Lithographic Printing

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Lithographic Printing
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lithography - 'writing on stone'
From Greek lithos stone graphia from
graphein to write
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Aloys Senefelder (1771-1834)
German
Invented lithography c.1798
Munich, possibly Prague
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The Art of Copper Engraving (1765)
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copper printing plate, c.1616
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Copper Etching
gum or wax coating
copper sheet (printing plate)
scribed line or dot
acid
ink
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Copperplate press - 1689
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Print from copperplate 1781
Copperplate writing
Hand-written text on pre-printed letterhead
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Copperplate writing typefaces are available on
computers, e.g.
Palace Script MT
Computerised copperplate writing is very
difficult to read and can look rather unpleasant!
Use only for wedding invitations!
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Steel engraving of Exeter Cathedral, early 19th
century
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Engraving of steel plate for music
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Steel printing plate of music - Festival Cantata
by Fritz Volbach, published Schott Co.
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Printed music from steel plate - Festival Cantata
by Fritz Volbach, published Schott Co.
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Acid on limestone
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Limestone etching experiments
ink
Aim
limestone (printing plate)
acid
barrier against acid
ink
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Music etched in high relief on stone printing
plate
Good source for history of music publishing and
printing
http//pages.britishlibrary.net/rcm.mmus/Printing/
Lithography/Lithography1.htm
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Franz Gleissner Feldmarsch der
Churpfalz-bayer'schen Truppen (Munich, Falter,
1796) Probably Senefelder's first example of
commercial printing from high relief etched
stones
http//pages.britishlibrary.net/rcm.mmus/Printing/
Lithography/Gleissner1.htm
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Further limestone etching experiments
water soluble gum solution to remove acid
repelled ink
ink
ink
ink
water soluble gum solution repelled ink
Result is a planographic process flat printing
plate.
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Discovery based on principle that grease/oil and
water repel each other.
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Lithographic printing principles
grease-based ink or wax crayon
limestone (printing plate)
gum arabic water nitric acid
(gum arabic gum exuded from certain acacia
trees)
ink
water
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greasy crayon
gum arabic,water and a little nitric acid
inking
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Stone with drawing on
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Lithographic stone and early-type boom press, as
used by Senefelder.
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Print from stone hand-coloured
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stone reversed form of final image
paper copy
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Senefelder published a book on his discovery
A Complete Course of Lithography Containing
Clear and Explicit Instructions in all the
Different Branches and Manners of that Art
Accompanied by Illustrative Specimens of
Drawings. (Munich Vienna, 1818, London, 1819).
(still available in modern editions!)
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Senefelder's invention soon caught on.
easily print illustrations, maps and charts
(here hand-coloured)
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and music
Pen lithograph print of music - 1801 orchestral
part from a Mozart symphony, printed at Offenbach
am Main, Germany.
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Senefelder's invention found a ready market
copper plate and wood block illustrations very
expensive
limited quality
not easily used for colour printing
invention coincided with a growing interest in
art and culture
created an increasing demand for illustrations
and pictures
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Demand not only for book illustrations, but
prints pasted to walls of houses from 1750s as
decoration.
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Lithography
made high quality, detail and colour possible
much faster in the production stages than
engravings
a cheaper process
e.g. cost of music printed by lithograph was a
quarter of engraved music.
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Charles Hullmandel (17891850)
English landscape painter
1818 established first lithographic press in
London
Plan with side and rear elevations, of
Hullmandel's star-wheeled lithographic press.
Plate xcv of the Encyclopaedia Britannica vol V
1824.
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Broadgate, Cathedral Close, Exeter
Lithograph by Hullmandel, 1822
Broadgate was demolished 1825
Currently Pizza Express
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Charles Hullmandel
Refined the lithographic process
1824 published
The Art of Drawing on Stone, Giving a Full
Explanation of the Various Styles of the
Different Methods to Be Employed to Ensure
Success, and of the Modes of Correcting, as well
as of the Several Causes of Failure.
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Charles Hullmandel
Developed the technique of colour lithographic
printing during 1830s.
Patented 1840 lithotint
One stone per colour, overprinting colours onto
the same piece of paper to produce mixes and
areas of different colour.
Eliza Leslie (ed.) Miss Leslie's Magazine. Home
Book of Fashion, Literature and Domestic Economy.
Philadelphia, 1843 first example of lithotint
in an American magazine.
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Allowed reproduction of the romantic style of
landscape made popular in England by Turner.
Mountain Landscape with Two Anglers. (English
school c.1850). Printed by Hullmandel
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Henry Noel Humphreys (1810-1879)
Important and influential early colour lithograph
book published by Humphreys
The Art of Illumination and Missal Painting. A
Guide to Modern Illuminators Illustrated by a
Series of Specimens, from Richly Illuminated MSS
of Various Periods, Accompanied by a Set of
Outlines, to be Coloured by the Student According
to the Theories Developed in the Work. (1849)
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Humphreys
Sample pages from The Art of Illumination
printed in up to 14 different colours 14 plates
per page
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In other books up to 20 stones might be used per
illustration.
Probably record for the maximum weight of stone
required for illustrations for a single book
J.B. Waring Masterpieces of Industrial Art and
Sculpture at the International Exhibition 1862
(London, 1863) 3 volumes with 300
chromolithographic plates, with tissue guard, and
with explanatory text in English and French. A
superb compendium of over 1000 objects presented
at the 1862 International Exhibition, among them
gold embroidered fabrics, rugs, sculptures,
furniture, plates, silver and glass wares,
wallpaper designs, and many other magnificent
works showing the best of every representing
country.
300 chromolithographs
3,000 stones
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Lithographic presses - first half of 19th century
Constructed of iron from 1822
Increased printing rate to 1200-1500 sheets
per day.
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Flat-bed cylinder press 1851
800 sheets per hour
Note presence of women
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Poster by Alphonse Mucha (18601939) printed
1896/97
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Poster by
Toulouse-Lautrec (18641901)
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Modern lithography stone printing
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Lithographic stone title page of organ music book
Problem with stone lithography was typesetting
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Lithographic printed music
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Process camera
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Process camera
Printing plate covered with photosensitive
gelatin. Printed form of image (picture and/or
text) photographed by process camera. Negative
from camera placed over the gelatin on the plate,
and the gelatin exposed to light. Gelatin
hardens in proportion to amount of light, i.e.
white areas of negative (black in final printed
form) produce hardest gelatin. Unexposed or
poorly exposed areas of gelatin remain soft and
absorb water. Hence plate can be coated with
greasy ink, which only adheres to hard, dry parts
of gelatin, i.e. a printable image
results. Result is easy transfer of image to
plate.
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Photographic process well-suited to transfer of
text.
Text printed onto paper using hot metal type and
then photographed etc.
Meant any image, once on paper or simply
photographable could be transferred to printing
plate.
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Hence
Camera Ready Copy (CRC)
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crop marks
trim size
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Stone printing plates impractical
- heavy to handle - surface needs careful
preparation to make completely smooth - require
much storage - cannot reuse unless grind off
surface
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From late 19th century
Metal printing plates zinc and aluminium
Much more practical
- cheaper - easy to produce and in large
quantities - light weight meant printing of
larger sizes of paper became practical - easy
storage - reusable once melted down
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Offset lithography invented by William Rubel 1904
in USA.
Brought to Europe by the German, Kaspar Hermann,
who had a press working from 1907.
Kaspar Hermann's offset lithography printer
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Offset lithography principle
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Preparing litho press Pre-damping plate.
Metal plates easily damaged - rubber blanket
reduces this risk.
Less friction and pressure on plate - means lasts
longer.
Greater resilience of rubber means it can print
on rougher paper, even on metal (packaging,
labels etc).
Plate can be made as a right-reading positive -
non-offset and stone plates' image was wrong way
round, therefore more difficult to produce and
proof check.
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Offset litho mechanism
printing plate
Can see negative impression of image on rubber
blanket.
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Lithographic process video clip from Into Print
BBC 1990, programme one.
file offset-lythography.mpg
(2.23 minutes)