Cold rolling increases the strength and hardness and decreases ductility of steel by rolling it at ambient temperature (or below its recrystallization temperature). In addition to improvement of mechanical properties, the cold rolling produces steel plate/sheet of the desired physical dimensions. Steel may be annealed subsequent to the cold rolling process to restore the original mechanical attributes. Even with multiple passes through rollers, cold rolling is more limited in its ability to effect dimensional changes (versus hot rolling) because of the increased hardness and decreased ductility.