Lithography is a printing technique that allows for fast production of elaborate prints using stone plates (lithos means ‘stone’ in Greek).

HISTORY

Lithography was invented in 1796 by German theater play actor Aloys Senefelder (1771–1834), who wanted to print his works by himself and eventually became a printer. Printing complex and elaborate visuals was a popular technique, which gave closer results to the original drawings than other techniques of that time. Lithography allowed for multiple layers, and multiple colors, which was largely used in the advertising industry. Before digital printing, some books combined several techniques (lithography and/or engravings for images, hot metal printing for texts).

TECHNIQUE

The process of lithography printing uses the hydrophobic/hydrophilic chemical reaction between water and oil. Combined with the effect of acid or corrosive products which creates the area for water to go in, the more greasy ink can be kept on the surface and transferred to the paper to be printed.

TODAY

Nowadays, lithography is mostly used to print artistic works and other specific prints, as the process is much more costly than modern techniques, even if it renders a high quality result.