Lithography

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The drawing on the left is, as we said, a traditional lithograph on Bavarian limestone. There are other types of lithography using different surfaces (aluminum, zinc, polyester, and such stuff) and the print on the right is on aluminum foil using methods often termed "kitchen lithography". You even have"reverse" lithography where the drawing likes water and the blank areas don't.

For decades lithography was one of the principle methods for printing fancy illustrated books and posters and sometimes still is. But it mostly survives today mostly as commercial offset printing, and one of the more recent innovations has it being adapted to printing patterns at the molecular level.

And it all started with a laundry list!