Whether you're working in IT, mechanics, or as a service technician, it's important to be able to communicate effectively with clients and customers. Check out these tips to strengthen your communication skills.

Learn to communicate more effectively with clients.

Watch clips from "How It's Made" to see how objects like artificial limbs, nails, footballs, mustard, and more are made. Choose a few to watch--which one surprised you most?

Watch how the objects all around us are made.

Check out this video series about different kinds of printmaking from Khan Academy. Which type seems most interesting to you?

Watch videos about printmaking.

Prepress Technicians and Workers

Format and proof text and images submitted by designers and clients into finished pages that can be printed. Includes digital and photo typesetting. May produce printing plates.

Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Realistic

Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Conventional

Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Enterprising

Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Artistic

Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Investigative

Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Social

Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed

Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Managing one's own time and the time of others.

Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Printing Workers

Production Occupations

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.

Maintain, adjust, and clean equipment, and perform minor repairs.

Operate presses to print proofs of plates, monitoring printing quality to ensure that it is adequate.

Select proper types of plates according to press run lengths.

Examine finished plates to detect flaws, verify conformity with master plates, and measure dot sizes and centers, using light boxes and microscopes.

Prepress Technicians and Workers

Overview

Career

What Prepress Technicians and Workers Do

Other Job Titles Prepress Technicians and Workers May Have

Tasks & Responsibilities May Include

Prepress Technicians and Workers

Overview

Career

What Prepress Technicians and Workers Do

Other Job Titles Prepress Technicians and Workers May Have

Tasks & Responsibilities May Include

Education

Level of Education Attained by Prepress Technicians and Workers

Majors Related to Career

Related Careers

Related Leaders