Prepress Operator - Direct Mailing/Digital Print

Graphic Trade Printers; Greensboro (NC); On-site; USD 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid time off

Full-time, stable position

Job summary

Graphic Trade Printers is seeking a detail-oriented Prepress & Variable Data Specialist to join our production team. You will prepare customer artwork for digital print production, manage VDP projects, and ensure data is processed accurately for mailing.

Ideal candidates have 2+ years in prepress, experience with VDP or direct mail, and strong skills in Adobe Creative Suite. The role involves collaborating with Client Services and Production to meet quality standards in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of prepress experience in commercial or digital printing.
• Experience preparing files for digital print production.
• Experience with Variable Data Printing (VDP) or direct mail preferred.
• Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite (Acrobat, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop).
• Strong knowledge of PDF files and print-production workflows.

Responsibilities

• Review and prepare artwork for print production.
• Create accurate, print-ready production files.
• Prepare digital proofs for customer review and approval.
• Perform preflight checks (fonts, images, bleeds, color, resolution, page size).
• Make artwork adjustments for production as needed.
• Create and manage Variable Data Printing (VDP) projects.

Skills

Prepress

VDP

Adobe CS

PDF workflows

Data processing

Excel/CSV

Attention to detail

Tools

Adobe Acrobat

Adobe InDesign

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

Job description

Prepress & Variable Data Specialist

Job Summary:

We are seeking an experienced and detail-oriented Prepress & Variable Data Specialist to join our production team.

In this role, you will prepare customer artwork for digital print production, create and manage variable data projects, process mailing data, troubleshoot artwork and file issues, and work closely with Client Services and Production to ensure every job is completed accurately, efficiently, and to our quality standards.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys combining graphic production, printing technology, data processing, and problem-solving in a fast-paced production environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Review and prepare customer-supplied artwork for print production.
• Create accurate, print-ready production files.
• Prepare digital proofs for customer review and approval.
• Perform preflight checks including fonts, images, bleeds, color, resolution, page size, and other production requirements.
• Make necessary artwork adjustments and corrections for production.
• Create and manage Variable Data Printing (VDP) projects.
• Prepare, clean, organize, and process customer data for personalized printing and mailing.
• Merge customer databases with variable print templates.
• Perform mailing-related data processing, including CASS, NCOA, address validation, presorting, and mailing list preparation when required.
• Troubleshoot artwork, PDF, variable data, and production file issues.
• Communicate with Client Services regarding artwork requirements, missing information, file corrections, and creative direction.
• Work closely with digital print and production teams to ensure files are properly prepared for manufacturing.
• Perform quality checks before releasing jobs to production.
• Maintain organized electronic job files and follow established production workflows.
• Support the Operations team in meeting production schedules, client deadlines, quality standards, and team goals.
• Assist with process improvements that increase accuracy, efficiency, and productivity.

Qualifications & Skills:

• 2+ years of prepress experience, preferably in a commercial or digital printing environment.
• Experience preparing files for digital print production.
• Experience with Variable Data Printing (VDP), direct mail, or personalized printing projects preferred.
• Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite, particularly Adobe Acrobat, InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop.
• Strong knowledge of PDF files and print-production workflows.
• Experience processing Excel, CSV, or other customer data files.
• Understanding of bleeds, crop marks, fonts, image resolution, color spaces, and other print-production requirements.
• Experience with mailing software, NCOA, CASS, presorting, USPS mailing preparation, or mailing list processing is a plus.
• Strong computer skills and ability to quickly learn new production software.
• Excellent attention to detail and commitment to quality.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to manage multiple jobs and priorities while meeting production deadlines.
• Comfortable working in a process-driven, deadline-oriented environment.
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate with Client Services, Production, and Operations.
• Dependable, organized, and able to work independently as well as part of a team.

What We’re Looking For:

We’re looking for someone who understands that successful prepress is about more than making a file look right—it must print correctly, process correctly, and move through production efficiently.

The ideal candidate is technically strong, detail-oriented, comfortable working with both artwork and data, and willing to take ownership of projects from file preparation through production.

Candidates with experience in commercial printing, digital printing, direct mail, variable data printing, or print production are strongly encouraged to apply.

Benefits:

• Health, Vision and Dental insurance.
• Paid time off.
• Full-time, stable position.
• Opportunity to work with digital printing, variable data, and production technologies.