| Have you ever had a set of business cards printed, | | | | screen is likely to be what you see in print. A year |
| and then a year later go back to the same exact | | | | later, that same green card is placed under a blue card, |
| printer with the same exact file and your next set of | | | | instead of a more similarly colored green card. This |
| cards are a slightly different color? | | | | time around, that green card may come out with a |
| If you are printing in full color this will most likely occur | | | | slightly bluer shade of green. To take the example |
| every time you go to print. The reason for this is that | | | | further, the third time the same green card is printed it |
| almost all full color printers create what is called a | | | | is placed next to a solid pink card, giving this new run a |
| "gang run." A printing press runs large sheets of paper, | | | | green that is slightly mottled in hue. |
| so instead of running one order of business cards, | | | | Most full color printers have an allowance of up to a |
| which would cost the customer hundreds of dollars, | | | | 5% color shift on any of the 4 colors that make up the |
| printers place 30-40 different business card orders on | | | | printing color spectrum: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and |
| a single sheet of paper. This method significantly | | | | Black. |
| reduces the cost for each customer. | | | | The benefit of full-color printing is that it is inexpensive, |
| The two drawbacks of gang run printing are that the | | | | and you can have as many different colors as you |
| customer has only a few paper stocks to choose | | | | want in your printed materials. If you are very picky |
| from, and the colors may shift! | | | | about the colors on your materials, you will not want to |
| Printers match up the business card colors that are | | | | use a gang-run full-color printer. You will want to either |
| similar in hue and put them together as best they can. | | | | run on a one or two color press using Pantone colors, |
| In one run a predominantly green card is placed under | | | | or find a printer who will print your card only on a solo |
| another green card going to print. When printed, the | | | | run. Just know that the price is going to be significantly |
| green card will print out very consistently with the | | | | higher. |
| colors that are on the file. What you see on the | | | | |
