Occupation information for

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.

Currently Employed: 523

Yearly Projected Openings: 10

Typical Hourly Wage: $35.85 - $38.15

Typical Annual Salary: $74,600 - $79,400

• Enter, store, and retrieve information on computer-aided equipment.
• Enter, position, and alter text size, using computers, to make up and arrange pages so that printed materials can be produced.
• Operate and maintain laser plate-making equipment that converts electronic data to plates without the use of film.
• Operate presses to print proofs of plates, monitoring printing quality to ensure that it is adequate.
• Examine photographic images for obvious imperfections prior to plate making.
• Monitor contact between cover glass and masks inside vacuum frames, in order to prevent flaws resulting from overexposure or light reflection.
• Transfer images from master plates to unexposed plates, and immerse plates in developing solutions to develop images.
• Examine unexposed photographic plates to detect flaws or foreign particles prior to printing.
• Lower vacuum frames onto plate-film assemblies, activate vacuums to establish contact between film and plates, and set timers to activate ultraviolet lights that expose plates.
• Examine finished plates to detect flaws, verify conformity with master plates, and measure dot sizes and centers, using light-boxes and microscopes.