Scanner Operator: Job Description and Requirements for Becoming a Scanner Operator
Scanner Operators, also known as prepress technicians, combine their knowledge of design and technology to prepare customer images for printing. For those with a good eye for detail and an artistic flair, jobs are available in printing centers such as the Northeast and Midwest. Graphic communications courses are also helpful to compete in a field with an increasing emphasis on design skills.
Career Definition: Scanner Operator
While once responsible for the processes involved in producing printing plates, the tasks previously done by Scanner Operators are now primarily done with digital imaging technology. This new technology receives digital images or converts images to a digital format and sends them directly to the printing plate without the complicated photographic transfer process. However, some mediums, such as photoengraving and lithography, still require a Scanner Operator to oversee plate making. Scanner Operators are responsible for monitoring film exposure and its transfer onto the metal plates that will replicate the image during the printing process. Scanner Operators also maintain quality controls that ensure the customer gets the finished product he/she envisioned. These tasks include checking for color consistency and flaws in the film.
How to Become a Scanner Operator
Required Education for a Career in Scanner Operations
Employers typically look for job candidates who have completed coursework in graphic communications. This field is highly specialized and prospective Scanner Operators will learn about press operations as a whole, with special attention given to digital applications for the prepress stages. Certificates are available in press operations, digital prepress, and desktop prepress. An Associate of Applied Science or Associate of Science in Communication Arts is another option. A Bachelor of Science in Printing Management is also offered and prepares candidates to take on management positions after graduating. Courses in this field include digital file preparation, digital typography and color management.
Skills Required of a Career as a Scanner Operator
A Scanner Operator must be detail oriented and able to meet deadlines. In addition, good listening skills are needed since a Scanner Operator must listen to customers' requests and use his/her technical knowledge to turn the customer's vision in to a finished product.
Career and Economic Outlook for Scanner Operations
A job as a Scanner Operator is highly specialized. Made nearly obsolete by advances in technology, their skills are used in rarer productions such as lithography and engraving. However, experience with these techniques can be helpful since, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employers prefer job applicants with both formal training and a working knowledge of the printing process (www.bls.gov). The Bureau of Labor Statistics also projects a 16% decline in prepress jobs as a whole through 2016, but states that the outlook is favorable for those who can perform the same tasks with digital software; these positions earned a median hourly wage of $15.58 in May of 2006.
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