Prepress Technician

About the role

The Prepress Technician is the quality gate between customer artwork and the digital press. You review and preflight incoming files, build production-ready layouts, generate and send proofs for approval, and release clean jobs to press.

Responsibilities

• Review and preflight incoming customer artwork for print readiness: resolution, bleed, safe margins, fonts, color mode (CMYK/spot), transparency, and overprint settings.
• Preflight files in Adobe Illustrator, Acrobat, or PACKZ and correct common issues - missing fonts, low-resolution images, incorrect bleeds, RGB elements. Flag problem files early and communicate required fixes to customer service or clients in clear, non-technical language.
• Build production layouts and impositions optimized for press sheet size, substrate, and finishing (step-and-repeat, one-up, gang runs, dielines). Apply crop marks, bleeds, registration marks, and color bars per press and finishing specifications.
• Adjust files for ink coverage and special layers (white ink, spot varnish) where applicable.
• Generate accurate digital (soft) and/or hard proofs for customer approval. Send proofs to customers or account managers, track approval status, and follow up on outstanding approvals. Incorporate customer revisions accurately and re-proof until final sign-off.
• Release approved, print-ready files to the digital press queue/RIP with correct job settings (substrate, quantity, color profile, finishing). Verify first prints against the approved proof and support press checks as needed.
• Archive final production files and maintain organized job folders per company file-naming standards.
• Design, build, and maintain automated prepress workflows in CLOUDFLOW (HYBRID Software) - file intake, automated preflight, corrections, proof generation, approval routing, imposition, and output to press.
• Manage multiple jobs at once and prioritize to meet daily production schedules. Proactively communicate job status with production, customer service, and press operators.
• Support color management standards and proofing device calibration. Follow and help improve prepress SOPs and quality checklists.

Requirements

• 2+ years of prepress, graphic production, or digital print experience, or equivalent training.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud: Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, and Acrobat.
• Solid grasp of print fundamentals: bleed, trim, safety, resolution, CMYK vs. spot color, overprint, and PDF/X standards.
• Sharp attention to detail - able to catch errors before they reach press.
• Able to juggle deadlines and shifting priorities in a fast-paced production environment.
• Clear written and verbal communication.
• A process-improvement mindset and genuine interest in workflow automation.

Preferred

• Preflight software (Enfocus PitStop) and digital front ends/RIPs (Fiery, HP SmartStream, Esko, or similar).
• Imposition software (Preps, Phoenix, Imp, or RIP-native tools).
• Basic scripting for workflow automation (JavaScript, XML/JSON) and comfort using AI tools like Claude or ChatGPT in a production workflow.
• Working knowledge of color management (ICC profiles; G7 a plus).
• Familiarity with variable data printing (VDP) workflows.
• Experience in labels, packaging, wide-format, or commercial digital printing.