Gang form
A collective form is a printing form that includes different print jobs, usually of a similar edition .
A prerequisite for using a gang form is identical printing paper and the same or similar use of printing inks ( four-color printing with and without spot colors , single-color printing with and without spot colors, etc.). For example, in a gang form in four-color printing plus spot color, other jobs can also be produced that do not contain the special color.
For example, 36 cards in postcard format DIN A6 (10.5 cm × 14.8 cm) can be printed in one print run on a printing machine in 3b format (sheet size max. 102 cm × 72 cm) with optimum use. If several customers have now ordered cards with a similar print run and colored motif, their orders can be printed together in one printing form, which is more efficient than producing them individually, possibly on a smaller printing machine.
Collective forms are therefore used for economic reasons (e.g. saving on printing plates, reducing set-up times), because they can be used to print different jobs of a similar type more quickly and more cheaply. They are mainly used by Internet printing companies that specialize in standard products (letterhead, business cards, flyers in DIN formats), where the paper and formats are recurring and can therefore be planned more easily. There are now MIS and imposition systems specializing in gang forms .
Disadvantages of a gang form for the customer is the customer-specific color scheme, which is almost impossible to influence.
Collective proof
It is also referred to as collective form or collective proof (see proof ) when the image motifs of one or more printed matter ( e.g. a book, illustrated book, etc.) are output together on a large-format proof printer for the purpose of color testing and optimal substrate utilization in prepress become. Compared to a later edition together with any text parts, material and proof printer time are saved here.