best paying company-WestRock
Best paying industry-Media

Differences between prepress operator and prepress digital technician education

There are a few differences between a prepress operator and a prepress digital technician in terms of educational background:

Prepress OperatorPrepress Digital Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 48%Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeUniversity of Texas at AustinUniversity of Texas at Austin

Prepress operator vs prepress digital technician demographics

Here are the differences between prepress operators' and prepress digital technicians' demographics:

Prepress OperatorPrepress Digital Technician
Average age4848
Gender ratioMale, 66.9% Female, 33.1%Male, 68.4% Female, 31.6%
Race ratioBlack 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, 8.0% Unknown, 3.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 7.9% White, 64.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage13%13%

Differences between prepress operator and prepress digital technician 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.
  • Show more

Prepress digital technician example responsibilities.

  • Administer and troubleshoot all computer systems, applications and networks.
  • Scan images on a desktop scanner and manipulate images using Photoshop.
  • Operate desktop publishing hardware and software to design and typeset forms, newsletters and other graphics.
  • Edit type and images according to mark-up copy usign photoshop, quark, illustrator and Indesign.
  • Update and troubleshoot prepress software to continue productivity.
  • Assemble and output advertisement using macintosh and windows workstations.
  • Show more

Prepress operator vs prepress digital technician skills

Common prepress operator skills
  • Mac, 8%
  • Graphic Design, 8%
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 7%
  • PC, 6%
  • BARS, 6%
  • Desktop, 5%
Common prepress digital technician skills
  • Mac, 11%
  • Adobe Illustrator, 8%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 7%
  • Adobe Indesign, 7%
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 5%
  • Quark, 5%

Browse production and manufacturing jobs