What is Stone Lithography?
Stone lithography is a method of printing that utilizes a limestone slab and relies on the principle of the repulsion of oil and water. Artists use the process to produce multiple copies of both images and text.
Process
To make a print, the artist draws or paints on the limestone with a waxy or greasy medium, such as a pencil, a crayon or paint. Then the artist applies water to the stone, and the surface areas that are not covered with the greasy substance absorb the moisture. Next, the artist uses a roller to apply an oil-based ink that "sticks" to the grease-covered areas, but not to the wet areas. Now when the artist presses paper onto the limestone, the text or image transfers to the paper. If the artist uses more than one color of ink, he uses a separate stone for each.
History
The Bavarian actor and playwright Johann Alois Senefelder (1771-1834) invented stone lithography in 1796 as an inexpensive way to publish one of his plays after extensive experiments with greasy, acid-resistant ink and smooth, fine-grain limestone. Senefelder referred to his process as "stone printing," but it became more widely known as "lithography," a variation of the French term for it. As the technology spread and gained in popularity, religious texts were among the books most regularly copied.
Benefits
Up until the time of Senefelder's invention, artists printed pages by carving text and images onto blocks of wood or metal, applying ink and then pressing the blocks onto paper, thereby creating "relief prints." However, many artists who were accustomed to working on flat surfaces and preferred stone lithography, because it enabled them to create and reproduce their art in a way that felt more comfortable and natural.
Disadvantages
Difficulties with stone lithography include lettering, multiple colors and the correction of mistakes. Artists must must draw or paint letters as mirrored images in order for them to appear correctly on the final image. Also, if the artist plans to use more than one color of ink, the process can be tedious. The artist must prepare a separate stone for each color, and must perfectly align and press the paper on each stone in order to produce the complete work of art. Additionally, large mistakes are nearly impossible to erase, so if an artist makes an error, he must start over or continue with an imperfect print.
Modern Use
Although many individuals and businesses now favor printing materials on more technologically advanced presses, there are still a number of stone lithographers and stone lithography studios in the U.S. that produce books, banners, posters, flyers and other works of art. A few well-respected contemporary lithographers are Eleanor Coen and Jasper Johns.
