Prepress Production, A.A.S.

Prepress Production involves the overlooked but ever-so-important area of prepress. This profession most often works between the graphic design and the printing departments. Prepress professionals must have a good sense of graphic design but also know how to prepare a printed piece to ensure the highest quality of reproduction while keeping production costs to a minimum. Members of the prepress community are often requested to repair and “tweak” files from designers that might otherwise result in an inferior product once on the printing press. This task is often referred to as “preflight.” As a result, the prepress professional is expected to have a full understanding of the printing process while knowing all the major graphics software packages used in the graphic design and publishing professions.