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51-5111.00 · Task explorer

Prepress Technicians and Workers: reported tasks and exploration worksheet

Format and proof text and images submitted by designers and clients into finished pages that can be printed. Includes digital and photo typesetting. May produce printing plates.

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This source lists 15 tasks, including 7 marked Core and 8 marked Supplemental. Labels and dates are retained below. Employers can combine or divide these responsibilities differently; explore the task itself before assuming it belongs in every version of the role.

Task source dates: 07/2016.

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15 tasks shown

Core · Task 20927 · 07/2016 · Incumbent

Generate prepress proofs in digital or other format to approximate the appearance of the final printed piece.

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Core · Task 20928 · 07/2016 · Incumbent

Proofread and perform quality control of text and images.

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Core · Task 10403 · 07/2016 · Incumbent

Enter, position, and alter text size, using computers, to make up and arrange pages so that printed materials can be produced.

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Core · Task 20929 · 07/2016 · Incumbent

Perform "preflight" check of required font, graphic, text and image files to ensure completeness prior to delivery to printer.

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Core · Task 10405 · 07/2016 · Incumbent

Operate and maintain laser plate-making equipment that converts electronic data to plates without the use of film.

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Core · Task 10402 · 07/2016 · Incumbent

Enter, store, and retrieve information on computer-aided equipment.

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Core · Task 10404 · 07/2016 · Incumbent

Maintain, adjust, and clean equipment, and perform minor repairs.

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Supplemental · Task 10407 · 07/2016 · Incumbent

Operate presses to print proofs of plates, monitoring printing quality to ensure that it is adequate.

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Supplemental · Task 10425 · 07/2016 · Incumbent

Select proper types of plates according to press run lengths.

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Supplemental · Task 10412 · 07/2016 · Incumbent

Examine finished plates to detect flaws, verify conformity with master plates, and measure dot sizes and centers, using light boxes and microscopes.

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Supplemental · Task 10410 · 07/2016 · Incumbent

Examine unexposed photographic plates to detect flaws or foreign particles prior to printing.

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Supplemental · Task 10406 · 07/2016 · Incumbent

Examine photographic images for obvious imperfections prior to plate making.

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Supplemental · Task 10433 · 07/2016 · Incumbent

Scale copy for reductions and enlargements, using proportion wheels.

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Supplemental · Task 10427 · 07/2016 · Incumbent

Analyze originals to evaluate color density, gradation highlights, middle tones, and shadows, using densitometers and knowledge of light and color.

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Supplemental · Task 10428 · 07/2016 · Incumbent

Set scanners to specific color densities, sizes, screen rulings, and exposure adjustments, using scanner keyboards or computers.

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Make the shortlist useful

Choose one to three activities that tell you something different about the work. Avoid selecting several ways of describing the same interest.
For each, write an example you can discuss or a question that would change your understanding of the role.
Keep source task IDs with your notes so you can return to the same description. Do not include private employer or customer information.

The exported worksheet distinguishes the reported task from your own notes. It supports exploration, not a hiring decision or a validated assessment.

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Download before leaving this page. Unsaved writing remains only in the page and is cleared on refresh. Notes and learning actions are not sent to a server. This guide describes an occupation and supports study planning; it does not provide clinical, legal or equipment-operating procedures.

Source and practice material

Occupational context uses the O*NET® 31.0 Database from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, under CC BY 4.0. View the occupation.

Skill Workbench selected and adapted the occupational information and added its own fictional cases, calculations, guidance and worksheets. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.