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Version:
NOC 2006 Version 1.0

9472 – Camera, Platemaking and Other Prepress Occupations

This unit group includes prepress technicians who operate various computer controlled systems to perform prepress activities and workers who operate graphic arts cameras and scanners, assemble film and negatives and prepare, engrave and etch printing plates or cylinders for various types of printing presses. They are employed in firms that specialize in colour graphics or platemaking and cylinder preparation, commercial publishing and printing companies, newspapers, magazines, and in various establishments in the public and private sectors that have in-house printing departments.

Profile

Index of titles Example job titles

  • Alignment examiner - printing
  • Assembler, flexographic printing cylinders
  • Assistant newspaper make-up man/woman
  • Automated letterer-engraver
  • Blocker, metal base
  • Bright type processor
  • Camera operator - graphic arts
  • Camera operator - printing
  • Camera operator, colour separation - printing
  • Camera operator, photogravure - printing
  • Carbon tissue cylinder preparer - printing
  • Clamper - camera and platemaking
  • Colour correction scanning machine operator
  • Colour edition preparer - printing
  • Colour printer-technician - photographic processing
  • Colour scanner operator - printing
  • Colour separation assistant - scanning
  • Colour separation camera operator
  • Colour separation camera operator - printing
  • Colour separation electronic scanning machine operator
  • Colour separation operator
  • Colour-editing terminal operator - printing
  • Computer-assisted letterer-engraver
  • Contact printer
  • Copper engraver - camera and platemaking
  • Copper photoengraver
  • Copperplate photoengraver
  • Cylinder engraver, printing
  • Cylinder painter - printing
  • Cylinder preparer - printing
  • Cylinder preparer, carbon tissue - printing
  • Cylinder-impresser operator
  • Dot etcher
  • Dot etcher - printing
  • Electronic engraver
  • Electronic prepress technician
  • Electronic scanning machine operator, colour separation
  • Electroplating tank tender
  • Electrostatic camera operator
  • Electrotyper - printing
  • Electrotyper and platemaker
  • Engraver-letterer
  • Engraver-transferrer
  • Engraver, pictures - printing
  • Engraver, printing cylinders
  • Engraver, printing plates
  • Engraver, templates
  • Etcher - printing
  • Etcher, photoengraving - printing
  • Etcher, platemaking
  • Etching corrector
  • Film assembler
  • Film sizer
  • Film stripper
  • Film stripper and layout specialist - printing
  • Film stripper specialist - printing
  • Film stripper-assembler
  • Film stripper-assembler - printing
  • Flexible plate engraver
  • Flexible printing plate mounter
  • Flexible-plate hand engraver
  • Flexographic mounter-proofer
  • Flexographic printing cylinder assembler
  • Graphic arts camera operator
  • Gravure printer - prepress
  • Halftone camera operator - printing
  • Image processing operator
  • Image reproduction machine operator
  • Image setter operator
  • Image-processing system operator
  • Laser beam colour scanner operator
  • Lineup examiner - printing
  • Lithographic plate preparer
  • Lithographic platemaker
  • Metal base blocker
  • Monochrome plate film stripper
  • Negative merger
  • Negative spotter - printing
  • Offset plate preparer
  • Offset platemaker
  • Offset printing plate preparer
  • Opticopy keypunch operator - printing
  • OptiCopy keypuncher - printing
  • Opticopy machine operator - printing
  • Opticopy offline programmer - printing
  • Opticopy program tape preparer - printing
  • Pantograph setter
  • Pantographer - printing
  • Paper-plate maker
  • Photoengraver - printing
  • Photoengraving etcher - printing
  • Photoengraving finisher
  • Photoengraving platemaker
  • Photoengraving retoucher - printing
  • Photogravure camera operator - printing
  • Photopolymer platemaker
  • Picture engraver - printing
  • Plate finisher - printing
  • Plate grainer - printing
  • Plate processor - printing
  • Plate processor operator - printing
  • Plate-graining machine tender
  • Platemaker
  • Platemaker - printing
  • Platemaking etcher
  • Prepress technician
  • Preprint-coating machine tender
  • Print roller repairer
  • Print transferrer - printing
  • Printing cylinder engraver
  • Printing plate engraver
  • Printing plate moulder
  • Printing plate presensitizer tender
  • Process camera operator
  • Processor - printing
  • Proofmaker
  • Proofmaker - printing
  • Retoucher, photoengraving - printing
  • Roller engraver - printing
  • Rotogravure cylinder technician
  • Rotogravure press technician
  • Scanner operator
  • Scanning machine operator, colour corrections
  • Screenmaker
  • Siderographer - printing
  • Silkscreen assembler - printing
  • Stager - printing
  • Stencil preparer
  • Step and repeat camera operator
  • Stereotyper
  • Stripper - printing
  • Stripper-assembler, film - printing
  • Stripper-image assembler - printing
  • Stripper-layout specialist - printing
  • Studio-image-processing system operator
  • Template engraver
  • Tracer-transferrer
  • Transferrer
  • Camera operator - graphic arts
  • Cylinder preparer - printing
  • Dot etcher
  • Film stripper-assembler
  • Platemaker
  • Printing plate engraver
  • Proofmaker
  • Scanner operator
  • Screenmaker
  • Studio-image-processing system operator

Main duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

  • The following is a summary of main duties for some occupations in this group:
    • Graphic arts camera operators set up and adjust black and white or colour separation process cameras to convert graphic art and photographs into film for assembly and exposure onto printing plates or cylinders.
    • Cylinder preparers grind and polish press cylinders; expose and lay down carbon tissue; and etch or engrave cylinders using hand tools, etching machines, photogravure or laser processes to produce cylinders for gravure presses.
    • Film strippers and assemblers assemble and position, either using automated equipment or by hand, pieces of film containing all parts of a printing job to produce flats or composite negatives for preparing printing plates or cylinders.
    • Platemakers operate vacuum frames, plate processors and step and repeat machines to produce printing plates for various types of presses.
    • Prepress technicians operate various computer-controlled studio systems to perform colour separation, retouching and editing that allow changes to be made to a colour negative for printing purposes, plan page layouts and electronically alter shape, size and positions of illustrations and text.
    • Scanner operators operate computerized scanning machines or digital cameras to make colour separations and corrections from colour copy or transparencies for use in preparing film, digital files, printing plates or cylinders.
    • Proofmakers operate computerized equipment to prepare film, laser or dylux proofs for quality control purposes or for customers' review.

Employment requirements

  • Completion of secondary school is required.
  • Completion of a college program in graphic arts technology or A four- to five-year apprenticeship program in printing and graphic arts or A combination of on-the-job training and specialized college, industry or other courses is required.
  • Trade certification for some occupations in this group is available, but not compulsory, in Ontario, Alberta, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.

Additional information

    Exclusions

    Breakdown summary

    Broad occupational category
    9 – Occupations Unique to Processing, Manufacturing and Utilities
    Skill level
    C – Occupations usually require secondary school and/or occupation-specific training.
    Major group
    94 – Processing and Manufacturing Machine Operators and Assemblers
    Minor group
    947 – Printing Machine Operators and Related Occupations
    Version
    NOC 2006 Version 1.0