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Reprographic assistant

Reprographic assistants use copiers, scanners and printers to make documents, brochures, leaflets and pictures.

Annual Salary

£17,000 to £25,000

Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

39 to 41 a week

You could work: between 8am and 6pm;

0.3%
Future employment

There will be 0.3% more Reprographic assistant jobs in 2027.

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 may need to wear protective clothing.

You could work in an office or in a workshop.

Your working environment may be physically demanding.

You can get into this job through:

  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • applying directly
College

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

Apprenticeship

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
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • guide to apprenticeships|https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide
Direct application

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.

More information

Further information

You can find out more about careers in reprographics from the British Printing Industries Federation.

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With experience, you could become a departmental supervisor or production controller.

In a print shop, you could become a shop manager.

You can find out more about careers in reprographics from the British Printing Industries Federation.

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

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, dexterity and grace
  • 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
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