Job Description
Job Description: Pre-Press Operator
Primary Purpose:
• Create fast, accurate and visually appealing customer mockups for approval.
• Turn customer briefs, supplied logos and artwork into practical layouts that are suitable for our products.
• Prepare clean, production-ready artwork files using the correct templates, dimensions, bleed, safe areas and print requirements.
• Check supplied artwork for common issues including resolution, colour suitability, missing fonts, file format, alignment and production limitations.
• Support sales, customer service and production by helping jobs move quickly from enquiry to approval and manufacture.
• Balance speed, accuracy and visual quality without over-designing or slowing the process unnecessarily.
• Help reduce rework, approval delays and avoidable production queries.
With us timing matters. We work with fast-moving event, festival, sport, corporate and hospitality customers where deadlines are often tight, changes arrive late, and quality still has to be right first time. This role is not a traditional graphic design position. While a good eye for layout, proportion, colour and brand presentation is essential, the priority is speed, accuracy, consistency and production suitability. The successful candidate will be practical, organised and calm under pressure, with the ability to produce attractive layouts quickly and prepare artwork that can be trusted by production.
Key Responsibilities:
Customer mockups and approval artwork
• Create customer mockups quickly and accurately for a wide range of our products.
• Interpret customer briefs, supplied artwork, logos, brand assets and product requirements.
• Adapt artwork across different product sizes, materials and templates.
• Produce attractive, balanced and commercially appropriate layouts without unnecessary creative exploration.
• Make customer artwork amendments efficiently, especially during peak seasonal demand.
• Support sales and customer service teams with mockups that help customers make confident decisions.
Production-ready files and artwork checking
• Convert approved mockups into clean, accurate and production-ready files.
• Check artwork against product templates, dimensions, safe zones, bleed and production requirements.
• Prepare files for relevant print and finishing methods, working within known product and process constraints.
• Identify artwork risks early and communicate them clearly before they become production issues.
• Maintain clear file naming, version control and artwork storage standards.
• Minimise production queries, delays and rework through strong pre-press discipline.
Process, templates and teamwork
• Maintain and improve artwork templates to support speed, consistency and accuracy.
• Stay current with our product features, materials, print methods and production processes.
• Help standardise repeatable mockup and artwork preparation processes.
• Communicate clearly with sales, customer service, marketing, operations and production teams.
• Ask practical questions when information is missing or unclear.
• Share learning, shortcuts and best practice with colleagues.
• Support the wider team during absence, workload peaks and seasonal pressure.
• Initiate, lead or support improvement activity where artwork or pre-press processes can be made better.
Reporting Relationship
Design Team Lead
â
Pre-Press Operator
Personal Profile
We are looking for someone who is fast, accurate, practical and visually capable without being overly design- led. This role would suit someone who enjoys the practical side of design and print more than long-form creative concept development.
• Detail-focused, but not slow or perfectionist to the point of delay.
• Commercially aware and able to understand when good is good enough for purpose.
• Curious about products, print methods and better ways of working.
• Comfortable with high-volume, repeatable work while maintaining standards.
• Positive, helpful and easy to work with.
What This Role Is — and Is Not
This is a practical artwork and pre-press role focused on mockups, proofing, file preparation and production accuracy. It is not a slow, concept-heavy graphic design role, and it is not a role where every task requires multiple creative routes or long creative exploration. You will be surrounded by a diverse group of enthusiastic, energetic and fun-loving people who work hard but balance this with ample opportunity to enjoy being part of a successful team in industries that foster a naturally social environment. The industries we serve are fast paced, dynamic and challenging at times, so a zest for meeting this head on is imperative. We support each other through leadership, great communication, teamwork and togetherness.
We aspire to be a great place to work and continue to invest in our people, surroundings and activities.
Our Values:
PRIDE
- We care about the business and the business cares about us in equal measure.
- It is important to us that we strive for the highest of standards and take pride in everything we do.
- We take personal pride in what we do, where we work and we want people to feel proud of us.
- We take pride in playing an important part in our amazing community.
- The pride in ourselves and our business creates strength, builds resilience and authenticity in all we do.
BOLD
- We feel motivated by the challenges ahead, and will show tenacity and courage to remove any barriers we may face.
- We are strong and decisive in our decision making, acting quickly to optimise our opportunities.
- Our courage and bravery provide us with confidence to achieve objectives to standards beyond expectations.
- We are measured but fearless in our pursuit of our ambitions.
COMMUNITY
- Our community provides us with a place of belonging, sharing our mutual aims whilst embracing and accepting our differences.
- Working as a team, we serve our community to the best of our ability.
- We encourage community by creating a trusting, fun, welcoming, caring and engaging environment.
- Our community deserves an inclusive environment where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and we do all we can to foster this.
CURIOUS
- Our ability to ask genuine, open questions and actively listen to others is key to our success.
- Innovation, creativity and our ability to quickly adapt and problem solve gives us a commercial advantage and a sense of achievement.
- Learning inspires us to develop ourselves as individuals, together as teams and overall as an organisation.
- We provide a safe environment to try new things and we celebrate pioneering bravery.
ADAPT
- We welcome change and we utilise the qualities within our values to overcome obstacles in our path.
- Taking the initiative, being dynamic and flexible ensures we make our own luck.
- We truly believe and trust in ourselves, we back our talent and pride ourselves on our ability to adjust course quickly.
- We proactively challenge the status quo, keeping us honest and driving positive change.
Requirements
Experience / Core Skills
• Experience in pre-press, studio artwork, artwork setup, print production or a similar practical artwork role.
• Strong working knowledge of Adobe Illustrator, with good working knowledge of InDesign and Photoshop.
• Ability to create clean, accurate and attractive mockups quickly.
• Good understanding of print-ready artwork requirements including bleed, safe areas, resolution, colour and file formats.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to spot artwork problems before they reach production.
• Good visual judgement across layout, spacing, alignment, proportion and brand presentation.
• Comfortable working to templates, technical specifications and repeatable processes.
• Able to balance speed, accuracy and visual quality.
• Calm, organised and reliable under pressure.
• Strong customer focus and team focus.
• Flexible approach during peak seasonal demand, where additional hours may be required at times.
• Experience with branded products, event products, wristbands, passes, badges, lanyards or variable data would be advantageous.
• Knowledge of SAGE, MIS, ERP or order management systems would be advantageous but is not essential.
