Editing Lithography (section)

{{short description|Printing technique}}
{{About|a printing method|rock types|Lithology|the microfabrication process|microlithography}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
[[File:Charles Marion Russell - The Custer Fight (1903).jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|A lithograph of [[Charles Marion Russell]]'s ''The Custer Fight'' (1903), with the range of tones fading toward the edges.]]
{{History of printing}}

'''Lithography''' ({{etymology|grc|''{{Wikt-lang|grc|λίθος}}'' ({{grc-transl|λίθος}})|stone||''{{Wikt-lang|grc|γράφω}}'' ({{grc-transl|γράφω}})|to write}})<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Lithography |volume=16 |pages=785–789 |first=Frederick Vincent |last=Brooks}}</ref> is a [[planographic]] method of [[printing]] originally based on the [[miscibility|immiscibility]] of oil and water.<ref>Weaver, Peter. (1964) ''The Technique of Lithography''. London: [[B.T. Batsford]], p. 49.</ref> The printing is from a stone ([[lithographic limestone]]) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German author and actor [[Alois Senefelder]] and was initially used mostly for [[sheet music|musical score]]s and maps.<ref name="meggspage146">Meggs, Philip B. ''A History of Graphic Design''. (1998) John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p 146, {{ISBN|0-471-29198-6}}.</ref><ref name="carterpage11">Carter, Rob, Ben Day, Philip Meggs. ''Typographic Design: Form and Communication'', Third Edition. (2002) John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 11. {{ISBN|978-0471383413}}</ref> Lithography can be used to print text or images onto paper or other suitable material.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/lithographylitho00penn |title=Lithography and Lithographers |publisher=T. Fisher Unwin Publisher |year=1915 |isbn=9781330310847 |editor=Pennell |editor-first=Elizabeth Robbins |place=London |lccn=15017116}}</ref> A '''lithograph''' is something printed by lithography, but this term is only used for [[printmaking|fine art prints]] and some other, mostly older, types of printed matter, not for those made by modern commercial lithography.

Traditionally, the image to be printed was drawn with a greasy substance, such as oil, fat, or wax onto the surface of a smooth and flat [[limestone]] plate. The stone was then treated with a mixture of [[Acid strength|weak acid]] and [[gum arabic]] ("etch") that made the parts of the stone's surface that were not protected by the grease more [[Hydrophile|hydrophilic]] (water attracting). For printing, the stone was first moistened. The water adhered only to the gum-treated parts, making them even more oil-repellant.  An oil-based ink was then applied, and would stick only to the original drawing. The ink would finally be transferred to a blank sheet of [[paper]], producing a printed page.  This traditional technique is still used for [[fine art]] printmaking.<ref name=brita2021>Peterdi, Gabor F. (2021): "[https://www.britannica.com/art/printmaking/Lithography Lithography]" section of "Printmaking" article. ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' online. Accessed 23 November 2021.</ref>

In modern commercial lithography, the image is transferred or created as a patterned [[polymer]] coating applied to a flexible plastic or metal plate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stbarnabaspress.co.uk/digital-photographic.html |title=Digital & Photographic |first=James |last=Hill |publisher=St Barnabas Press }}</ref>  The printing plates, made of stone or metal, can be created by a [[photography|photographic]] process, a method that may be referred to as "photolithography" (although the term usually refers to a vaguely similar [[photolithography|microelectronics manufacturing process]]).<ref>Hannavy, John. editor. ''Encyclopedia of nineteenth-century photography: A-I, index, Volume 1.'' Taylor & Francis (2008). {{ISBN|9780415972352}}. page 865.</ref><ref>Mansuripur, Masud. ''Classical Optics and Its Applications''. Cambridge University Press (2002) {{ISBN|9780521804998}}. page 416</ref>  [[Offset printing]] or "offset lithography" is an elaboration of lithography in which the ink is transferred from the plate to the paper indirectly by means of a [[rubber]] plate or cylinder, rather than by direct contact.  This technique keeps the paper dry and allows fully automated high-speed operation.  It has mostly replaced traditional lithography for medium- and high-volume printing: since the 1960s, most books and magazines, especially when illustrated in colour, are printed with offset lithography from photographically created metal plates.

As a printing technology, lithography is different from [[intaglio (printmaking)|intaglio printing]] (gravure), wherein a plate is [[engraving|engraved]], [[etching|etched]], or [[mezzotint|stippled]] to score cavities to contain the printing ink; and [[woodblock printing]] or [[letterpress printing]], wherein ink is applied to the raised surfaces of letters or images.