Abstract: The ink dosing elements in the ink fountain of a printing machine are adjusted to reference positions in response to measurement of the amount of ink applied to the fountain roller at the respective inking zones. The reference positions are stored in a data memory for future use or are adjusted in accordance with predetermined values to arrive at the settings of the ink dosing elements for obtaining a desired ink profile. Preferably an optical densitometer mounted on a rail parallel to the fountain roller measures the amount of ink, and the densitometer is initially calibrated at an ink-free zone on the fountain roller. According to a manual embodiment, a first one of the ink dosing elements is brought to a reference position by an operator while viewing the respective inking zone, for example, to obtain a permissible minimum of ink.