Abstract: A method of forming a Ballard shell on a rotogravure printing roll or the like. At least one of the side surfaces of a roll base is covered with a removably fixed, adhering, concentric, annular disk which remains in place and limits the radial extent of plating on the side of the cylinder while a Ballard shell is plated on the roll. The disk is removable from the roll at the end of the process. The result of the process is a novel Ballard shell having a cleanly terminating inner circumference adjacent to the roll and a ledge portion on its inner periphery extending axially outward from the inner circumference. The axially extending ledge portion of the Ballard shell is a novel structural feature, and is responsible for the easy stripability of the shell after an extended printing run. Yet another aspect of the invention is a rotogravure roll or the like on which a Ballard shell having the previously described construction is formed.