Abstract: A printing roller and cover therefor and a novel method for their manufacture are provided. A thin tube of heat shrinkable polymeric material is bonded to a metal or a rubber covered metal core. The thin tube is coated on its inner surface with a thermoplastic adhesive and the solvents in the adhesive are evaporated to produce a tack-free adhesive coating. The core is placed within the tube and the tube is heat shrunk around the core at a temperature sufficient to melt the adhesive, thus bonding the tube to the core. Preferably, the core is primed with an adhesive which will cross-link with the adhesive applied to the tube. The thermoplastic tube covering the core is preferably a long-lasting polymer substantially inert to chemical attack, such as a fluorinated hydrocarbon or polyolefin.