Gang runs are a well-known print industry practice in which jobs from multiple customers are run on the same sheet in a single press run. The purpose and appeal of gang runs is that they reduce production costs by sharing the costs of press setup and materials across several jobs. It can be an efficient production method for brochures, flyers, postcards, rack cards, door hangers and similar common items.
So what are you and your clients getting when you buy based on price alone, and what are you giving up?
How Gang Runs Work and Where They Typically Fall Short
A typical gang run saves money by running several client jobs on a single sheet and eliminating client interaction and communication. Savings can be considerable when compared to a custom printed job.
Yet end users voice many common frustrations with price-driven gang run print providers.
❌ It’s nearly impossible to achieve color consistency from one run to the next.
❌ There is usually no personal communication. Clients work with web portals, ticket numbers and automated email or chatbot responses. It can take days to get human help with a question or problem. For print service providers with anxious clients on the phone, this can be the kiss of death for those accounts.
❌ Gang runs rely on rigid print templates and sizes with little flexibility.
❌ The client bears all the risk. Terms and conditions are often buried in hard-to-interpret pages of legalese. When problems arise, the only fix is typically to reprint the job at the client’s expense.
The WTP Approach - Gang Run Pricing + Custom Job Standards
We do a few key things to mitigate many of the risks of gang run printing.
✅ As a G7® certified print facility, Western Trade Printing delivers the same printing standards on gang run jobs as we do on custom work. Clients get color consistency from job to job across all substrates and printing methods. They won’t ever have to hear the “well, it’s a gang run” excuse.
✅ WTP clients get proactive communication. All our clients, including gang run clients, get a dedicated rep who keeps them informed and responds to questions. We use a web portal for efficiency and for fast quoting. Yet there is always a person available to help.
✅ We offer a partnership-focused satisfaction guarantee. Our resolution process always prioritizes fixing a problem. We don’t hide behind pages of legal excuses to weasel out of responsibility. On the rare occasion a job is not satisfactory, we focus first on getting it done correctly, second on finding out what or who caused the issue, and third, on reaching a mutually satisfactory conclusion as partners.
✅ WTP is competitive on shipping costs. For longer run, skid-packed LTL shipments, WTP’s shipping costs matches or beats the lowest price gang-run printers. Our 4-Point WTP! Shipping Checklist means that shipments arrive in one piece. All shipments are blind, showing only the client’s name. We only work with top-rated shipping companies to prevent damage, errors, and late deliveries. We routinely talk with them to identify other potential areas of concern that the shipping industry is facing today. Low-price print providers typically don’t provide anywhere near this level of service.
Honest Trade-Offs of Gang Runs - What We Don't Do
One of the things we don’t sacrifice in our gang run printing are thorough pre-press checks and overall quality control procedures inherent in G7® printing. High quality takes a bit of extra time. We don’t cut corners in gang runs to hit tight deadlines. This means slightly longer gang run turnaround time at WTP than at the fastest price-driven print shops.
Paper and Finishing Options with Gang Runs at WTP
Gang run orders at WTP are limited to select sheets and finishing options:
● 14 pt C2S with Satin AQ for cards (postcards, rack cards, club cards, door hangers) in popular standard sizes
● 100# C2S text with Satin AQ for brochures, newsletters, flyers in popular standard sizes
It’s important to note that when clients have tight deadlines or need options not available with gang runs, they can always submit them as custom jobs so that we can meet their schedule or other production needs. (Clients can get custom quotes by emailing estimates@wtprints.com.)
The table below gives you a comparison of gang run production at WTP versus some of the popular “big box” print providers.
Printing Services Comparison ← Scroll horizontally to see all columns →
| Feature / Factor | Western Trade Printing | Printer 1
Full Service | Printer 2
Digital and Offset | Printer 3
Lowest Price Printer |
|---|
| Quality & Consistency | ✅ Same G7 quality as custom jobs with consistent color across runs | ⚠️ Color consistency varies and often depends on prepress setup | ⚠️ Color varies and often less predictable than Printer 1 | ⚠️ Variable, unpredictable color consistency |
| Service & Communication | ✅ Dedicated rep with proactive personal communication plus simple satisfaction guarantee | ⚠️ Non-responsive and very limited personal support, mostly automated | ⚠️ Mostly digital support with little or no proactive personal service | ⚠️ Minimal communication that's only reactive and transactional |
| Pricing | ✅ Competitive especially on larger skid packed/LTL runs | ✅ Low to mid-range pricing | ✅ Low to mid-range pricing | ✅ Goal is to be the cheapest provider |
| Paper & Finishing Options | ⚠️ Fewer options than custom jobs | ✅ Wide variety but limited to pre-set stock | ✅ Moderate variety of pre-set stock | ⚠️ Extremely limited with very few options |
| Turn Times | ⚠️ Slightly longer than "big box" gang runs | ✅ Fast and highly automated | ✅ Fast and highly automated | ✅ Fastest of all with extremely rigid schedules |
| Flexibility & Customization | ✅ Can adjust within constraints and uses flexible partner approach | ⚠️ Rigid gang-run mindset, all jobs must fit their pre-set templates | ⚠️ Rigid gang-run mindset, all jobs must fit their pre-set templates | ⚠️ Extremely rigid with corner-cutting to be expected |
| Risk / Guarantee | ✅ Simple satisfaction guarantee and focus on fixing problems first | ⚠️ Heavily terms-driven and difficult to resolve issues without red tape | ⚠️ Heavily terms-driven and problem resolution can be slow | ⚠️ Minimal support and customer bears most risk |
Who Benefits from a WTP Gang Run?
Print service providers, brokers, agencies and publishers who get inconsistent quality from budget print providers, or who have lost clients as a result, can benefit from WTP’s gang run process.
If you’re producing brand-sensitive work in which color accuracy matters along with competitive pricing, WTP can be a reliable source.
If you’re doing skid-packed LTL jobs, WTP is a competitive alternative in print pricing and shipping costs.
If you value the benefits of relationships in business and don’t like being reduced to a transactional number in a faceless portal, WTP’s partner-focused approach is for you.
The Bottom Line on Gang Runs
The purchasing decision should always be one in which price is but part of the equation. The real question isn't "How cheap can I get it?" but "What's the true cost of inconsistency, poor communication, and high risk?"
WTP occupies a middle ground in which clients get gang-run pricing without sacrificing quality or personal service. Yes, the gang run model always requires some sacrifices in paper options and speed. And unlike the big-box shops, we maintain a partnership approach that guarantees problems are solved collaboratively, not buried in terms and conditions.
To get an instant quote, create or log in to your WTP account here.
If you need a custom quote outside of the standard quotes, please email estimates@wtprints.com for a fast response.
