The invention relates to an inking unit, more particularly to an inking unit with a short ink path from the ink source to the printing image carrier to be inked such as the plate of an offset litho press, comprising an ink chamber doctor arrangement with two doctor blades which are offset in relation to each other in the peripheral direction of a pitted roll with which they cooperate and which are preferably mounted on a blade holder, so that the blades define an ink chamber between them into which the pitted roll extends.
The peripheral section the pitted roll moving away from the roll arranged after the pitted roll, which in the case of inking units with a short ink path is always the form roll, not only lacks a complete ink film but is usually covered with foreign matter such as fount solution, which has made its way into the inking unit, and the like. There is thus a danger of the doctor blade which is to the rear in the direction of pitted roll and which has to clear the foreign matter from the pitted roll functioning as a leading or closing doctor, being subject to a comparatively high wear rate, since the foreign matter, more especially the dampening solution, has an extraordinarily powerful wear accelerating effect.