A printing machine includes a printing cylinder that is fitted with plates for printing the width of N pages. A web of material is printed and is then cut longitudinally, by an elongate cutting device, into printed webs. The number N of pages is a whole number that is divisible by three and the total width of N pages is less than the width of the printing cylinder. A width of N+1 pages is greater than the width of the printing cylinder. The elongate cutting device can be arranged, on one boundary, between a K.sup.th and a K.sup.th+1 page, wherein k is one third or two thirds of N. At least one of the resulting partial webs is guided through a former. The former is oriented so that the direction of travel of the web entering the former is transverse to the direction of web travel in the elongated cutting device. The former has a width that is equal to, or greater than two thirds of the width of the printing cylinder, but is less than the entire width of the printing cylinder.