To permit elimination of dampening rollers or an entire dampener in a lithographic, preferably offset printing machine, the printing form is formed as a cylindrical sleeve or jacket (3) fitted over a core (2), in which the cylindrical sleeve or jacket is formed with a plurality of interconnected pores (5), essentially uniformly distributed over the surface (4) and forming, within the sleeve or jacket, a connected pore fluid transfer network. Dampening fluid is then applied to the interior of the sleeve or jacket, for example from a chamber (6) between the cylindrical core (2) and the inner surface of the sleeve or jacket. The outer surface (4) can be imaged with oleophilic substances, for example by a thermal transfer process. To remove the images, for re-use of the printing form without removal from a printing machine, hot gases for example steam can be applied to the interior of the sleeve or jacket, so that the oleophilic substances at the outside will loosen for easy removal, or spall off.