Sheets of defined format lengths are printed in a sheet-fed rotary printing press with a plurality of printing units. Each of the printing units includes an impression cylinder and a counter-pressure cylinder. The two cylinders define a printing nip and the printing units are disposed such that a sheet travels through the printing nips in succession. The impression cylinders have a circumference which is no longer, and preferably shorter, than a shortest format length of the sheet. The impression cylinders are disposed such that mutually adjacent printing nips of adjacent printing units are spaced at a distance which is shorter than the shortest format length to be printed. The impression cylinders have a circumferential surface carrying a subject or motif to be printed. The images printed on printing material therefrom have an image spacing between one another. The circumference of the impression cylinder is smaller than the sum of the image length and the length of the image spacing.