14112 Desktop publishing operators and related occupations

What this occupation covers

Desktop publishing operators and workers in related occupations use computers to enter copy into a typesetting system or operate typesetting output equipment to produce text that is ready to print. They are employed by firms that specialize in typesetting, commercial printing companies, publishing and printing companies and various establishments in the public and private sectors that have in-house printing departments.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 5 main duties for this code.

• Operate desktop publishing software and equipment to design, lay out and produce camera-ready copy and may perform pre-flight operator duties
• Mark copy with computer codes and typographic instructions before it is typeset
• Input copy, codes or commands and subsequent corrections into typesetting device or system
• Operate media conversion equipment to process and format copy transmitted through telecommunications
• Operate and tend typesetting output devices, load and process photosensitive material and perform routine maintenance.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 2 of its 5 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 12010 Supervisors, general office and administrative support workers
• 94151 Camera, platemaking and other prepress occupations
• 52111 Graphic arts technicians
• 52120 Graphic designers and illustrators
• 14301 Correspondence, publication and regulatory clerks

Excluded from this code

• Desktop publishing operators supervisor (See 12010 Supervisors, general office and administrative support workers)
• File preparation operator (See 94151 Camera, platemaking and other prepress occupations)
• Graphic arts copy stylist (See 52111 Graphic arts technicians)
• Graphic designers and illustrators (See 52120 Graphic designers and illustrators)
• Paste-up artist (See 52111 Graphic arts technicians)
• Pre-flight operator - printing (See 94151 Camera, platemaking and other prepress occupations)
• Proofreader (See 14301 Correspondence, publication and regulatory clerks)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

ad compositor - typesetting · braille keyboard operator - typesetting · braille stereograph machine operator · cold-composition typographer · cold-typesetting typographer · composing machine operator - typesetting · compositor - typesetting · compositor-typographer · computer photocompositor · computer phototypesetter · computer typesetter · copy cutter · copy marker - typesetting · copy stylist - typesetting · copy typist - typesetting · desktop compositor · desktop publishing (DTP) operator · desktop publishing (DTP) specialist · electronic formatter · electronic letterer operator · electronic photocomposer operator · electronic phototypesetting machine operator · electronic sign maker operator - typesetting · formatter operator - typesetting

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school is required.
• Completion of a college program in graphic arts, or other training in typography, computer typesetting or desktop publishing, is usually required.