Impression roller and use of the same

An impression roller for gravure printing for the use with an electrostatic printing aid, comprising an axis member or a shaft, a steel core adjoining axially thereto under formation of a respective end, an electrical inner insulating layer extending around said core in a radial direction, an electrically semi-conductive outer layer adjoining the outside of said impression layer, and an electrically highly conductive conductor layer arranged between the outer layer and said insulating layer, characterized in that said conductor layer is encapsulated in an electrically insulated manner from the outside, that said impression roller is provided with an electric or electronic encapsulated circuit electrically insulated from the outside and having two poles, which, with respect to the one flow direction of the electric current from its positive pole to its negative pole is of low resistance in normal operation and in the flow direction opposite thereto is of high resistance in the event of a failure and that the one inner pole of said circuit is connected to said conductor layer byway of an inner connection and the outer pole of said semiconductor is connected to an outer connection of said impression roller for connecting to a generator.