With lithographic printing, a smooth stone or metal plate is processed with hydrophobic materials to accept ink. Hydrophilic regions reject the ink and become a background. The concept has been around since the 1700s, but many kinds of lithographic printing methods exist and are used for many different modern-day applications. While chemicals and water are used for some, other kinds use composite materials and are integrated with computerized systems.
History
Lithography was discovered in 1798 by Alois Senefelder in Germany, using stone and gum Arabic/water solution, while a steam press was invented in 1850 and offset printing became popular starting in the 1950s.
Significance
Lithographic printing has been advanced by modern-day machinery for production of books and newspapers, while current systems can expose printing plates directly from digital input from computers.
Types
While early lithography used limestone, oil and water, most texts are printed using offset lithography, but for very small printing, microlithography and nanolithography are used for manufacturing semiconductors.
Significance
Used for reproducing text, symbols and images, Lithographic printing nowadays has been integrated into high-production machinery to make anything from paper to printed circuits, but has also become popular as an artistic medium.
Potential
The principle of lithographic printing has been expanded with stereolithography, in which 3D parts are "printed" layer by layer with a resin and laser to form a prototype, a process over time which could become more commonplace.
