Lithography

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Media Production

Techniques & Technology 

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Lithography

In 1798, Alois Senefelder the German playwright and actor invented Lithography. 

The technique developed rapidly and spread throughout Europe.

Its at the core of the heart of the modern printing industry, however in the artistic medium its been continued to be used throughout its history.

At the end of the century (1817) sadly offset had been invented. It became possible to print in 1817 from a zinc plate, and with using a raster developer able to use colour lithography and four-colour printing.

Artists who have used lithography as a medium include;

- Francisco Goya, Honoré Daumier, Odilon Redon, Edvard Munch, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Klee, Käthe Kollwitz, Joan Miró and Robert Rauschenberg.

Lithography is used for medium and long print runs of products such as;   
  
  - magazines
  - posters
  - packaging
  - books

Lithography is referring to the manufacture of lithograph print, which is made from an image thats been applied to a flat surface.

This traditional flat surface was especially to prepare limestone, however today its grained aluminium-printing plates and the original stones that were used.

Lithographic inks are oil based, the process is based on the fact that oil repels water as the image will repel water and accept ink. After the oil-based image was put on the surface, there's a solution of gum arabic in water which is applied, the gum only sticking to the non-oily surface. Then during printing, water adhered to the gum arabic surfaces and avoided the oily parts, while the oily ink used for printing did the opposite.

When an image is drawn, painted or even photographically applied to the stone on a plate using a greasy medium. The plate is placed on a special press, which is then rolled up with either leather or rubber rollers. The paper is then placed upon the print which is run through the press by hand; like many other printing processes, one colour at a time is printed.

Its a very versatile printing technique, artists can get the medium to suit the needs of their certain style. It can be subtle with many layers of washes or it even can look like a pencil-drawing with strong lines that pick-up the texture of the drawing tool and the "tooth" of the plate. Its capable of having large areas of flat colour or else areas can be "scratched" into. Having a skilled master printer, to guide an artist, almost any effect is possible, and the chemicals used in the processing are somewhat harmless but pose no threat to the artist.

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

Most types of books of high-volume text are printed with offset lithography, the most common form of printing technology. 

Although evolving from the same chemical processes as hand lithography, they separate and distinctly different process. Offsets' printing technique is used in the industry of printing books, magazines etc...

The machinery and equipment has to be complicated, its only used by artists that do reproductions of their work.

With buying prints, you need to be aware that dealers and artists are often trying to sell prints of original lithographs, when they're in fact reproductions of artwork that are printed in the same way that the posters and magazines are printed (fake products basically).
These prints aren't hand-printed, they'd usually involve no-one or very little collaboration between the printer and the artist. They're often printed with inferior inks on inferior paper and will not have much of an investment value.

To help you - when it comes to buying from someone, you don't know very well, it's a very good idea to ask for a copy of the documentation sheet.

This sheet will be able to provide and help you with all the information that you will need, to assure that you've got the integrity of the print that you're investing in, because than if the artists or seller is unable to provide you a documentation sheet then it's probably not worth buying the print.

Advantages:

 - its very fast
 - it does fast print-runs

 - its cheap

 - the images produced are clear and sharp
Disadvantages:
 - it cannot produced very high quality prints
 - it can't do small prints runs so people who want to print in small numbers can not
 - the materials are complex to use