How to become a pre-press trades worker
Official title: Pre-press trades worker
Also called: Braille machine operator (plate preparer), Casting machine operator (printing type), Composing machine operator (linotype), Compositor, Electrotype caster, Electrotype moulder, Electrotyper, Elrod casting machine operator (printing), Engraving pantograph operator, Imposer (printing), Intertype operator, Linotype operator
Pre-press trades worker proofs, formats, sets and composes text and graphics into a form suitable for use in various printing processes and representation in other visual media.
Main tasks
- Operating graphic cameras and other photographic equipment to reproduce camera-ready copy onto films, plates and digital output devices
- Using computer applications to generate images, text, layouts and impositions for print and other visual media displays
- Operating plate making equipment to reproduce images from film to printing plates, digital output devices and presses
- Operating computer screen-based equipment for scanning, colour separation, colour correction, masking, creative design, combining, imposing, retouching, and other processes used to transfer copy to film and produce film for plate, digital output and cylinder productions
- Carrying out digital and chemical proofing from digital systems, and negative and positive films
- Evaluating printed proofs, checking and correcting them for quality
- Preparing and exposing carbon tissue for laying on cylinders by transfer method, and developing images
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: $42,816 a year. The middle half earn $37,416 to $47,604 a year.
- Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.
Related jobs
Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz
Questions people ask
How much does a pre-press trades worker earn in Singapore?
Median full-time pay is $42,816 a year (Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg)). The middle half earn $37,416 to $47,604.
Will AI change the work of a pre-press trades worker?
Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg): Resident Occupational Wages (Occupational Wage Survey) (June 2024 (data.gov.sg update 2026-04-01)), Singapore Open Data Licence v1.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026