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Scanner operator vs prepress digital technician

The differences between scanner 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 scanner operator and a prepress digital technician. Additionally, a prepress digital technician has an average salary of $39,859, 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 prepress digital technician are mac, adobe illustrator, and adobe photoshop.

Scanner operator vs prepress digital technician overview

Scanner OperatorPrepress Digital Technician
Yearly salary$33,321$39,859
Hourly rate$16.02$19.16
Growth rate--14%
Number of jobs29,75021,965
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 40%Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Average age4848
Years of experience44

Scanner operator vs prepress digital technician salary

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

Scanner OperatorPrepress Digital Technician
Average salary$33,321$39,859
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $41,000Between $27,000 And $57,000
Highest paying City-Philadelphia, PA
Highest paying state-Alaska
Best paying company-WestRock
Best paying industry-Media

Differences between scanner operator and prepress digital technician education

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

Scanner OperatorPrepress Digital Technician
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 40%Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Most common majorBusinessGraphic Design
Most common collegeNew York UniversityUniversity of Texas at Austin

Scanner operator vs prepress digital technician demographics

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

Scanner OperatorPrepress Digital Technician
Average age4848
Gender ratioMale, 51.7% Female, 48.3%Male, 68.4% Female, 31.6%
Race ratioBlack 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, 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 scanner operator and prepress digital 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.
  • 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

Scanner operator vs prepress digital technician skills

Common scanner operator skills
  • Quality Checks, 13%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 13%
  • Color Correction, 11%
  • Image Scanning, 8%
  • RF, 8%
  • Computer System, 6%
Common prepress digital technician skills
  • Mac, 11%
  • Adobe Illustrator, 8%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 7%
  • Adobe Indesign, 7%
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 5%
  • Quark, 5%

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