Scanner operator vs pre-press technician

The differences between scanner operators and pre-press 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 scanner operator and a pre-press technician. Additionally, a pre-press technician has an average salary of $39,811, which is higher than the $33,321 average annual salary of a scanner operator.

The top three skills for a scanner operator include quality checks, adobe photoshop and color correction. The most important skills for a pre-press technician are adobe photoshop, mac, and troubleshoot.

Scanner operator vs pre-press technician overview

	Scanner Operator	Pre-Press Technician
Yearly salary	$33,321	$39,811
Hourly rate	$16.02	$19.14
Growth rate	-	3%
Number of jobs	29,750	11,187
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

Scanner operator vs pre-press technician salary

Scanner operators and pre-press technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Scanner Operator	Pre-Press Technician
Average salary	$33,321	$39,811
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $41,000	Between $29,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between scanner operator and pre-press technician education

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

	Scanner Operator	Pre-Press Technician
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common major	Business	Graphic Design
Most common college	New York University	University of Texas at Austin

Scanner operator vs pre-press technician demographics

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

	Scanner Operator	Pre-Press Technician
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 51.7% Female, 48.3%	Male, 67.4% Female, 32.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 3.2% Hispanic or Latino, 21.7% Asian, 7.7% White, 56.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	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%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between scanner operator and pre-press technician duties and responsibilities

Scanner operator example responsibilities.

Generate pre-flight lasers and color proofs to check separations before plating.
Used PageMaker on a Macintosh SE to produce brochures, annual reports, ads, technical manuals, etc.
Use of pit-stop and a nexus rip station.
Create digital plates from creo trendsetter/ make digital proofs.
Install virus protection and remove viruses for pc computers.
Maintain all equipment and making sure it run properly.

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.

Scanner operator vs pre-press technician skills

Common scanner operator skills

Quality Checks, 13%
Adobe Photoshop, 13%
Color Correction, 11%
Image Scanning, 8%
RF, 8%
Computer System, 6%

Common pre-press technician skills

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

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Scanner Operator
Scanner Operator vs Pre-Press Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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