The blanket cylinder is the vehicle by which an inked litho plate transfers images to paper, covered by an anti-wear rubber sheet to minimize wear between its surfaces and paper.
Blanket cylinders are industrial cylinders used in numerous applications. Blanket cylinders can be found across many fields of manufacturing; blanket cylinders can often be found used for textile production as they apply pressure directly onto fabric to produce specific effects, such as compressing it denser, applying patterns via printing processes, applying heat treatments or chemical solutions directly, or finishing material off by heating, using chemicals or any other treatment processes.
Blanket cylinders are widely utilized within the paper industry as they allow workers to apply pressure directly onto the paper to create desired effects, like densifying it by compressing it, printing it with images, or applying patterns using printing processes. Furthermore, blanket cylinders may even be utilized during finishing as they directly provide heating elements or chemical treatments onto its surfaces – something other methods cannot do effectively.
Blanket cylinders are typically constructed out of steel or other metals; their sizes depend on your application. For instance, some blanket cylinders may be tiny, while others are large. Furthermore, blanket cylinders may be solid or hollow depending on what best meets the demands.
A blanket cylinder plays a pivotal role in printing. Its purpose is to provide even coverage on printing plates and create high-quality prints.
Blanket cylinders help prevent ink from smudging and spreading unevenly, which could ruin an important print job. By evenly disbursing ink over all areas of a page, blanket cylinders help produce high-quality prints consistent with each job done by them.