METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING AND SETTING AN OPTIMIZED OPERATING DISTANCE BETWEEN AT LEAST TWO CYLINDERS INVOLVED IN A PRINTING PROCESS

The subject matter of the document is a method for setting an optimized operating distance between at least two cylinders of a printing unit, said comprising at least two cylinders, wherein said cylinders transport ink in an ink-transporting direction during the printing process, wherein the method sets the distance between the at least two cylinders, of which a first cylinder transfers ink during the printing process and a second cylinder receives ink from the first cylinder during the printing process, wherein the optimized operating distance between the at least two cylinders is set based on the measured values from a sensor device, and wherein the sensor device records the change in the film of ink which occurs on at least one cylinder which is involved in transporting ink to the printing material, characterized in that the at least one cylinder, at which the change in the film of ink is recorded, is a cylinder which is mounted upstream, when viewed in the ink-transporting direction of the second cylinder, which receives ink during the printing process, and in that the change in the film of ink on the cylinder, this change being recorded by the sensor device, consists in the removal of the ink or in the change in the surface of the film of ink as a result of a contact pressure.