Gang run printing.
Economical? Yes. Quality? Not so much.
 When printing items (that have the same parameters such as color, tonality, stock requirements) they can be printed on the press at the same time, on the same sheet. The individual items can then be cut out as required. While economical, this also leads to some color issues (some items on the gang run may be heavy on a certain color, contaminating the color of the item directly after it on the press). It is also how discount printing houses can offer such low pricing on business cards, etc. In the cases of these discount printers (most of the printers that you'll find online), they use four colour process to print ALL their material, thus negating most of the carefull colour matching that your designer will have done if using 'spot colours' and/or the Pantone Matching System.
Gang printing - what to expect.
If your printer is using a 'gang run' - grouping your job with a number of other pieces on a large sheet - expect varying colors from run to run. This type of printing is designed to be cheap, not precise, and you're not paying for exacting color standards. Be realistic in your expectations. This is particularly true of discount printers you'll find online. If they require that you supply artwork in Pixel based formats (.tif, .jpg, etc) you can be assured that this is how your project is being handled. It is not recommended for anything other than 'quick and dirty' printing, but if pricing is your major concern, these services provide an adequate alternative to high quality printers.
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