Once developed, the emulsion shows a reverse of the negative image- a perfect replica of the original artwork. Then the plate is exposed to ultraviolet light. It consists of covering a printing plate with photosensitive emulsion before the photographic negative of an image is pressed onto it. Modern lithography employs the same basic principle, but in a more efficient way.

Finally, the stone is run through a press with paper, and the ink is transferred from the stone to the paper. Different parts of the stone that have received different treatment will hold more or less ink. The stone is then wet, and an oil-based ink is rolled onto it. Process Lithography begins with an image drawn onto a flat surface, often polished limestone or aluminum plates.

The word lithograph is a derivation of two Greek words: Lithos, which means stone, and graph, which means to write. It consists in painting or drawing with oil, fat, or wax directly onto a flat smooth limestone plate to create an image. A lithograph is a style of printing that reproduces original paintings and other works of art. Acid-free, museum quality paper is used for each plate in order to capture the greatest subtleties of each subject. Traditional lithography is based on the immiscibility of oil and water. Every Plate is Produced on High Quality Art Paper. Even with the advent of new technologies and the evolution of the printmaking process, some artists and printing houses still practice this traditional printing technique, as we do for the production of our stone lithographs. Originally lithographs were created by etching words or images onto stone. The word lithography comes from Ancient Greek, from lithos, meaning “stone”, and graphein, meaning “to write.” The technique was invented in 1796 by German author Alois Senefelder as an economical method of publishing theatrical works.

Lithographic paper fine arts