One of two types of intermediate rollers found in the inking system on a printing press used in offset lithography. Distributors are located between two other rollers (such as between two oscillators) and have a resilient nap-covered surface that serves to work the ink into a printable viscosity and mixes the ink with amounts of water to form an emulsion. Distributors are turned by the force of the rotation of adjacent chain-and-gear-driven rollers. Another type of intermediate roller is a rider. (See Inking System: Offset Lithography and Offset Lithography.)
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