Background Over the past 10-15 years consumers and advertisers have significantly increased their demand for four colour printing in newspapers. The increased use of printing blankets requires a greater cleaning capacity. There are several conventional systems for cleaning printing blankets of which the majority are based on the use of solvents. Approximately 90 percent, or 17,540 tons, of the total solvents purchased by EU newspaper printing plants using the quadrichromy offset technique, are used to clean printing blankets. The RESOLVE project will meet the aims of Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control arising from activities such as “installations for the surface treatment of substances, objects or products using organic solvents in particular for cleaning; with a consumption capacity of more than 150 kg per hour or more than 200 tons per year”. The Directive lays down measures designed to prevent or to reduce emissions in the air from activities such as the above mentioned in order to achieve a higher level of environmental protection. Objectives The objective of the “RESOLVE” project is to perform a full-scale demonstration and evaluation of a unique and highly innovative Web Cleaning System for the newspaper printing industry. The aim is to minimize, possibly eliminate, the use of solvents in the cleaning process. The innovative aspect of the project is to present a new way of tackling the cleaning of presses. Instead of cleaning the printing blankets it will remove the causes of staining in the printing press and debris from the paper webs, preventing it from reaching the printing press. Results The technical feasibility of the planned prototype, the so-called TwinTurbo Web Cleaning System has been demonstrated and the endurance of the technology as tested has met expectations. Up to 70 days of continuous operation without manual cleaning has been demonstrated. The target of a reduction in solvent consumption of 90 percent per year, corresponding to 21,600 litres per press/year, has been met and even exceeded. Also the project has succeeded in identifying factors impacting on the application of the method – primarily water and temperature. The beneficiary’s evaluation suggests that the results obtained are directly transferable to other companies within the newspaper and “flyer” printing business, and in general would be applicable throughout the whole Community. The demonstrated reduction of the need for cleaning will not only result in environmental benefits, but also substantial benefits in terms of the working environment, as operating staff are not exposed to solvents. This is a unique feature of the demonstrated technology in comparison to all existing printing systems. Cost benefit assessments show that the technology is economically competitive when compared to traditional technologies. Full implementation in the EU would result in annual savings of 33.3 million euro, as a result of a 90% reduction in the consumption of solvents which at present constitutes 17,540 tons annually.