Reprographic assistant
Reprographic assistants use copiers, scanners and printers to make documents, brochures, leaflets and pictures.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
In your day-to-day duties you may:
- take customer orders
- help prepare designs and layouts for print runs
- work out timescales, costs and the number of copies required
- programme instructions into copying, scanning and printing equipment
- make sure machines have suitable levels of inks, chemicals and toners
- mount printing plates, if working on a press, and line them up correctly
- monitor the progress of the copying run and quality check samples
- finish copied items by trimming, binding or laminating
- perform basic equipment maintenance and cleaning
- record job details and order supplies
Working environment
You could work in an office or in a workshop.
Your working environment may be physically demanding.
You may need to wear protective clothing.
Career path and progression
With experience, you could become a departmental supervisor or production controller.
In a print shop, you could become a shop manager.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
- physical skills like movement, coordination and dexterity
- design skills and knowledge
- ambition and a desire to succeed
- analytical thinking skills
- observation and recording skills
- the ability to work well with your hands
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
How to become
You can get into this job through:
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- applying directly
You could take a college course to learn some of the skills you'll need. Courses include:
- Level 2 Certificate in Reprographics
- Level 2 Award in Graphic Design
Entry requirements
Entry requirements for these courses vary.
More Information
You could start by doing a print operative intermediate or a print technician advanced apprenticeship.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
More Information
You may need some GCSEs to apply directly for jobs, for example maths, English, IT and art and design. Experience in using desktop publishing software will also be helpful.
Further information
You can find out more about careers in reprographics from the British Printing Industries Federation.
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External links
This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.