Image of opportunity

By VIKKI BLAND

Forget international spies and undercover agents - last month the CIA was advertising for digital imaging technicians.

At salaries of up to $125,000 the CIA wanted people with a high school diploma, printing apprentice certification, capability in scanning and digital archiving; and the ability to operate black-and-white and colour digital equipment.

Successful applicants were to work in Washington DC and help to publish print and multimedia publications for the CIA's intelligence production and dissemination group.

Printer vendors everywhere will be delighted that even the security-mad CIA has to print. But as a career, what is digital imaging all about?

Briefly, it describes the use and processing of digital images for a variety of media. Think magazines, movies, DVDs and video; brochures, billboards, books and newspapers.

Images are produced to look as the customer wants them to look; which in turn depends on how the image is captured, the skills and equipment used, the printing process, and the media the image ends up on.

Digital imaging careers exist in all areas of this process, and in printing, opportunities are increasing thanks to advances in high-end digital printers which rival the quality produced by traditional offset print presses.

People skilled in operating digital print systems can expect good money and even travel - last week, a US website listed a position for an Indigo press operator in Malta (the Indigo Press is a high-end Hewlett Packard digital printer able to produce 4000 four-colour A4 images per hour) and just one New Zealand job site listed five high-end digital printing positions at salaries up to $75,000.

Away from image output, image preparation and enhancement tends to attract artistic types who long to work in film or advertising. However, pre-press and production employers say math, science and IT skills are as important as creative software skills and new entrants are expected to learn on the job.

"You can only understand the intricacies of digital imaging from practical experience," says Debbie Curle, colour management operator for New Zealand production house PMP Digital.

Curle, who initially completed an apprenticeship in photolithography, has worked in the image production industry for 15 years and says modern digital imaging is interesting and rewarding. Her work involves liaising with scanning departments to consider the kind of document a client wants an image inserted into, then retouching and colour-matching the image for output.

PMP Digital also employs eight IT technical staff including printer specialists to calibrate its high-end Epson printers so image output is close to that of commercial printing presses.

Don Hayes, operations manager for PMP Digital, says the industry is time-focused and customer driven, causing employers to seek staff with experience - the average age of PMP Digital employees is 35. Inexperienced candidates looking to get a foot in the door may have to work free.

"We've had very positive experiences from letting people do that, and have hired some of them," says Hayes.

He says while employers know the pool of senior specialists is finite, new entrants often lack the right attitude.

"They perceive the industry as glamorous, then get disillusioned if the jobs are routine; so when we take them we look for the right attitude above all else."

PMP New Zealand turns over revenue of $108 million and Hayes says salaries range from $30,000 for a year's experience to around $60,000 for pre-media production specialists.

"Advertising agencies pay more, but there's more job security in the production environment," he says.

What you should know about digital imaging

* Employers value secondary school qualifications in English, maths, science and art

* Computer skills are a definite advantage

* Though well-targeted tertiary qualifications are a bonus, they are not necessary. Interest and enthusiasm is more prized and employers will train promising school leavers

* The work is skilled and satisfying, but not necessarily glamorous, and can be mentally tiring

* Patience, attention to detail, and the ability to think methodically and logically are important

Skills learned on the job

* Digital image capture and image preparation

* Digital pre-press, DVD, video and film processing

* Media and presentation graphics production

* Colour print inspection

* Photographic laboratory processing

* Custom copy and custom colour printing

* Digital printing system operation, possibly including offset lithographic printing press systems

* Quality control procedures for monitoring image production, processing, and printing

Typical digital imaging employers

* Commercial printing plants

* Prepress and colour trade shops

* In-plant printing departments

* Book, newspaper, and magazine publishers

* Advertising houses

* Imaging production houses

* Custom or commercial photographic labs

* In-house industrial photographic labs

* Industry training or media departments

* Schools or universities