Prepress Technicians and Workers
SOC 51-5111 · 2024-2034
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.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
Shrinking -16.7%
California projects this job will shrink over the next ten years. Fewer openings may mean a harder search.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $55,089per year
- Projected openings
- 2,410
- Projected change
- -16.7%
- Usually needs
- Postsecondary non-degree award
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Time Management
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Judgment and Decision Making
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $62,800 | 110 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $56,069 | 70 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $53,156 | 50 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $52,089 | 150 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $52,048 | 240 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $51,097 | 390 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $50,357 | 640 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $48,395 | 200 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $39,757
- A quarter earn under
- $47,714
- Half earn under
- $55,089
- Three quarters earn under
- $63,190
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $78,164
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators | $48,400 | 1,900 | 0% |
| Printing Press Operators | $47,162 | 9,540 | -20% |
| Etchers and Engravers | $47,541 | 970 | -9.1% |
| Office Machine Operators, Except Computer | $48,266 | 2,680 | -13% |
| Print Binding and Finishing Workers | $46,426 | 900 | -31.3% |
| Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | $60,397 | 1,390 | -20% |