Lithography is a planographic method of printing that originated from the immiscibility of oil and water
. It involves printing from a stone or a flat, smooth surface, such as a piece of limestone or a prepared aluminum plate
. The process was invented in 1796 by German author and actor Alois Senefelder
. Lithography can be used to print text or images onto paper or other suitable materials
. The process of lithography involves:
- Drawing an image onto a flat stone or prepared aluminum plate using a greasy substance, such as tusche, crayon, pencils, lacquer, or synthetic materials
- Applying a solution of gum arabic and nitric acid to the surface, which produces water-receptive non-printing areas and grease-receptive image areas
- Placing the printing surface in contact with water, which causes the ink to adhere only to the grease-receptive image area
- Running the plate through a press, transferring the ink onto the paper and creating a printed image
Lithography has several advantages, such as the ability to print a wider range of marks and areas of tone, and the ease of color printing, as different colors can be applied to separate stones and overprinted onto the same sheet
. In modern commercial lithography, the image is transferred or created as a patterned polymer coating applied to a flexible plastic or other materials
