History of Printing- Hanem Ibrahim

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Hanem Ibrahim - The history of printing paper 1

Lithography

A paper in the history of printing from a stone

Submitted by

Hanem A. Ibrahim

ILS- 518- S 70

Dr. Elsie Okobi

Fall 2009




Introduction & Thesis

Lithography or litho printing is probably the most versatile and unrestrictive printing

process that exists. The lithographic printing industry has had a history with major events, each

event interdependent upon the others. In this Paper I discussed The major events in the history of

lithography included the invention of the process in 1798; the introduction of photography to the

process in the early and mid 1800’s; the introduction of the offset press in the early 1900’s; and

the evolution of the lithographic plate which had been ongoing since the beginning of the

process. This paper will have the answers for these main questions

What is Lithography?

1- What is the history of Lithography

2- What is the process of the Lithographic Printing

3- What are the applications of Litho Printing?

What is Lithography ?

The term” Lithography” literally means writing on stone in Greek. It derives from two Greek

words “ Litho” which means stone and “Graphein” means drawing or writing (Man,F. H,

1971). It is also known as stone printing, or chemical printing, or planography or planographic

printing, or surface printing. This printing process is based on the principle that oil and water do

not mix. Lithography depends on the interaction of two incompatible substances, grease and

water, on a prepared flat surface.

The history of Lithography

The Art of Lithography was invented by Alois Senefelder in 1798 in Austria. It took him four

years to have a tighter control over every technical operations for that kind of printing

(Lienhard ,1997). In 1817 Senefelder designed a press that would automatically dampen and ink




the plate thus making the process even simpler. In 1818 he got his invention been protected by

patent, and he wrote the process of his invention in his guide book ( Senefelder,1819) which

translated to some European languages and the litho printing distributed all over the world after

that. It was in 1837 that Godefroy Engelmann discovered Litho color printing or Lithographs in

color imitating painting. (Hirsch, S.Car ,1967) Litho printing became even more popular and

toward the late eighteenth century the first rotary lithographic press was invented.

Lithography got another boost when the French chemist, Alphonse Louis Poitevin invented

Photolithography in 1855. Again however, because of the difficulty of creating lithographic

plates, this printing technique lay dormant in waiting for some new miracle.

It was in 1875 that the lithographic offset press was invented. It was subsequently that offset

lithography really took off and people paid due attention to this printing technique.

The first lithograph appeared in the US in 1819 and the demand for lithographic printing

increased tremendously. By 1971 there were at least 450 hand operated and 30 steam presses in

the US alone.(Jezek, Geno ,2006).

Today, limestone is no longer used and has been replaced by metal plates. The stencils or images

are designed using photographic plates and a three roller offset press is used for actual printing.

Thus, lithographic printing or lithography has come a long way from its point of origin.

The process of the Lithographic Printing

• It was these two materials – limestone and the correction fluid that subsequently became the

cornerstones of litho printing. The Bavarian limestone that he employed is still considered

the best material for art lithography. These are two ways of litho printing :

1- The drawing or writing is made in reverse directly on the stone with a lithographic crayon

or ink that contains soap or grease. The fatty acid of this material interacts with the lime




of the stone to form insoluble lime soap on the surface, which will accept the greasy

printing ink and reject water. Accordingly, those parts of the stone that have been

drawn upon have an affinity for ink.

2- The drawing or writing is made on paper and transferred to a heated stone by pressure.

This is known as a transfer lithograph and does not require the artist to reverse his or

her drawing. Senefelder is also credited with the discovery of the transfer process.

• After that the surface of the stone untouched by grease is less sensitive to it, and the portions

drawn upon are fixed against spreading by treatment with a gum arabic and nitric acid

solution.

The grease has now penetrated the stone, and the drawing is washed off with turpentine and

water. The stone is ready to be inked with a roller and printed, but it must be kept moist.

The printing requires a special lithographic press with a sliding bed passing under a

scraper. (Encyclopedia, 2007)

The applications of Litho Printing

Artists love lithography because it gives them the freedom of expression. They can use pencils,

pens, crayons, oils and brushes to create masterpieces of equal impact so 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.

• It was used by Muslims to produce more copies of their manuscripts especially in Iran, And

India (Marzolph, 2001)




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.(Encyclopedia, 2007)

Conclusion

Senefelder’s discovery changed the face of the printing industry. Lithographic works are so

special; it requires lots of hard work and it is different from other printing types because it has

the imprints of the Artists or the calligraphers. The history of this printing type is very interesting

and need more researches that unveil the hidden side of that great art.

References

1. Applications Of Litho Printing(2009) Retrieved on Oct. 3 rd ,2009 . From :

http://www.whatislithoprinting.com/applications.html

2. Hirsch, S.Car (1967) Printing from a stone :the story of lithography.N.W: The Viking press.

111p.

3. Jezek, Geno (2006). History of Lithography Retrieved on Oct. 3 rd ,2009 . From

http://www.whatislithoprinting.com/history.html

4. - Lienhard , John H (1997).: Senefelder and Lithography .- Retrieved on Oct. 3rd 2008 .

Retrieved from http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi791.htm

5. Man,Felix H(1971) Artists' Lithographs: A world history from Senefelder to the present

day.-N.Y: G.P.Putnam's Sons,.216 p.

6. Marzolph, Ulrich (2001).Narrative Illustration in Persian Lithographed Books.-Leiden:

Brill. 302 p.

7. Senefelde,Alois (1819):A Complete Course of Lithography: containing clear and

instructions in all the different branches and manners of that art: accompanied by illustrative

specimens of drawings to which is prefixed a history of lithography from its origin to the

present time / by Alois Senefelde, R; with a preface by Frederic Von Schlitegroll; translatedfrom the original German by A.S.- London : R. Ackermann.

8. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. (2007), Columbia University Press.

Retrieved on Oct. 3 rd ,2009 . From http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/ent/A0859309.html


http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi791.htm

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/ent/A0859309.html



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History of Printing- Hanem Ibrahim