Prepress Technicians and Workers Salary
Production Occupations · 24K employed in the U.S.
Median annual
$48,690
Median hourly
$23
Average annual
$50,800
Typical range
$35,810–$66,080
Pay distribution
10th to 90th percentile, with the median marked.
What this role pays
The median annual salary for Prepress Technicians and Workers is $48,690 as of May 2025, based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. That works out to about $23 an hour at a full-time schedule.
Format and proof text and images submitted by designers and clients into finished pages that can be printed. Includes digital and photo typesetting.
Most earn between $35,810 and $66,080 a year. There are roughly 24K people employed as prepress technicians and workers in the United States. Use the state and metro pages below to see how pay changes by location, and the calculator to convert any hourly or annual figure.
Salary calculator
Convert your pay and see where it lands for Prepress Technicians and Workers.
- Hourly
- $23.41
- Daily
- $187
- Weekly
- $936
- Bi-weekly
- $1,873
- Monthly
- $4,058
- Annual
- $48,690
$48,690 a year is around the 50th percentile for Prepress Technicians and Workerss. The median is $48,690.
Highest-paying states
Median annual wage by state.
- 1District of Columbia$100,980
- 2Maryland$60,770
- 3Massachusetts$57,250
- 4New Jersey$56,840
- 5Vermont$55,880
- 6Nevada$55,680
- 7Oregon$54,360
- 8California$53,860
- 9Washington$53,770
- 10Arkansas$52,800
- 11New York$52,420
- 12Montana$51,910
Top-paying metro areas
Median annual wage by metro area.
- 1Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$70,670
- 2San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$66,670
- 3San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$59,970
- 4Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR$59,540
- 5Oshkosh-Neenah, WI$58,430
- 6Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$58,360
- 7Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR$58,200
- 8Durham-Chapel Hill, NC$57,850
- 9Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD$56,930
- 10Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC$56,850
- 11Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA$56,850
- 12Reno, NV$56,740
Related job titles
Employers advertise Prepress Technicians and Workers roles under these titles.
- Ad Compositor
- Ad Setter
- Advertisement Compositor
- Advertising Layout Worker
- Blueprint Blocker
- Blueprint Cutter
- Blueprint Developer
- Blueprint Duplicator
- Blueprint Machine Operator
- Blueprint Maker
- Blueprint Processor
- Blueprint Reproducer
- Blueprinter
- Blueprinting Machine Operator
- Cold Type Artist
- Color Separation Photographer
Related occupations
- Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators$40,610
- Printing Press Operators$45,780
- Etchers and Engravers$43,310
- Office Machine Operators, Except Computer$40,960
- Print Binding and Finishing Workers$42,290
- Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic$58,000
- Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$52,800
- Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$47,720
What a Prepress Technicians and Workers does
- Generate prepress proofs in digital or other format to approximate the appearance of the final printed piece.
- Proofread and perform quality control of text and images.
- Perform "preflight" check of required font, graphic, text and image files to ensure completeness prior to delivery to printer.
- Operate and maintain laser plate-making equipment that converts electronic data to plates without the use of film.
- Maintain, adjust, and clean equipment, and perform minor repairs.
- Enter, position, and alter text size, using computers, to make up and arrange pages so that printed materials can be produced.
- Enter, store, and retrieve information on computer-aided equipment.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a Prepress Technicians and Workers make?
- The median annual wage for Prepress Technicians and Workers is $48,690 ($23 per hour). Pay ranges from about $35,810 at the 10th percentile to $66,080 at the 90th percentile.
- What is the average salary for a Prepress Technicians and Workers?
- The average (mean) annual salary is $50,800, which is higher than the median because a small number of high earners pull the average up.
- Which state pays Prepress Technicians and Workerss the most?
- District of Columbia has the highest median annual wage for this occupation at $100,980.
- Is Prepress Technicians and Workers a growing occupation?
- BLS employment data for May 2025 counts about 24K people in this occupation. Projected growth is published separately in the BLS Employment Projections program.
- What does a Prepress Technicians and Workers do?
- Generate prepress proofs in digital or other format to approximate the appearance of the final printed piece.; Proofread and perform quality control of text and images.; Perform "preflight" check of required font, graphic, text and image files to ensure completeness prior to delivery to printer..