Camera, platemaking and other prepress occupations

Also called: Platemaking etcher, Prepress technician, Process camera operator, Camera operator - printing, Gravure printer - prepress, Graphic arts camera operator, Electrostatic camera operator, Camera operator - graphic arts, Electronic prepress technician, Step and repeat camera operator, Clamper - camera and platemaking, Colour separation camera operator

Camera and platemaking workers 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.

Main tasks

• Graphic arts camera operators, scanner operators, film strippers and assemblers
• 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
• 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
• 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
• Etchers and engravers
• Examine the text, design, or pattern to determine how it will be etched or engraved onto the workpiece
• Prepare surface of workpiece for etching or engraving by cleaning, polishing, treating, and applying additional methods
• Etch or engrave the text, design or pattern onto the workpiece using hand tools, etching machines, photogravure or laser processes

How to become one

Completion of secondary school is required. Completion of a college program in graphic arts technology or a combination of on-the-job training and specialized college, industry or other courses may be required. Trade certification for some occupations in this group is available, but voluntary, in Ontario, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

See the full NOC 2021 profile

Pay · Outlook

• Median pay: $50,408 a year

Related jobs

• Plateless printing equipment operators
• Binding and finishing machine operators
• Photographic and film processors

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Sources

• Statistics Canada: Census 2021: employment by occupation, gender and education (98-10-0449) (2021 Census), Statistics Canada Open Licence, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Statistics Canada: National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 (Version 1.0), Open Government Licence - Canada, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Employment and Social Development Canada (Job Bank): Wages by occupation (2025 (revised 2025-11-19)), Open Government Licence - Canada, retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03