Printmaking Processes: Lithography

[TheDaedalEVE]

Wow.... that is a LOT of work. If it was me though, I'd design in the computer, and use some sort CNC milling machine to just machine the stone and be done with it.

You get the same outcome (authentic litho print from a stone), but it would be 100% accurate to the original work.

[GoldHelicoprion]

I just had my first day of Intro to Litho this morning and I am so in love! Thanks for the video, I couldn't help but watch it and geek out - so excited to make a print.

[2manysecrets2]

Good for you...It really is all very fascinating. People simply do not realize all that is involved.

In this modern day of reproductions, everyone thinks "oh, it is just another type of reproduction.."

It is all really an artform unto itself. It really is.

Ive studied etching and it really is all very difficult..right amount of ink, amounts of chemicals, each stage done correctly, etc etc ALL make such a difference.

As always it is one thing to know it, another to DO it.

[LiquidRelief]

nice, need this for examination tomorrow :D

[52goodartist77]

Lithography is not about work, it is about love. Complexity does not negate spontaneity. Because the PROCESS is as important to a lithographer as the OUTCOME, the WORK becomes an act of love, not a "one night stand". People who want fast outcomes should stick to digital media.Those of us who want to identify, understand, and become part of our wonderful history of art, will take that second step to be part of its beauty. I do lithography, etching, or black and white photography w/ respect.

[SkippiVarndenkof]

@52goodartist77 That's a bit of a creepy, sort of obsession... You see I prefer to love other humans, like normal people.

[ImBoyCryWolf]

I wanted to do a pastiche on Alphonse Mucha until I saw how Lithography actually works...I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY YOU WOULD DO ANYTHING THIS WAY.

[Icefeather32]

My teachers showed this in art class today. C:

[saluteforever]

so cool I love litho!!

[amerrymishap]

Looks like an exhausting amount of work & layering of chemicals for only an ok finished product. Let's just screen print instead!!

[ProJanitor]

5 math majors dislike it

[ToffeeTornado]

ohmygod this video has just made my art assignment on maurits escher's "print gallery" ten times harder. how am i supposed to explain this complicated process in 14 lines?

[ShilohOMG]

@ToffeeTornado

I know it's a little to late, but....

A greasy liquid is used to draw or paint an image directly onto the plate, and then the plate is rinsed with water. When ink is added to the plate, it sticks to the greasy liquid and rolls off the wet part of the plate.

Then, paper is flattened against the plate, and the plate's ink is pressed against the paper to make a print.

:)

[2manysecrets2]

@ToffeeTornado

Haiku?

;)

[Andrew5DMII]

Super, super video. Thank you for taking the time to make it. My grandfather made lithographs for decades (Walter "Wally" Richards) out of southern connecticut and watching this helps me appreciate his work. It seems to me that the process itself could be considered an art. Those stones are unbelievably heavy!

[garvam]

now that dosn't look simple...wow

[TheSymonDe]

@garvam In fact, it's more more complex than what you see in this. I used to do it at University. The whole process of what you see here in 5 mins would take up to 4 hours and more if you do one than more stone and how complex is your image. BUT, even if complex this Technique is transparent and keep grayscale which make more complex images at the end than Silkscreen would in one print.

[beautifulbutterfly82]

@garvam Interesting the grain is still important on todays litho plates, if the plates are old or used heavily the grain can go causing an unstable print due to the water /ink imbalance where you end up struggling to keep the level of damp down so not to weaken colour and emulsify the inkers while trying to prevent the image area catching up (when the non image area starts to take ink). Hence good printers were paid handsomely. It simply works on the principle that oil and water do not mix.

[Frosties160]

so much effort, wow

[kelloggcerealxoxo]

yaaawwwwnnn....too much work...

[moosen27]

um....yes....holy shit XD

[MELDtoys]

YouTube is simply the best school in the history of the world... of course it helps to have a master-teacher!

[chrystelle331]

Pacific Art League

West Coast Prints Exhibition & Competition- November 2010:

Eligible to residents of California, Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Hawaii or Alaska. Juried by Robert Mason, Doug Desmond and Robert Rhodes.

Exhibition dates are from November 5th to November 26th. SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS OCTOBER 4TH, BY JPG SUBMISSION ONLY.

Go to our homepage to get prospectus.

[DoglessEndeavor]

Thank you so much for this. You have saved me so much stress.

[intriguedgorilla]

This video has helped me tremendously. The first few minutes have helped me understand more than my teacher at a college-level litho course could. I swear, a master's degree is not enough to teach. The dude does not explain it well.

[konzwambii]

has made his choice: unrewarding work in a salt mine. Anyone who would argue otherwise probably thinks Christo is an artist.

[konzwambii]

Actually, artists did not mistrust lithography when it was new. Goya took to it quickly after it was invented, and he remains one of the greatest printmakers. As for slaving 12 hours, or any number, over a computer monitor, that is just a joke. It's fine for page layout, graphic design, and advertising. But art? hahaha. There are gold mines and there are salt mines. Anyone fancying himself an "artist" who uses computer software to make prints, or ersatz printing methods such as giclee, [cont'd]

[SpoonEtunes]

AMAZING & INFORMATIVE DEMONSTRATION! There is a brand new book, THE KNAPPS LIVED HERE on historic lithographers the Joseph Knapp family whose firms, Sarony Major & Knapp, Major & Knapp, and American LIthographic Co.were some of the most advanced in color lithos and largest printing firms the world has ever known

Full book info is located at The Knapps LIved Here website

[Rutagher]

nice, very informative.

[MrBOYcore]

how ignorant some people are >___>

lithography is art!!! everyone idiot can print out out a picture on the computer!

this is sometihng special because not everyone can do this.

yes, the times changed! toulouse lautrec didn't have a computer! but that's no reason why we should forget about the great inventories which were made long ago. i mean...take a look at a great piece of art like this lithography and then at a picture you printed out >____>

no more comment...

[KingScuzzo]

I think the real challenge is accepting both forms as art. I've seen beautiful stone lithos, but I've also seen amazing digital prints that not "everyone idiot" could have completed. Old school printmakers crack me up. You are so afraid of technology yet it's what your medium is based on.

[SaugaTricks]

Thank you. Very informative for beginners

[OwenMackenzie]

Kimyagerler bu kadar karışım kullanmıyor :D

[Nitrohelp]

Why not just draw it, scan it under highest quality, then print multiple copies? Oh wait, that would make sense wouldn't it. If any of you have a reason why this wouldn't be the right thing to do, please let me know because in a past exam question, the answer to a suitable printing process was lithography which i didnt know at the time, so i decided to research it by watching this video. This just seems like such a long process so i cant understand why its used in industry.

[Mouse6524]

@Nitrohelp Computers change, lithography doesn't. If someone wanted to come back in 200 years and pull some more prints, it's highly unlikely the computer file would have been saved that long, or that it would work on their future computers. But the stone could still print.

Also, it's called "art". It doesn't have to be efficient if it doesn't want to be.

[KingScuzzo]

It's also printmaking which by its very nature is linked to efficiency. I have a MFA in printmaking so think twice before you cast me down as some plebe who doesn't understand "true" art. Stone lithography is fun and produces amazing results. It's also extremely toxic because of all the chemicals used. Producing a lot of those chemicals has been detrimental to the health of thousands not to mention all the artists that have been hurt by the chemicals.

[NotNamedJones]

@KingScuzzo so that MFA degree basically amounts to you feeling self-righteous enough to deem yourself the expert on art in a youtube video argument? No offense, but some of the most narrow people I've met have been graduate school affiliates. I've never understoond why dumb people tend to be well educated and overpaid while the most intelligent people I know work at Staples...

[NotNamedJones]

@KingScuzzo "It's also printmaking which by its very nature is linked to efficiency"-not neccessarily. you should do some research on the this. Making a print by hand can be far more difficult than an original painting or drawing. Richard Estes produced screen-prints of some of his paintings that took 2 years to make while the actual painting only took a month or so. Real art printmaking isn't really that much about "mass production". comp. prints count, but its not in in the same league.

[KingScuzzo]

Like I said I spent eight years of my life studying traditional printmaking techniques and still work in the field. So, what's your point? I didn't say that a print couldn't be many things. The engravers who create the plates for paper money apprentice for some fifteen years to do the job. I've seen "real art" printmaking that's about all most every subject imaginable. My point was that stone lithography is extremely toxic to the environment and artists. What are you getting at?

[NotNamedJones]

@KingScuzzo actually, you were implying that your educational credentials make you an expert on the arts, and that is the problem at hand.

[KingScuzzo]

Same league as what? Do you appreciate video art? I like traditional prints but I've seen amazing digital work as well. I'm open minded and don't judge art by medium but by content and personal aesthetic taste.

[NotNamedJones]

@KingScuzzo at what point did anyone mention video art?lol. um, okay. yes, I do like video art as a matter of fact, but thats besides the point. digital printmaking, while not easy to do by any means, is still no where near as technically challenging to do as traditional medias. you prove that point in your other reply to me mentioning how dangerous and toxic the materials are in lithography. sure its art, but in that way it is inferior.

[konzwambii]

@Nitrohelp Printmaking, by definition in its highest meaning, means that the artist has a personal hand in the platemaking. Like life, art is original and subject to death, meaning it has a lifespan. True woodblocks wear out. True printing plates wear out, and are therefore limited in edition size. Computer printing is just another unlimited, mass produced, "unfelt" and therefore "unartistic" method of reproduction. Therefore, meaningless as art. True prints show the hand and mind of the artist.

[KingScuzzo]

You are showing your age. A print is a print is a print.  I love stone lithography, etching, woodcut, screenprint, and digital print. The definition of a printmaking is the ability to reproduce images. It doesn't matter how you do it. Your idea is elitist. I studied printmaking at one of the most prestigious universities in the country, so take my opinion with a grain of carborundum.

[KingScuzzo]

remember at one point stone litho was the forefront of technology. It was mistrusted and hated by "true artists" like painters who hated it because of its implications. I love printing, digital included. "Unfelt" are you telling me that a kid slaving in front of a computer for 12 hours in order to get a print is any different than working a stone to get a print????? You are WRONG!!! Freaks like you should be chased out of print shops on site. It must be nice to have such narrow boundries

[flaggirls26]

@Nitrohelp ok so I am a printmaker and here is an answer for you...Lithography is not something we "need" anymore and your right we could just do it your way however, these old style processes are something that printmakers cherish and came way before computer printing, This was the only way to print...therefore this is a n art

[KingScuzzo]

You have to understand you are arguing with a bunch of elderly artists who have gotten so far from the root of their medium. The root of printmaking is mass production, so I see your point, however as a fine artist I also love the quality of stone lithos. Some old idiot on here also just said that there have been no "true" screen print artist. You have to understand artists only seem open minded. Most of these old bastards are more conservative that a 90 year old republican.

[spenceyg]

All that work for one print...

[rorymorris1]

Its amazing this process was even discovered, it must have taken many years of artistic evolution

[importedmusic]

shame we didnt actually get to see the finished thing

[kudjo24]

or you could just use photoshop :D

[mistercubs]

I spent six years at ASU making hand-pulled stone lithos, and this is a VERY simplified version of how lithography is done! Hell, it takes hours just to grain a stone! Also, there's no mention of applying laquer V to the stone in this vid after removing the image with lithotine.

[Tristanja]

I agree completely! at the time i'm doing my diploma form lithography and I have so much work preparing stones each time and pulling this insolently hard to pull lever while printing that i don't even know where my arms and legs are anymore ;-)

[KingScuzzo]

Laquer V also known as neon pink cancer.

[Andrew5DMII]

@mistercubs Do you know of any sources online or in print that describes this process in greater detail?  My grandpa worked in this medium for most of his life and I would love to understand better what he did.

[BIZEB]

@mistercubs Because there isn't a need to.

[nelsonwilby]

yeah, stone litho. there are a lot of steps. and this is definitely a simplified version.

i love this process but because of the graining I usually end up just using ball grained aluminum plates..

[vankraft]

Absolutely amazing process... so much work. Wow to artists, who work with this technique. Thnx for the video, I havent´t had the idea of the process until now ;-)

[transylvanna]

lithography is one of the most laborious, yet gratifying, print processes. thanks for the post! i <3 art!

[caochhui]

Very informative video clip, Thanks

[onlinecuriouse]

Or you could draw this on Photoshop and take a printout...!!! ;p

[MrCracksean]

all that work that he coud draw 6 of them

only jokeing

[hungrymouths]

Fantastic! But gloves would be a good idea...nitric acid, gum arabic, asphaltum etc.. yuck!

[transylvanna]

in my studio, at my school, we have to wear goggles, aprons and gloves! in the past, they used to test the nitric acid on their tongues...

[LuvMadonna626]

id want to kill myself by the end of this process lol

[impliedexpression]

Agreed...

[dsagentutube]

Thanks for uploading this. I was reading the description in my art text and it barely made any sense whatsoever.

[victoriannymph]

Thank you very much for posting this, it gives me a visual understanding of lithography. I never took it in art school as a course and I am reading up on my favorite artist, Alphonse Mucha, who worked this way.This is a great help to me!

[TheThirdLetter]

Dude too many steps - I'll use the silkscreen style. Still a good video

[konzwambii]

There's only one problem with resorting to silkscreen as a sad alternative in printmaking. Silkscreen, almost by definition, is "unartistic". I've yet to see a good work of art produced by silkscreen. Yet in theory, I still like silkscreen because it is a mode of printmaking! Please don't mention Warhol, Rauschenberg, etc. Perhaps some day a real artist will emerge in silk screen. Not yet.

[idiotech1212]

Stanley Donwood seems like a good silkscreen artist.

[konzwambii]

uh... I think you just proved my point...

[KingScuzzo]

Open your eyes, when is the last time you stepped into a contemporary art gallery. Opening your mouth like this makes you sound like you've been living under a rock.

[TheLegend1245]

It looks had to do. I don't even have cash to buy all that.

[thefunkyworm1]

This video really helped me on how it works because I have to show how it works tomorro for school.

[icecreamcake123]

super complicated.... >_>

[konzwambii]

This introductory vid doesn't nearly convey all the intricasies of stone lithography. It is much more involved than shown here. Still, this gives the basic idea.

[lithographer64]

Sponges should be placed on their edges vs. face as in this demo during damping stage... this avoids surprises on first roll up.

[transylvanna]

i always get really "scummy" prints from my stones...any tips?

[lithographer64]

@transylvanna Mag. ink or print w/ a stiffer ink, print while it's cool in shop, use cold fountain solution... i

[KingScuzzo]

More nitric.

[pincenez98]

thank you - this explains things that mere words on paper cannot! I'd like to learn more about the challenge of drawing on the stone and what tools can be used

[firehandszarb]

that process looks very

involved

[xakatski]

touche lol

[transylvanna]

spelled "tusche" lol

[BulletWithYerName]

Haha that drying thing at 3:35 is rad.

[transylvanna]

it is a tamarind fan! they're fun to play with XD

[lPlagueBearer]

3:07 That's sooo intense. How he checks to see if it's etched. This is a great and simple video!

[eddyeazevedo]

100%!!!! Very Good.

[EB88]

how do you make it with more than one colour?

[gilivia]

This series is the best in explaining printmaking. The other ones I found on youtube cannot rival this.

[ladypeace016]

cool!

[robbieman23]

Excellent, I did not realise there was so much involved, thanks to Senefelder!

[mout12]

Good video.

[gomeslula]

I really enjoyed viewing both the lithography and intaglio printmaking video's. are these video's available for sale? I teach art, and would like these videos for class.

[Bartonread]

This whole series on various printmaking techniques is so well done! Thank you.