Graphic technician

As a graphic technician you are responsible for getting printed and digital products out into the world. You prepare files operate printing and production machinery and ensure books packaging signs posters and much more are manufactured in the right quality. You become the link between a finished design and the physical product people can hold in their hands.

You prepare material for printing, set up the machines, monitor colors and quality, and run the production. You post-process the finished print — cutting, creasing, or binding — and check that the result meets what the customer ordered. It's technical work where precision and color sense matter a lot.

• 01You learn to prepare and check files for production.
• 02You learn to operate and adjust printing and production machines.
• 03You learn about paper, materials, colors, and printing technique.
• 04You learn to post-process and finish products.
• 05You learn to ensure quality throughout production.
• 06You learn to work efficiently and meet delivery deadlines.

You start with a basic course at a vocational school and then find an apprenticeship at a printing house or graphics company. You get apprentice wages along the way, and the education alternates between school stays and practice so you learn both the technique and the daily production routine.

With the journeyman's certificate you can work in print shops and graphics companies with printing packaging signs and digital production. With experience you can become operator on advanced equipment production manager or specialise in a particular print area and you can build on with professional further training.

“A design lives on a screen — but it is the graphic technician who makes it into something you can hold in your hand.”