Blankets and cylinders decide print quality long before ink chemistry gets a vote. A between-jobs routine keeps them deciding in your favour.
Wash for the next job, not the clock
An automatic wash cycle is a starting point, not a verdict. After the cycle, run a gloved hand across the blanket: residual ink at the tail edge or a glazed stripe in the image area means another pass, whatever the timer says. Thirty seconds of checking beats a mottled first form tomorrow.
Watch for low spots early
A smashed blanket announces itself as a pale patch that no ink key fixes. Small impressions from a folded sheet corner can often be revived with a measured shim under the affected area; a true cut means a blanket change. Either way, find it at the wash-up, not in the middle of the next run.
Keep packing an exact science
Packing sheets are gauge blocks, not scrap paper. Store them flat and dry, measure with a micrometer when in doubt, and record what is under every blanket. Print length and register both move when packing drifts — and both get blamed on everything else first.
Protect cylinders during idle time
Bare cylinder bodies corrode fastest exactly where the blanket bars hold moisture against them. For stops longer than a weekend, wash down, dry, and apply the preservation film the manual specifies. Corrosion pits print — permanently.
