About Lithography

Lithography is a technique invented in 1798 by Alois Senefelder and based on the chemical repulsion of oil and water.

A porous surface, normally limestone, is used; the image is drawn on the limestone with a greasy medium. Acid is applied, transferring the grease to the limestone, leaving the image ‘burned’ into the surface. Gum arabic, a water soluble substance, is then applied, sealing the surface of the stone not covered with the drawing medium.

The stone is made wet,with water is staying only on the surface not covered in grease-based residue of the drawing; the stone is then ‘rolled up’, meaning oil ink is applied with a roller covering the entire surface; since water repels the oil in the ink, the ink adheres only to the greasy parts, perfectly inking the image.

A sheet of dry paper is placed on the surface, and the image is transferred to the paper by the pressure of the printing press. Lithography is known for its ability to capture fine gradations in shading and very small detail.

A variant is photo-lithography, in which the image is captured by photographic processes on metal plates; printing is carried out in the same way.

Kitchen Lithography is a planographic printing technique (printing from a flat surface) based on the principle of water and oil repelling each other.

Kitchen lithography is a planographic printing technique that allows you to create prints from a flat surface. It is based on the principle of water and oil repelling each other. The technique was developed by artist Émilie Aizier in 2011 as a safer and more accessible alternative to traditional lithography.
In traditional lithography, porous limestone is used as the printing plate, while in kitchen lithography, aluminum foil serves as the plate. To create an image, you can draw directly on the aluminum foil using various greasy substances such as grease pencils, graphite, oil pastels and similar. After drawing the image, the plate is submerged in a liquid to acidify the areas not covered with grease. The plate is then covered in oil-based ink, which adheres only to the drawn areas and repels water.The process of kitchen lithography can be recreated using materials commonly found in most kitchens.

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