Gang-run printing describes a printing method in which multiple printing projects are placed on a common paper sheet in an effort to reduce printing costs and paper waste.[1][2][3] Gang runs are generally used with sheet-fed printing presses and CMYK process color jobs, which require four separate plates that are loaded into the press. It takes up to 250 sheets for a "make ready," which is the process of getting the plates inked up and the ink levels set correctly.
Printers use the term "gang run" or "gang" to describe the practice of placing many print projects on the same sheet or piggybacking a project on a vacant, unused portion of a print sheet. Sheet-fed presses are generally "full sheet" (28" x 40"), "half sheet" (28" x 19"), or "quarter sheet" (13" x 19"). In offset printing, the first sheet costs more than the next 1,000. Gang-run printing allows multiple jobs to share the setup cost. For example, a 28" x 40" sheet can hold 9 4" x 6" at 5,000 or 18 2,500 postcards (each card takes 4.25" x 6.25" on the sheet to accommodate full bleed. Gang-run printing has been one of the driving forces in the large drop in the price for full-color printing.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns to be aware of the potential of foreign packages, which may come from gang printing at the package supplier. Pharmaceutical labels and packaging materials are higher in cost primarily as a result of the additional costs in manufacturing due to segregation, traceability, and security requirements. You cannot gang run pharmaceutical labels that require strict line clearance between label kinds, unless the labeling from gang-printed sheets is adequately differentiated by size, shape, or color (21 CFR Part 211.122f).[4]