Production
Prepress Technicians
SOC 51-5111
Prepare digital files and plates for commercial printing.
The job
Median pay
$49k
$41k to $59k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Declining
-15% projected
Openings a year
2k
BLS projection
Typical education
Postsecondary cert
Our model
AI displacement risk
Moderate
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
17/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
69th pct
More exposed than 69% of occupations · modeled estimate · 46th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
30/100
Key skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
Pay and jobs by state
BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 2,880 | 1.0 | 6.4× | $49k |
| Texas | 2,320 | 0.2 | 1.1× | $38k |
| California | 2,020 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $54k |
| Wisconsin | 1,160 | 0.4 | 2.6× | $48k |
| Kentucky | 1,130 | 0.6 | 3.7× | $46k |
| New York | 1,110 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $52k |
| Ohio | 1,070 | 0.2 | 1.3× | $48k |
| Pennsylvania | 910 | 0.2 | 1.0× | $49k |
| New Jersey | 880 | 0.2 | 1.3× | $57k |
| Florida | 840 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $46k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 680 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $49k |
| Indiana | 670 | 0.2 | 1.4× | $49k |
| Tennessee | 640 | 0.2 | 1.3× | $48k |
| North Carolina | 600 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $50k |
| Michigan | 540 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $47k |
| Kansas | 520 | 0.4 | 2.4× | $45k |
| Missouri | 510 | 0.2 | 1.1× | $46k |
| Maryland | 480 | 0.2 | 1.1× | $61k |
| Massachusetts | 460 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $57k |
| Connecticut | 430 | 0.3 | 1.6× | $49k |
| Nebraska | 400 | 0.4 | 2.5× | $41k |
| Washington | 380 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $54k |
| Virginia | 330 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $49k |
| Georgia | 320 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $50k |
| Mississippi | 273 | 0.2 | 1.5× | $42k~ |
| Oregon | 230 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $54k |
| Arizona | 210 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $39k |
| Iowa | 210 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $48k |
| Utah | 210 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $44k |
| South Carolina | 200 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $46k |
| Washington DC | 180 | 0.3 | 1.7× | $101k |
| Arkansas | 160 | 0.1 | 0.8× | $53k |
| Colorado | 150 | 0.1 | 0.3× | $52k |
| Alabama | 130 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $35k |
| Nevada | 130 | 0.1 | 0.6× | $56k |
| New Hampshire | 120 | 0.2 | 1.1× | $49k |
| Louisiana | 90 | 0.0 | 0.3× | $38k |
| Oklahoma | 80 | 0.0 | 0.3× | $46k |
| Rhode Island | 77 | 0.2 | 1.0× | $46k~ |
| North Dakota | 67 | 0.2 | 1.0× | $53k~ |
| Delaware | 53 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $41k~ |
| Idaho | 50 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $47k |
| Maine | 50 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $47k |
| South Dakota | 50 | 0.1 | 0.7× | $46k |
| West Virginia | 50 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $35k |
| Montana | 40 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $52k |
| Vermont | 40 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $56k |
| Hawaii | 38 | 0.1 | 0.4× | $50k~ |
| Wyoming | 37 | 0.1 | 0.9× | $61k~ |
| New Mexico | 30 | 0.0 | 0.2× | $40k |
| Alaska | 26 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $57k~ |
Top metro areas
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI2,500 jobs · $49k median
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ1,290 jobs · $55k median
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA1,080 jobs · $51k median
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX900 jobs · $45k median
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX800 jobs · $36k median
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN580 jobs · $50k median
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV490 jobs · $71k median
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD410 jobs · $56k median
Explore the rankings
Explore Prepress Technicians interactively →Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.