Prepress Technician

calyxcontainers; West Valley City (UT); On-site; USD 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible PTO

Comprehensive benefits

401(k)

Impactful work

Team events

Job summary

Calyx Containers, a packaging company in Salt Lake City, is seeking a Prepress Technician to bridge customer artwork and our digital press. You will review, preflight, and prepare files, generate proofs, and release clean jobs for press.

You will design automated workflows in CLOUDFLOW and PACKZ to cut manual touches and speed turnaround, while collaborating with customer service, clients, and press operators in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of prepress, digital print, or equivalent experience.
• Proficiency in Adobe CC applications and print fundamentals.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to meet deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Interest in workflow automation and AI-driven tools.

Responsibilities

• Review incoming artwork for print readiness and preflight for issues.
• Build production layouts and impositions for press sheets.
• Generate proofs and manage approvals with clients and account managers.
• Release print-ready files to the digital press and verify first prints.
• Design and maintain automated prepress workflows in CLOUDFLOW.
• Communicate status and support color management and SOP improvements.

Skills

Prepress experience

Adobe Creative Cloud

Attention to detail

Clear communication

Automation mindset

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe InDesign

Acrobat

PACKZ

CLOUDFLOW

Job description

Prepress Technician

Calyx Containers | Salt Lake City, UT | Full-Time, On-Site

Compensation is competitive and we share the full range in the first conversation.

About Calyx

Calyx Containers is a 10-year-old packaging company serving the cannabis industry from Salt Lake City. We design, manufacture, and source compliant packaging - rigid containers, flexible packaging, and labels - through a hybrid model that combines our own domestic digital manufacturing facility with an international sourcing and brokering network. This year we are launching Calyx Command, our new digital quoting and ordering platform, which is transforming how customers get from artwork to delivered product. We are a manufacturing business, a sourcing business, and now a technology-enabled one, and the person who owns the handoff from artwork to press sits right at the center of it.

The Role

The Prepress Technician is the quality gate between customer artwork and the digital press. You review and preflight incoming files, build production-ready layouts, generate and send proofs for approval, and release clean jobs to press. Success means catching problems before they hit the press, keeping many jobs moving on schedule at once, and communicating clearly with customer service, clients, and press operators.

This is also an automation role. We are building the prepress operation of a technology-forward company, and you will design and build workflows in CLOUDFLOW and PACKZ that cut manual touches and speed turnaround. As we roll AI-enabled productivity through every department, the people who lean into automation get bigger jobs, faster - and prepress is one of the richest places in the building to do it.

What You Own

Artwork Review & Preflight

• Review incoming customer artwork for print readiness: resolution, bleed, safe margins, fonts, color mode (CMYK/spot), transparency, and overprint settings.
• Preflight files in Adobe Illustrator, Acrobat, or PACKZ and correct common issues - missing fonts, low-resolution images, incorrect bleeds, RGB elements.
• Flag problem files early and communicate required fixes to customer service or clients in clear, non-technical language.

Layout & Imposition

• Build production layouts and impositions optimized for press sheet size, substrate, and finishing (step-and-repeat, one-up, gang runs, dielines).
• Apply crop marks, bleeds, registration marks, and color bars per press and finishing specifications.
• Adjust files for ink coverage and special layers (white ink, spot varnish) where applicable.

Proofing

• Generate accurate digital (soft) and/or hard proofs for customer approval.
• Send proofs to customers or account managers, track approval status, and follow up on outstanding approvals.
• Incorporate customer revisions accurately and re-proof until final sign-off.

Press Release & Production Support

• Release approved, print-ready files to the digital press queue/RIP with correct job settings (substrate, quantity, color profile, finishing).
• Verify first prints against the approved proof and support press checks as needed.
• Archive final production files and maintain organized job folders per company file-naming standards.

Workflow Automation

• Design, build, and maintain automated prepress workflows in CLOUDFLOW (HYBRID Software) - file intake, automated preflight, corrections, proof generation, approval routing, imposition, and output to press.

General

• Manage multiple jobs at once and prioritize to meet daily production schedules.
• Proactively communicate job status with production, customer service, and press operators.
• Support color management standards and proofing device calibration.
• Follow and help improve prepress SOPs and quality checklists.

Who You Are

• A last line of defense. You catch the error before it reaches the press, and you take pride in the jobs that never became problems.
• Calm under a full queue. You juggle many jobs and shifting priorities without dropping quality or communication.
• A clear communicator. You translate technical file issues into plain language for clients and customer service.
• Automation-minded. You would rather build a workflow that removes ten manual touches than do them faster by hand, and you are genuinely excited to use AI and automation tools to get there.
• Detail-obsessed. Bleed, trim, safety, color, overprint - you see what others miss.

Requirements

Required

• 2+ years of prepress, graphic production, or digital print experience, or equivalent training.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud: Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, and Acrobat.
• Solid grasp of print fundamentals: bleed, trim, safety, resolution, CMYK vs. spot color, overprint, and PDF/X standards.
• Sharp attention to detail - able to catch errors before they reach press.
• Ability to juggle deadlines and shifting priorities in a fast-paced production environment.
• Clear written and verbal communication.
• A process-improvement mindset and genuine interest in workflow automation.

Preferred

• Preflight software (Enfocus PitStop) and digital front ends/RIPs (Fiery, HP SmartStream, Esko, or similar).
• Imposition software (Preps, Phoenix, Imp, or RIP-native tools).
• Basic scripting for workflow automation (JavaScript, XML/JSON) and comfort using AI tools like Claude or ChatGPT in a production workflow.
• Working knowledge of color management (ICC profiles; G7 a plus).
• Familiarity with variable data printing (VDP) workflows.
• Experience in labels, packaging, wide-format, or commercial digital printing.

Why This Role, Why Now

Calyx just turned ten, and we are scaling a domestic digital manufacturing operation while launching the platform that feeds it. Prepress is where artwork becomes product, and we are building it to run faster and cleaner than anyone in our market. You will own that gate and help automate it.

Calyx Containers LLC is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or any other protected status.

MORE ABOUT US:

Our team is composed of bright, hardworking, creative, and highly motivated individuals looking to make an impact on the world. We seek like-minded colleagues who share our values and want to apply their experience, energy, and enthusiasm to help grow and scale a dynamic business in a rapidly expanding industry. The Calyx Containers culture fosters the personal and professional growth in a challenging and rewarding environment. We operate at a fast pace, demand high personal standards, and offer everyone the opportunity to contribute, skill-build, and develop their talents.

Benefits and Perks offered to full time employees:

• Flexible Paid Time Off
• Comprehensive benefits offerings including: Medical (with company-funded HRA), Dental, Vision, Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance, Life Insurance, Headspace Care Mental Health support...all effective the first day of the month following hire.
• 401(k)
• Ability to make an immediate impact
• Monthly team meetings and frequent social events

An ideal Calyx candidate looks like:

• Has experience in the cannabis and/or packaging industry
• Thrives in a fast-paced environment
• Handles ambiguity with a positive attitude
• Rolls up their sleeves to help their team

How success is measured at Calyx:

• First 30 days spent getting to know the company and our team!
• Ability to make an immediate impact - we’re growing quickly and want you to help cultivate that!
• Living our core values:

Living our core values:

• X-treme Ownership
• Be Quick, But Don’t Hurry
• Sustainability Is Multi-Dimensional
• We Are Square: Quality Does Not Cut Corners
• Customer Is The Only Boss
• Earn Success Every Day
• The Biggest Failure Is The Failure To Ask For Help
• Better Together: Cultivate An Inclusive Environment

Calyx Containers is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe strongly in fair hiring practices and in creating a welcoming environment for all team members. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. Diversity drives innovation; inclusion drives success. We believe a multitude of approaches and ideas enable us to deliver the best results for our workforce, workplace, and customers. We are committed to fostering a culture where all employees can share their passions and ideas so we can tackle the toughest challenges in our industry and pave new paths to limitless possibilities.

Calyx is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment and activities. To request reasonable accommodation, please contact [e-mail]. (Please note that applications should not be emailed to this address).