The volume of 4-color (CMYK) offset printing has dramatically increased with the advent of digital file preparation. Large printing plants have been established to run similar jobs from different customers together; this is called a gang run. Direct-to-plate imaging eliminates the need for film negatives, the time and volume of waste required to produce and store them.
The net advantage of gang run printing is reduced cost - sometimes saving more than 50 percent when compared to a custom printed job. Tradeoffs may include limited paper and bindery options or less precise color matching (because of sharing the sheet with other jobs). Generally, the goal is to provide reasonably pleasing color over the entire sheet being printed. Slight color shifts are generally expected on reprints. When color matching is a concern, request proofs to sign and ship back before actual print run begins.
CMYK photos (300 ppi) composed in page layout applications, then saved as PDF are used for gang runs. It is recommended that photographs compensate for 25% press gain with minimal black within skin tones, grayscale component reduction (GRC), and no more than 300% total CMYK ink coverage in any area. All PDFs are run through preflight software which generates another PDF before output. Customers can, for a nominal fee request to approve this final PDF.
Reactive Imaging can provide a quote for gang run small-format offset printing that uses stochastic screens with an apparent output resolution of 450 lpi that looks almost like a continuous tone photograph. Our combination of papers and printing provide the best quality and price for valued customers. For an additional fee, a hard-copy contract proof can be requested, though this increases turnaround time.