Printing unit for a web-fed rotary printing press

A printing unit for a web-fed rotary printing press comprising:

• a housing defining a first side wall in which a drive mechanism is mounted and a second side wall in which a locking mechanism is mounted;
• a blanket cylinder defining an axis and including a plurality of holes extending axially therethrough;
• an endless tubular printing blanket mounted around an external surface of the blanket cylinder;
• a first end-cap affixed to a first end portion of the blanket cylinder, the first end-cap being drivingly coupleable to the drive mechanism so that, when the first end-cap is drivingly coupled to the drive mechanism, torque generated by the drive mechanism is transmitted via the first end-cap to the blanket cylinder to rotate the blanket cylinder about the axis;
• a second end-cap affixed to a second end portion of the blanket cylinder, the second end-cap being selectively coupleable to the locking mechanism so that, when the locking mechanism is in a first locking configuration, the blanket cylinder is constrained to rotate about the axis and, when the locking mechanism is in a second release position, the second end portion of the blanket cylinder is free from constraint and the blanket cylinder may be removed from the housing.