Stone Lithograph

The Drawing
Using wax pencils, crayons, and grease-based inks called tusche, I draw directly onto the polished and grained surface. Due to the stone’s grain, I can render my subjects in a wide range of tonal values. The size of a lithograph is limited by the size of the stone. Large stones are not commonly available.

Etching the Stone
When the drawing is completed, the surface of the stone is washed over with an etching solution composed of gum Arabic and a weak acid, usually nitric acid. The acid etches those areas covered by the grease and wax so they will accept the ink that will be applied, while the gum Arabic seals the rest of the surface so that when it is wet it repels the ink. Here the master printer is spot etching to eliminate technical blemishes.

Mixing the Ink
The ink is mixed to just the right color and transparency under my supervision.

Moistening the Stone
Using a sponge, the stone is kept damp to make use of the incompatibility of grease and water.

Rolling the Ink
Ink is carefully rolled onto the stone, depositing ink only on those areas of the stone covered by the drawing. The skilled printer carefully judges the right amount of ink for each impression pulled from the stone.

Registration for Multi-color
For multi-color lithographs, a different drawing on another stone is used for each color. Here, the paper with a one-color drawing already on it, is carefully registered onto a stone that has another drawing inked with a second color. In areas where the colors overlap, delicate variations of tone can be achieved.

Pulling the Impression
The printing is usually done on a hand press with a sliding bed that moves under a wood and leather scraper. The scraper applies the extreme pressure necessary to achieve high quality impressions. Sometimes the stone breaks under the intense pressure. The impression pulled on the paper is the mirror image of the one drawn on the stone.

Perfecting the Drawing
As the first prints come off the stone, I “proof” them and make changes in the drawing, color of ink, and type of paper until I am enthralled with the results. The printer tries to make each print as much like the approved proof as he can, but the stones are sensitive, especially to humidity and temperature, so that sometimes it is most difficult to make uniform prints. The texture of the stones vary from point to point requiring great skill and experience in applying the ink.