Abstract: A cleansing agent, in particular for the cleaning of printing cylinders, rollers, blankets, plates and other parts of printing machines and presses, comprises from 90 to 60% by weight of a C.sub.6 -C.sub.14, preferably C.sub.6 -C.sub.12, more preferably C.sub.6 -C.sub.10, most preferably C.sub.7 -C.sub.9, hydrocarbon ester of a fatty acid of a mixture of such acids and from 10 to 40% by weight of a vegetable oil, based on the total weight of the fatty acid hydrocarbon ester and the vegetable oil in the cleansing agent. Preferably, the content of vegetable oil is about 25% by weight. Preferably, the fatty acid ester component is a 2-ethylhexyl ester of coconut (C.sub.8 -C.sub.14) fatty acid and the vegetable oil is a highly refined deodorized soyabean oil.