Lithography

Lithography (from Ancient Greek λίθος (líthos) 'stone'

and γράφω (gráphō) 'to write')[1] is a planographic
method of printing originally based on the
immiscibility of oil and water.[2] The printing is from a
stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a
smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German
author and actor Alois Senefelder and was initially used
mostly for musical scores and maps.[3][4] Lithography
can be used to print text or images onto paper or other
suitable material.[5] A lithograph is something printed A lithograph of Charles Marion Russell's The
by lithography, but this term is only used for fine art Custer Fight (1903), with the range of tones
fading toward the edges
prints and some other, mostly older, types of printed
matter, not for those made by modern commercial
lithography.

Traditionally, the image to be printed was drawn with a greasy substance, such as oil, fat, or wax onto the
surface of a smooth and flat limestone plate. The stone was then treated with a mixture of weak acid and
gum arabic ("etch") that made the parts of the stone's surface that were not protected by the grease more
hydrophilic (water attracting). For printing, the stone was first moistened. The water adhered only to the
gum-treated parts, making them even more oil-repellant. An oil-based ink was then applied, and would
stick only to the original drawing. The ink would finally be transferred to a blank sheet of paper,
producing a printed page. This traditional technique is still used for fine art printmaking.[6]

In modern commercial lithography, the image is transferred or created as a patterned polymer coating
applied to a flexible plastic or metal plate.[7] The printing plates, made of stone or metal, can be created
by a photographic process, a method that may be referred to as "photolithography" (although the term
usually refers to a vaguely similar microelectronics manufacturing process).[8][9] Offset printing or "offset
lithography" is an elaboration of lithography in which the ink is transferred from the plate to the paper
indirectly by means of a rubber plate or cylinder, rather than by direct contact. This technique keeps the
paper dry and allows fully automated high-speed operation. It has mostly replaced traditional lithography
for medium- and high-volume printing: since the 1960s, most books and magazines, especially when
illustrated in colour, are printed with offset lithography from photographically created metal plates.

As a printing technology, lithography is different from intaglio printing (gravure), wherein a plate is
engraved, etched, or stippled to score cavities to contain the printing ink; and woodblock printing or
letterpress printing, wherein ink is applied to the raised surfaces of letters or images.

The principle of lithography

Lithography uses simple chemical processes to create an image. For instance, the positive part of an
image is a water-repelling ("hydrophobic") substance, while the negative image would be water-retaining
("hydrophilic"). Thus, when the plate is introduced to a compatible printing ink and water mixture, the
ink will adhere to the positive image and the water will clean the negative image. This allows a flat print
plate to be used, enabling much longer and more detailed print runs than the older physical methods of
printing (e.g., intaglio printing, letterpress printing).

Lithography was invented by Alois Senefelder[1] in the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1796. In the early days of
lithography, a smooth piece of limestone was used (hence the name "lithography": "lithos" (λιθος) is the
Ancient Greek word for "stone"). After the oil-based image was put on the surface, a solution of gum
arabic in water was applied, the gum sticking only to the non-oily surface. During printing, water adhered
to the gum arabic surfaces and was repelled by the oily parts, while the oily ink used for printing did the
opposite.

Lithography on limestone
Lithography works because of the mutual repulsion of oil and
water. The image is drawn on the surface of the print plate with a
fat or oil-based medium (hydrophobic) such as a wax crayon,
which may be pigmented to make the drawing visible. A wide
range of oil-based media is available, but the durability of the
image on the stone depends on the lipid content of the material Lithography stone and mirror image
being used, and its ability to withstand water and acid. After the print of a map of Munich
drawing of the image, an aqueous solution of gum arabic, weakly
acidified with nitric acid (HNO3) is applied to the stone. The
function of this solution is to create a hydrophilic layer of calcium nitrate salt, Ca(NO3)2, and gum arabic
on all non-image surfaces.[1] The gum solution penetrates into the pores of the stone, completely
surrounding the original image with a hydrophilic layer that will not accept the printing ink. Using
lithographic turpentine, the printer then removes any excess of the greasy drawing material, but a
hydrophobic molecular film of it remains tightly bonded to the surface of the stone, rejecting the gum
arabic and water, but ready to accept the oily ink.[10][11]

When printing, the stone is kept wet with water. The water is naturally attracted to the layer of gum and
salt created by the acid wash. Printing ink based on drying oils such as linseed oil and varnish loaded with
pigment is then rolled over the surface. The water repels the greasy ink but the hydrophobic areas left by
the original drawing material accept it. When the hydrophobic image is loaded with ink, the stone and
paper are run through a press that applies even pressure over the surface, transferring the ink to the paper
and off the stone.

Senefelder had experimented during the early 19th century with multicolor lithography; in his 1819 book,
he predicted that the process would eventually be perfected and used to reproduce paintings.[3] Multi-
color printing was introduced by a new process developed by Godefroy Engelmann (France) in 1837
known as chromolithography.[3] A separate stone was used for each color, and a print went through the
press separately for each stone. The main challenge was to keep the images aligned (in register). This
method lent itself to images consisting of large areas of flat color, and resulted in the characteristic poster
designs of this period.
 "Lithography, or printing
from soft stone, largely
took the place of engraving
in the production of
English commercial maps
after about 1852. It was a
quick, cheap process and
had been used to print
British army maps during
This very early colour lithograph the Peninsular War. Most
from 1835 uses large washes of of the commercial maps of
orange and cyan with black ink the second half of the 19th
providing the details. A lithographer at work, 1880
century were lithographed
and unattractive, though
accurate enough."[12]

Modern lithographic process

High-volume lithography is used to produce posters, maps, books,
newspapers, and packaging—just about any smooth, mass-
produced item with print and graphics on it. Most books, indeed
all types of high-volume text, are printed using offset lithography.

For offset lithography, which depends on photographic processes,

flexible aluminum, polyester, mylar or paper printing plates are
used instead of stone tablets. Modern printing plates have a
brushed or roughened texture and are covered with a
photosensitive emulsion. A photographic negative of the desired
image is placed in contact with the emulsion and the plate is
exposed to ultraviolet light. After development, the emulsion
shows a reverse of the negative image, which is thus a duplicate of
the original (positive) image. The image on the plate emulsion can
also be created by direct laser imaging in a CTP (computer-to- 1902 Polish lithograph map of the
plate) device known as a platesetter. The positive image is the western parts of the Russian
emulsion that remains after imaging. Non-image portions of the Empire. Original size 33 cm × 24 cm
(13.0 in × 9.4 in).
emulsion have traditionally been removed by a chemical process,
though in recent times, plates have become available that do not
require such processing.

The plate is affixed to a cylinder on a printing press. Dampening rollers apply water, which covers the
blank portions of the plate but is repelled by the emulsion of the image area. Hydrophobic ink, which is
repelled by the water and only adheres to the emulsion of the image area, is then applied by the inking
rollers.

If this image were transferred directly to paper, it would create a mirror-type image and the paper would
become too wet. Instead, the plate rolls against a cylinder covered with a rubber blanket, which squeezes
away the water, picks up the ink and transfers it to the paper with uniform pressure. The paper passes
 between the blanket cylinder and a
counter-pressure or impression
cylinder and the image is
transferred to the paper. Because
the image is first transferred, or
offset to the rubber blanket
cylinder, this reproduction method
is known as offset lithography or
Lithography machine in Bibliotheca
offset printing.[13] Alexandrina

Many innovations and technical

refinements have been made in printing processes and presses over the
Lithography press for
printing maps in Munich
years, including the development of presses with multiple units (each
containing one printing plate) that can print multi-color images in one pass
on both sides of the sheet, and presses that accommodate continuous rolls
(webs) of paper, known as web presses. Another innovation was the continuous dampening system first
introduced by Dahlgren, instead of the old method (conventional dampening) which is still used on older
presses, using rollers covered with molleton (cloth) that absorbs the water. This increased control of the
water flow to the plate and allowed for better ink and water balance. Recent dampening systems include a
"delta effect or vario", which slows the roller in contact with the plate, thus creating a sweeping
movement over the ink image to clean impurities known as "hickies".

This press is also called an ink pyramid because the ink is

transferred through several layers of rollers with different
purposes. Fast lithographic 'web' printing presses are commonly
used in newspaper production.

The advent of desktop publishing made it possible for type and

images to be modified easily on personal computers for eventual
printing by desktop or commercial presses. The development of
digital imagesetters enabled print shops to produce negatives for
Archive of lithographic stones in
platemaking directly from digital input, skipping the intermediate
Munich
step of photographing an actual page layout. The development of
the digital platesetter during the late 20th century eliminated film
negatives altogether by exposing printing plates directly from digital input, a process known as computer-
to-plate printing.

Lithography as an artistic medium

During the early years of the 19th century, lithography had only a limited effect on printmaking, mainly
because technical difficulties remained to be overcome. Germany was the main center of production in
this period. Godefroy Engelmann, who moved his press from Mulhouse to Paris in 1816, largely
succeeded in resolving the technical problems, and during the 1820s lithography was adopted by artists
such as Delacroix and Géricault. After early experiments such as Specimens of Polyautography
(1803),[14] which had experimental works by a number of British artists including Benjamin West, Henry
Fuseli, James Barry, Thomas Barker of Bath, Thomas Stothard, Henry Richard Greville, Richard Cooper,
Henry Singleton, and William Henry Pyne, London also became a center, and some of Géricault's prints
were in fact produced there. Goya in Bordeaux produced his last series of prints by lithography—The
Bulls of Bordeaux of 1828. By the mid-century the initial enthusiasm had somewhat diminished in both
countries, although the use of lithography was increasingly favored for commercial applications, which
included the prints of Daumier, published in newspapers. Rodolphe Bresdin and Jean-François Millet also
continued to practice the medium in France, and Adolph Menzel in Germany. In 1862 the publisher
Cadart tried to initiate a portfolio of lithographs by various artists, which was not successful but included
several prints by Manet. The revival began during the 1870s, especially in France with artists such as
Odilon Redon, Henri Fantin-Latour and Degas producing much of their work in this manner. The need for
strictly limited editions to maintain the price had now been realized, and the medium became more
accepted.

In the 1890s, color lithography gained success in part by the emergence of Jules Chéret, known as the
father of the modern poster, whose work went on to inspire a new generation of poster designers and
painters, most notably Toulouse-Lautrec, and former student of Chéret, Georges de Feure. By 1900 the
medium in both color and monotone was an accepted part of printmaking.

During the 20th century, a group of artists, including Braque, Calder, Chagall, Dufy, Léger, Matisse,
Miró, and Picasso, rediscovered the largely undeveloped artform of lithography thanks to the Mourlot
Studios, also known as Atelier Mourlot, a Parisian printshop founded in 1852 by the Mourlot family. The
Atelier Mourlot originally specialized in the printing of wallpaper; but it was transformed when the
founder's grandson, Fernand Mourlot, invited a number of 20th-century artists to explore the complexities
of fine art printing. Mourlot encouraged the painters to work directly on lithographic stones in order to
create original artworks that could then be executed under the direction of master printers in small
editions. The combination of modern artist and master printer resulted in lithographs that were used as
posters to promote the artists' work.[15][16]

Grant Wood, George Bellows, Alphonse Mucha, Max Kahn, Pablo Picasso, Eleanor Coen, Jasper Johns,
David Hockney, Susan Dorothea White, and Robert Rauschenberg are a few of the artists who have
produced most of their prints in the medium. M. C. Escher is considered a master of lithography, and
many of his prints were created using this process. More than other printmaking techniques, printmakers
in lithography still largely depend on access to good printers, and the development of the medium has
been greatly influenced by when and where these have been established. An American scene for
lithography was founded by Robert Blackburn in New York City.

As a special form of lithography, the serilith or seriolithograph process is sometimes used. Seriliths are
mixed-media original prints created in a process in which an artist uses the lithograph and serigraph
(screen printing). Fine art prints of this type are published by artists and publishers worldwide, and are
widely accepted and collected. The separations for both processes are hand-drawn by the artist. The
serilith technique is used primarily to create fine art limited print editions.[17]

See also
Block printing
Color printing
Electron-beam lithography
 Flexography
German inventors and discoverers
History of graphic design
Lineography
List of art techniques
Proton beam writing, lithography using MeV ions
Photochrom
Photogravure
Photolithography
Theodore Regensteiner, inventor of the four-color lithographic press
Rotogravure
Stencil lithography
Stereolithography
Typography

References
1. Brooks, Frederick Vincent (1911). "Lithography" ([Link]
op%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Lithography). In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica.
Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 785–789.
2. Weaver, Peter. (1964) The Technique of Lithography. London: B.T. Batsford, p. 49.
3. Meggs, Philip B. A History of Graphic Design. (1998) John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p 146,
ISBN 0-471-29198-6.
4. Carter, Rob, Ben Day, Philip Meggs. Typographic Design: Form and Communication, Third
Edition. (2002) John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 11.
5. Pennel ER, ed. (1915). Lithography and Lithographers ([Link]
ylitho00penn). London: T. Fisher Unwin Publisher.
6. Peterdi, Gabor F. (2021): "Lithography ([Link]
hy)" section of "Printmaking" article. Encyclopedia Britannica online. Accessed 23 November
2021.
7. Hill, James. "Digital & Photographic" ([Link]
[Link]). St Barnabas Press.
8. Hannavy, John. editor. Encyclopedia of nineteenth-century photography: A-I, index, Volume
1. Taylor & Francis (2008). ISBN 9780415972352. page 865.
9. Mansuripur, Masud. Classical Optics and Its Applications. Cambridge University Press
(2002) ISBN 9780521804998. page 416
10. A. B. Hoen, Discussion of the Requisite Qualities of Lithographic Limestone, with Report on
Tests of the Lithographic Stone of Mitchell County, Iowa, Iowa Geological Survey Annual
Report, 1902 ([Link]
A1-PA339), Des Moines, 1903; pages 339–352.
11. Gascoigne, Bamber (1988). How to Identify Prints: a complete guide to manual and
mechanical processes from woodcut to ink jet. Spain: Thames and Hudson. p. 1c.
12. Lynam, Edward. 1944. British Maps and Map Makers. London: W. Collins. Page 46.
13. see diagram at [Link] ([Link]
14. Specimens of Polyautography, Consisting of Impressions taken from Original Drawings,
Made on Stone purposely for this Work ([Link]
020001551). London: Philipp André. 1803.
15. History of 20th century lithography by Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Braque, Leger at Atelier
Mourlot, French Institute Alliance Française ([Link] Archived
([Link] July
23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
16. Mourlot, Fernand. Twentieth Century Posters. Wellfleet Press: Secaucus, New Jersey, 1989
17. "What is a Serilith?" ([Link]
m/[Link]). Archived from the original ([Link] on 9
November 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.

External links
About Lithography ([Link]
Twyman, Michael. Early Lithographed Books. Pinner, Middlesex: Private Libraries
Association, 1990
Museum of Modern Art information on printing techniques and examples of prints ([Link]
[Link]/exhibitions/2001/whatisaprint/[Link])
The Invention of Lithography ([Link] Aloys Senefelder,
(Eng. trans. 1911) (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu and
layered PDF ([Link] format)
Theo De Smedt's website, author of "What's lithography" ([Link]
Extensive information on Honoré Daumier and his life and work, including his entire output
of lithographs ([Link]
Digital work catalog to 4000 lithographs and 1000 wood engravings ([Link]
org)
Detailed examination of the processes involved in the creation of a typical scholarly
lithographic illustration in the 19th century ([Link]
_1of3.html)
Nederlands Steendrukmuseum ([Link]
Delacroix's Faust lithographs at the Davison Art Center, Wesleyan University ([Link]
[Link]/web/20100618221600/[Link]
ml)
A brief historic overview of Lithography ([Link]
[Link]). University of Delaware Library. Includes citations for 19th century books using early
lithographic illustrations.
Philadelphia on Stone: The First Fifty Years of Commercial Lithography in Philadelphia (htt
p://[Link]/pos/[Link]). Library Company of Philadelphia. Provides an
historic overview of the commercial trade in Philadelphia and links to a biographical
dictionary of over 500 Philadelphia lithographers and catalog of more than 1300 lithographs
documenting Philadelphia.
Prints & People: A Social History of Printed Pictures ([Link]
compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/94303/rec/1), an exhibition catalog from The
Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on
lithography

Retrieved from "[Link]