drukgangen

Drukgangen is a Dutch term used in printing and publishing to denote a complete cycle of impressions produced by a printing press for a single job. In practice, a drukgang refers to one pass of the press that applies a set of color layers or a finishing step. A multi-color job may require several drukgangen, one for each color or for different finishes, such as varnish or coating. The total number of gangen depends on the printing process, the color model, and the required quality.

During production, the press goes through a make-ready phase to prepare for printing, proofs are checked, and color balance is adjusted. Each subsequent drukgang is inspected for registration, ink density, and image quality. The term is primarily used in Dutch-speaking regions, including the Netherlands and Flanders, and is roughly equivalent to “print run” or “impression run” in English.

Historically, the concept reflected the practical realities of manual and early mechanical presses, where distinct passes were needed to apply different inks and finishes. In modern offset and digital printing, the idea persists, though the number of drukken gangen may be fewer due to streamlined workflows and multi-color processes that combine several steps into fewer passes. Drukgangen remains a useful way to describe the structure of a printing job and the sequence of its production stages.