Lithography is a type of surface printing. It is used both as an art and commercial printing process. In commercial printing, it is synonymous with offset printing. Lithography is based on chemical action between oil and water. Lithograph, on the other hand, implies a print on stone. However, in commercial printing, grained metal or plastic plates are used instead of stones.
The discovery of lithography was made possible by Aloys Senefelder, a playwright, when he used Bavarian limestone for and art piece. It was in 1880’s when lithography was widely used for magazine printing. However, it become popular in the 19th century when renowned artists like Bonnard, Degas, Delacroix, Daumier, Gavarni, Goya, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec and Whistler used it for their posters and other works of art.
In the early days of colored lithographs, only one or two colors were used to tint the entire stone or plate. Moreover, the process has improved in the beginning of the 20th century to accommodate more colors and to make possible photolithography. In photolithography, a photo negative is exposed to light over a gelatin-covered paper. Those parts of the gelatin that were...