Lithography
or litho printing is probably the most versatile and unrestrictive
printing process that exists.
Artistic Use Of Lithography
Artists love it because it gives them the
freedom of expression. They can use pencils, pens, crayons,
oils and brushes to create masterpieces of equal impact. 19th
century artist like the famous Goya and Delacroix are the
creators of the most famous lithographic posters ever. They
too used lithography to express their creativity.
Even today, art students and artists love
the creative freedom litho printing provides. The artist not
only brings himself to the creation, but the printing process
also adds to the masterpiece. Indeed, Robert Rauschenberg’s
lithograph titled Accident is an example of how artistic expression
and the printing process interact to produce a spontaneous
work of art.
In Rauschenberg’s case the stone broke
during the proofing stage. He recreated the image only to
have the second stone break as well. He then proceeded to
make the prints with the broken stone anyways and named the
print ‘Accident’. The breaks are clearly evident
in the final work.
Commercial Use Of Lithography
Commercially traditional litho printing as
promoted by Senefelder is not viable. It is photolithography
that has played a vital role.
In photolithography a photographic negative
is used along with gelatin covered paper to transfer the image
to the stone or metal plate. Thanks to the use of photographic
transfer the old method of drawing the image onto the stone
has been eliminated. This save considerable time and effort
and allows for complex images to be created within no time
at all.
The use of metal plates instead of stone has
also helped encourage litho printing applications. The metal
plates can be mounted on rotary litho presses easily and this
significantly increases the speed and quantity of production.
Today, lithographic principles of using a
single surface for the image and non-image areas and that
oil and water do not mix, form the basis of offset printing.
The commercial applications of litho printing are thus widespread
and in fact seen everywhere around us. Magazines, photographs,
cards, post cards, brochures, promotional material and everything
else you can think of uses litho printing principles.
Thus, lithographic printing has finally come
of age and received its dues.
As a printing process lithography is probably
the most unrestricted. It produces tones ranging from intense
black to the most delicate gray as well as a full range of
colors. It also simulates with equal facility the effects
of pencil, pen, crayon, or brush drawing. White lines are
readily produced by scratching through the drawing on the
stone. Several hundred fine proofs can be taken from a stone.
The medium was exploited by many artists in
the 19th cent., including Goya, Delacroix, Daumier, Gavarni,
Manet, Degas, Bonnard, Whistler, and Toulouse-Lautrec, whose
posters are among the most celebrated lithographic masterworks.
In the United States, A. B. Davies, George Bellows, Joseph
Pennell, and Currier and Ives are among the many artists noted
for their lithographs.
For the commercial reproduction of art works,
photolithography has played an increasingly important role.
In this process a photographic negative is exposed to light
over a gelatin-covered paper. Wherever the light does not
strike the gelatin, the latter remains soluble while the other
parts are rendered insoluble.
When the soluble portions are washed away,
the pattern to be printed can be inked and transferred to
the stone or plate. Color lithography and color photolithography
require as many stones or plates as the number of colors employed.
The commercial printing applications of the lithographic process
are vast in scope and almost unlimited in number.
Lithography
| Electron
beam lithography |
Printmaking
: Lithograpy | Large
area lithography |
Selecting
the right paper | Applications
Of Litho Printing | Lithographic
Printing Process |
