imagesetter
Imagesetters process images and graphic templates by using phototypesetting machines. They optimise the templates for the best possible result by determining the right arrangement of text and image on the print sheet. The product is then set onto photo paper or film.
imagesetter imagesetters process images and graphic templates by using phototypesetting machines. They optimise the templates for the best possible result by determining the right arrangement of text and image on the print sheet. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include typography, reprography, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, printing techniques.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £27,497 a year for Pre-press technicians (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 5421). ONS publishes this estimate without a precision measure. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Craft and related trades workers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only imagesetter, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 7. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Computers and Electronics
- English Language
- Design
- Mathematics
- Production and Processing
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administrative
- Communications and Media
What you'd actually 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.
- Enter, position, and alter text size, using computers, to make up and arrange pages so that printed materials can be produced.
- 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.
- Enter, store, and retrieve information on computer-aided equipment.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does imagesetter do?
Imagesetters process images and graphic templates by using phototypesetting machines. They optimise the templates for the best possible result by determining the right arrangement of text and image on the print sheet. The product is then set onto photo paper or film.
What skills does imagesetter need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include typography, reprography, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, printing techniques, GIMP (graphics editor software). These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace imagesetter?
Our AI-durability model gives imagesetter a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.