Lithography
Lithography is a printing technique that relies on the natural repulsion between oil and water. It is a planographic process, meaning the printing surface is flat. The image is printed from a smooth stone, typically lithographic limestone, or a metal plate. German author and actor Alois Senefelder invented the method in 1796, and it was first used mainly for printing musical scores and maps. The process can reproduce text or images on paper and other materials. The term "lithograph" is reserved for fine art prints and certain older printed items, not for products of modern commercial lithography.
In the traditional method, a greasy substance like oil, fat, or wax is used to draw the image onto a smooth, flat limestone plate. The stone is then treated with a weak acid and gum arabic solution, which makes the unprotected areas of the stone hydrophilic, or water-attracting. Before printing, the stone is moistened; water clings only to the etched, hydrophilic parts, making them even more oil-repellent. An oil-based ink is then applied, sticking solely to the original greasy drawing. Finally, the ink is transferred to a blank sheet of paper, creating the print. This traditional technique remains in use for fine art printmaking.
Modern commercial lithography uses a different approach. The image is transferred or created as a patterned polymer coating on a flexible plastic or metal plate. These plates can be made using a photographic process, sometimes called "photolithography," though that term more commonly refers to a similar process in microelectronics manufacturing. Offset printing, or offset lithography, is a refinement where the ink is transferred from the plate to the paper indirectly via a rubber cylinder, rather than by direct contact. This keeps the paper dry and enables fully automated, high-speed operation. Since the 1960s, offset lithography has largely replaced traditional lithography for medium- and high-volume printing; most books and magazines, especially color ones, are now printed this way using photographically created metal plates.
Lithography differs from other printing technologies. Intaglio printing, or gravure, involves engraving or etching cavities into a plate to hold ink. Woodblock printing and letterpress printing apply ink to the raised surfaces of letters or images.
The principle behind lithography is simple chemical interaction. The positive part of the image is made of a water-repelling, or hydrophobic, substance, while the negative image is water-retaining, or hydrophilic. When the plate is exposed to a compatible printing ink and water mixture, the ink adheres to the positive image, and the water cleans the negative image. This allows a flat print plate to be used, enabling longer and more detailed print runs than older physical methods like intaglio or letterpress.
Senefelder invented lithography in the Electorate of Bavaria in 1796. The name comes from the Ancient Greek word for "stone," reflecting the early use of smooth limestone. After the oil-based image was applied, a solution of gum arabic in water was used, with the gum sticking only to the non-oily surface. During printing, water adhered to the gum arabic areas and was repelled by the oily parts, while the oily printing ink did the opposite.
On limestone, the image is drawn with a fat- or oil-based medium, such as a wax crayon, which may be pigmented for visibility. The durability of the image depends on the lipid content of the material and its ability to withstand water and acid. After drawing, an aqueous solution of gum arabic, weakly acidified with nitric acid, is applied. This creates a hydrophilic layer of calcium nitrate salt and gum arabic on all non-image surfaces. The gum solution penetrates the stone's pores, surrounding the original image with a hydrophilic layer that rejects printing ink. The printer then removes excess greasy drawing material with lithographic turpentine, but a hydrophobic molecular film remains, rejecting gum arabic and water but accepting oily ink.
During printing, the stone is kept wet. Water is naturally attracted to the gum and salt layer from the acid wash. Printing ink, based on drying oils like linseed oil and varnish with pigment, is rolled over the surface. Water repels the greasy ink, but the hydrophobic areas left by the original drawing accept it. When the hydrophobic image is loaded with ink, the stone and paper are run through a press that applies even pressure, transferring the ink to the paper.
Senefelder experimented with multicolor lithography in the early 19th century. In his 1819 book, he predicted the process would eventually be perfected to reproduce paintings. Multi-color printing was later introduced through a new process developed by G.
- inventor
- Alois Senefelder
- place_of_invention
- Electorate of Bavaria
- field
- Printing technology
- known_for
- Inventing lithography, a planographic printing method based on oil and water immiscibility
Lore & Background
The name comes from Ancient Greek λίθος (líthos) 'stone' and γράφω (gráphō) 'to write'. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. Traditionally, the image to be printed was drawn with a greasy substance onto the surface of a smooth and flat limestone plate. The stone was then treated with a mixture of weak acid and gum arabic, making the unprotected parts more hydrophilic. For printing, the stone was moistened, and water adhered only to the etched areas. An oil-based ink was then applied, sticking only to the original drawing, and transferred to paper.
Reader's Guide
Lithography uses simple chemical processes to create an image, relying on the mutual repulsion of oil and water. The positive part of an image is water-repelling (hydrophobic), while the negative image is water-retaining (hydrophilic). This allows a flat print plate to be used, enabling much longer and more detailed print runs than older physical methods like intaglio or letterpress printing. In modern commercial lithography, the image is transferred or created as a patterned polymer coating on a flexible plastic or metal plate. Offset printing, or offset lithography, transfers ink from the plate to paper indirectly via a rubber cylinder, allowing fully automated high-speed operation. Since the 1960s, most books and magazines, especially when illustrated in color, are printed with offset lithography from photographically created metal plates.
Did You Know?
- The term 'lithography' comes from Ancient Greek words for 'stone' and 'to write'.
- Offset lithography transfers ink indirectly via a rubber blanket cylinder, keeping the paper dry.
Roots of Lithography Education in Victorian Clerkenwell
The St Bride's Foundation Institute Printing School opened its doors in November of that year, while a separate Guild and Technical School launched in the Clerkenwell district. Within a single year, the latter relocated to Bolt Court, where it assumed the name Bolt Court Technical School. Over the following decades, this institution evolved and was eventually rechristened the London County Council School of Photoengraving and Lithography, a title that explicitly named the printing technique as a core part of its identity. By the mid-twentieth century, both threads would converge into a single, more ambitious graphic arts school, but in those early decades, the teaching of lithography in London was anchored in these modest, purpose-built teaching institutions.
The 1949 Merger and the Birth of a Graphic Arts Powerhouse
This union brought the London School of Printing and Kindred Trades, the successor to St Bride's, together with the London County Council School of Photoengraving and Lithography, effectively consolidating decades of separate printing, engraving, and lithography training under one roof. The merged school operated under this combined name for over a decade before being rebranded in 1960 as the London College of Printing, a shift that reflected the expanding scope of its programmes.
From College to University: Lithography's Place in a Global Arts Federation
The name University of the Arts London was adopted the following year. Today, UAL specialises across arts, design, fashion, and the performing arts, and hosts one of the largest international student bodies of any university in the United Kingdom. The former printing and lithography college, now operating as the London College of Communication, sits within this broad federation alongside institutions such as Central Saint Martins, Chelsea College of Arts, and Camberwell College of Arts. For students of lithography and related graphic processes, this meant their training was no longer confined to a single London school but was embedded in a globally recognised university with extensive international reach.
The 2009 Cuts and the Fight to Preserve Communication Studies
The response from within the college was swift and vocal. Staff members resigned in protest, and students organised demonstrations and staged a sit-in, directing their anger at the deep cuts to both budget and staffing levels. For a college whose heritage stretched back to the original lithography and photoengraving schools of the 1890s, the scale of the losses felt like a direct assault on a tradition of graphic arts education that had survived nearly a century and a half of institutional change. The episode underscored how vulnerable even long-established programmes could be when faced with financial pressures, and it left a lasting mark on the community of students and staff who had dedicated their careers to the teaching of printing, communication, and visual design.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Lithography's powers and role?
Lithography's signature ability is reproducing text or images onto paper and other suitable materials using a smooth stone or metal plate as its working surface. Unlike relief or intaglio methods, it is truly planographic—the image sits level with the background rather than being carved below or raised above it.
Why is Lithography important in the performing-arts-and-crafts canon?
It gave artists and publishers a comparatively fast, repeatable way to transfer detailed drawings without the labor of engraving or setting type. Because the method relies on basic oil-and-water chemistry rather than expensive machinery, it became a cornerstone of printmaking for well over two centuries.
What materials does Lithography work with?
The traditional process calls for a flat slab of lithographic limestone or a smooth metal plate as the printing surface. The finished impression is taken onto paper or another compatible substrate, and the technique handles both lettering and full pictorial images.
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