Rollers should be cleaned thoroughly with a roller wash especially at the end of every day's work. This will prolong the life of the roller and minimise the hardening effect.
Clean the rollers frequently before the ink starts to dry. An accumulation of dried ink film will cause Glazing.
Constant use of the automatic wash-up tends to neglect the ink which accumulates and dries on the roller edges, in time this dried ink will flake off into the press, causing "hickies". Heavy rings of dried ink are liable to break off during printing with disastrous results to work, rollers and inking mechanism. To prevent this build up of dried ink, the roller shoulders should be thoroughly cleaned by hand at least once in a week.
Rollers should never be left for long periods in contact because "flats" can form on soft rollers. Moreover if wash-up has not been completely cleaned, the roller can stick at contact points with risk of pieces being torn off the surface of the roller when the machine is turned.
Many rollers become useless because of long time and /or improper storage. Spare rollers should be rotated with the rollers on the press, at least every six months. This acts as a sort of seasoning, relieving stresses that are inbuilt in roller. The replaced roller should be cleaned thoroughly and after dusting them with talc powder and covering them with a black or paper, should be rested horizontally on the journals. The rubberized portion should never contact on any other surface. The storage place should be away from direct sunlight and heat.
While printing smaller jobs on larger machines, printers tend to release ink only to cover the print area. This causes the sides of the rollers to run dry generating high temperature and causing heavy wear on the roller ends due to abrasion.
The rollers should be set as lightly as possible and still accomplish their intended function, namely to transfer a proper film of ink or water to the plate. This setting is often referred to as the "Kiss". Heavy setting, apart from causing the printing problems referred above, will cause excessive and uneven wear of the rollers, decreasing roller life and increasing cost.
While fitting the bearings, take care that you do not bend or damage the journal ends by hammering of forcing. Check up the journal ends/bearing seats, sockets of wear or damage.
Use the correct technique for mounting the hose on a damping roller. Excessive force may damage the roller by tearing the soft roller from the metal core.
To avoid "bulging" or " belling" of Damping Rollers place a disc / collar of fibre / plastic, with a slightly small diameter than the rubber, at both rubber ends and then sew on the hose ends. Any pressure exerted now will be on the discs and not on the rubber sides.