Lithography

Running the Copies

Once you have wetted the stone, you can now ink it. The ink stays away from the wet areas - remember lithographic inks are "greasy" and don't like water - and hey, presto!, the drawing reappears. Now you can run off your copies.

Lithography has advanced since Alois's day. You don't need to use Bavarian limestone (although it is still preferred for fine lithographic art). You can use "grained" metal plates (zinc and aluminum are common), polyester, and even "photoplates" where you make the image by exposure to light. You can see a comparison of traditional stone lithography and one of the newer methods if you click here.