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LITHOGRAPHY (Gr. MOOS, a stone, and y...
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See also:LITHOGRAPHY (Gr. MOOS, a See also:
Beyond this, the chromolithographer has to exercise very great See also:powers of colour See also:analysis; but the human mind is quite unable to See also:settle offhand the exact proportion of red, See also:blue and yellow necessary to produce some particular class say of See also:grey, and this the See also:camera with the aid of colour filters does with almost perfect precision
.
Notwithstanding these disadvantages, lithography has these strong points: (r) its utility for small See also:editions on See also:account of its, at present, smaller See also:prime cost; (2) its suitability for subjects of large See also:size; (3) its superiority for subjects with outlines, for in such cases the outline can be done in one colour, whereas to secure this effect by the admixture of the three colours requires marvellously See also:good See also:registration, the See also:absence of which would produce a very large proportion of " See also:waste " or faulty copies; (4) capacity for printing on almost any paper, whereas, at the See also:time of See also:writing, the tri-colour process is almost entirely limited to printing on coated papers that are very heavy and not very enduring
.
With regard to the two branches of chalk lithography, the firms that maintained the English supremacy for black and tint work in the See also:early days were Hulemandel, Day and Haghe and See also:Maclure, while the best chromo-lithographic work in the same See also:period was done by See also:Vincent See also:Brooks, the See also:brothers Hanhart, See also:
H
.
See also:Lynch, A
.
Maclure and Rimanozcy stand for black and tint work; while in chromolithography J
.
M
.
Carrick, C
.
Risdon, William Bunney, W
.
See also:Long, See also:Samuel See also:Hodson, See also:Edwin Buckman and J
.
See also:Lewis have been conspicuous among those who have maintained the See also:standard of their See also:craft
.
In the foregoing See also:list will be recognized the names of several who have had admirable See also:works on the walls of the Royal See also:Academy and other exhibitions; Mr Lane, who exhibited lithographs from 1824 to 1872, was for many years the See also:doyen of lithographers, and the only one of their number to attain See also:academic See also:rank, but Lynch and See also: The raison d' are of " stipple " work is its capacity for re-transferring without serious loss of quality, for it can scarcely be contended that it is as See also:artistic as the methods just described . Retransferring is the process of pulling impressions from the original stones with a view to making up a large See also:sheet of one or more small subjects, or where it is desired to print a very large number without deterioration of the original or See also:matrix stone . The higher class work in this direction has been done in See also:France, See also:Germany and the See also:United States, where for many years superiority has been shown in regard to the excellence and rapidity of retransferring . To this cause may be attributed the fact that the See also:box tops and See also:Christmas See also:cards on the English See also:market were so largely done abroad until quite See also:recent times . The work of producing even a small See also:face in the finest See also:hand stipple is a lengthy and tedious affair, and the English craftsman has seldom shown the See also:patience necessary for this work; but since the American invention known as See also:Ben Day's shading See also:medium was introduced into See also:England the trade has largely taken it up, and thereby much of the tedium has been avoided, so that it has been found possible by its means to introduce a freedom into stipple work that had not before been found possible, and a very much better class of work has since been produced in this See also:department . About the See also:year 1868 grained paper was invented by Maclure, See also:Macdonald & Co . This method consists in impressing on See also:ordinary Scotch transfer or other suitable paper a See also:grain closely allied to that of the lithographic stone . It appears to have been rather an improvement than a new invention, for drawing paper and even See also:canvas had been coated previously with a material that adhered to a stone and See also:left on the stone the greasy drawing that had been placed thereon; but still from this to the beautifully prepared paper that was placed on the market by the See also:firm of which the See also:late See also:Andrew Maclure was the See also:head was a great advance, and although the first use was by the ordinary craftsman it was not long before artists of eminence saw that a new and convenient mode of expression was opened up to them . On the first introduction of lithography the artists of every nation hastened to avail themselves of it, but soon the cumbrous See also:character of the stone, and the fact that their subjects had to be drawn backwards in See also:order that they might appear correctly on the paper, wore down their newly-See also:born zeal, and it was only when the grained paper See also:system was perfected, by which they could make their drawings in the comfort of their studios without See also:reversing, that any serious revival took See also:place . Although excellent work on grained paper had been done by Andrew Maclure, Rimanozcy, John Cardwell Bacon, Rudofsky and other crafts-men, the See also:credit for its furtherance among artists must be given to Thomas Way and his son T . R . Way, who did much valuable See also:pioneer work in this direction .
The See also:adhesion of such artists of eminence as See also:Whistler, See also:Legros, See also:Frank See also:Short, See also: This See also:deposit, which covers a very large See also:area and underlies the villages of Solenhofen, Moernsheim and Langenaltheim, has often been described, sometimes for interested motives, as nearly exhausted; but a visit in 1906 revealed that the output—considerable as it had been during a period little short of a century—was very unimportant when compared to the great See also:mass of carbonaceous See also:limestone existing in the neighbourhood . The strong point in favour of this source of See also:supply, in addition to its unrivalled quality, is the evenness of its stratification, and the fact that after the removal of the surface deposits, which are very thin, the stones come out of large size, in thickness of 3 to 5 in., and thus just suited for lithographic purposes and needing only to be wrought in the See also:vertical direction . Other deposits of suitable stone have been fcund in France, See also:Spain, See also:Italy and See also:Greece, but transit and the absence of suitable stratification have restricted them to little more than See also:local use . Beyond this, few of the deposits other than in the neighbourhood of Solenhofen have been of the exact degree of See also:density necessary, and the heavier varieties do not receive the grease with sufficient readiness . The See also:desire to find other See also:sources of supply has been stimulated by the social conditions existing in See also:southern Bavaria, for the quarries are largely owned by See also:peasant proprietors, who have very well-defined business habits of their own which make transactions difficult . Among other things, they will seldom supply the highest grades and the largest sizes to those who will not take their proportion of See also:lower quality and smaller sizes; and this, in view of the very expensive transit down the See also:Rhine to See also:Rotterdam, with a railway See also:journey at one end and a See also:sea journey at the other, is a source of difficulty to the importer in other countries . The earliest substitute for lithographic stone was See also:zinc, which has been used from early days and is now more in demand than ever; it requires very careful printing as the grease only penetrates the material to a very slight extent, and the same must be said in regard to the water . From this cause, when not in experienced hands, trouble is likely to arise; and when this has occurred, remedial methods are much more difficult than with stones . When put away for storage, a dry place is very essential, as corrosion is easily,set up . At first the plates were quite thick, and almost invariably grained by a zinc " mailer " and See also:acid; now a See also:bath of acid is more generallyquite thin, which renders them suitable for bending See also:round the cylinders of rotary See also:machines . So far we have been dealing with See also:plain zinc, but See also:variations are caused, either by the oxidization of the surface or by coating the See also:plate with a composition closely allied to lithographic stone and applied in a form of semi-See also:solution . This class of plate was first invented by Messrs C . 
& E
.
Layton, and a modification was invented by Messrs Wezel and See also:Naumann of See also:Leipzig, who brought its use to a high See also:pitch of perfection for transferred work such as Christmas cards
.
A treatment of See also:iron plates by exposing them to a high temperature has recently been patented, and has had some measure of success, while the See also:Parker printing plate, which is practically a sheet of zinc so treated as to secure greater porosity and freedom from oxidization, is rapidly securing a good position as a stone substitute
.
Preparation of the Stones.—In this department the cleanliness so necessary right through the lithographic process must be carefully observed, and a leading point is to secure a level surface and to ensure that the front and back of the stone are strictly parallel, i.e. that the stones stand the test of both the straight edge and the callipers
.
A good See also:plan to ensure evenness on the surface is to See also:mark the front with two See also:diagonal lines of some non-greasy substance till the See also:top stone (which should not be too small, and should be constantly revolved on the larger one) has entirely removed them
.
The application of the straight edge from time to time will end in securing the desired flatness, on which so much of the future printing quality depends
.
The usual method is to rub out with See also:sand, and then rub with See also:pumice and See also:polish with water of See also:Ayr or snake stone
.
For chalk work, the further work of graining has to be done by revolving a small stone See also: A grey stone having been selected and finely grained with sand or powdered glass passed through a See also:sieve of 8o to 12o meshes to the lineal See also:inch, and the artist having made his tracing, this tracing is reversed upon the stone with the interposition of a piece of paper coated with red chalk, and the chalk See also:side towards the surface; the lines on the tracing are then gone over with a tracing point, so that a See also:reproduction in red chalk is left upon the stone . It will then be desirable to secure a stock of pointed See also:Lemercier chalks of at least two grades, hard and soft: the pointing is a matter that requires experience, and is done by the worker drawing a See also:sharp See also:pen-See also:knife towards him in a slicing manner as though trying to put a point upon a piece of See also:cheese . Care should be taken that the falling pieces are gathered into a box, or they may do irreparable See also:mischief to the work . The work of outlining is done with No . 1 or hard chalk, and until experience is gained it will be well to depend chiefly on this grade, securing rich dark effects by tinting or going over the stone in various directions and then See also:finishing with litho-graphic ink where See also:absolute blacks are required . This ink (Vanhymbeck's or Lemercier's are two good makes) needs cargul preparation, the method being to warm a saucer and rub the ink dry upon it, then add a little distilled water and incorporate with the See also:finger . It is of great importance not to use any ink left over for the next day, but always to have a fresh daily supply . When the drawing is thus completed, it will require what is termed etching, by which the parts intended to receive the printing ink, and already protected by an acid-resisting grease, will be left above the unprotected surface . The acid and See also:gum mixture varies in accordance with the quality of the work and the character of the stone . A patiently executed specimen will, for instance, stand more etching than a hastily drawn one; while a grey stone will require more of the nitric acid than a yellow one . This is one of the most important tasks that a lithographer has to perform . A proportion of 1.5 parts of acid to too parts of a strong solution of gum arabic will be found to be approximately what is required, but the exact proportion must be settled by experience, a safe course being to See also:watch the See also:action that occurs when a small quantity is placed on the unused margin of the stone .
Many put the etching mixture on with a See also:flat See also:camel-See also:hair
See also:brush, which should be of good width to avoid streaks
.
The present
writer's own preference is to pour the mixture on to the stone when it
is in a slanting position; or it is perhaps better to have an etching
trough, a strong box lined with pitch, with bearers at the bottom to
prevent the stone coming in contact with it, and a hole through
which the diluted acid may pass away for subsequent use
.
The etch-
See also:ing is then done with acid and water poured over the stone while in a
sloping position, and the subsequent pouring of a solution of gum
arabic completes the preparation
.
The late Mr William Simpson,
whose See also:Crimean lithographs are well known, once stated at the
Society of Arts that in his See also:opinion Mr Louis Haghe's reproduction
i6
of See also:David See also:Robert's great picture of " The Taking of See also:Jerusalem " was the most important piece of chalk lithography ever executed, and that he well remembered that it took two years to execute it, and that all the combined See also:talent of Messrs Day & Haghe's See also:establishment was utilized in its etching
.
He stated that, notwithstanding every precaution, it was under-etched, and that after half a dozen impressions the great beauty and brilliancy of the work had departed
.
This incident indicates sufficiently the serious nature of this part of the lithographer's work
.
If the chalk drawing has to have tints, it will be necessary to make as many dusted offsetts as there are colours to be used; in this class of work there are generally only two,—one warm or sandy shade and the other a quiet blue.—and these, with the black and the neutral colour secured by the superposition of the two shades, give an excellent result, of which Haghe's sketches in See also:Belgium may be taken as a leading example
.
In making such subjects suitable for present-day printing in the machine, the paper will require to be of a good " rag " quality, See also:free from size and damped before printing
.
To secure accuracy of See also:register the paper must be kept in a See also:damp See also:cloth to prevent the edges drying, and other machines should be kept available for each of the tints so that all work printed in black in the See also:morning may be completed the same See also:night
.
In this way large editions might be printed of either original or retransferred work at prices rendering, the prints suitable for high-class magazines
.
Preparing a Chromo Lithograph.—For this purpose the proceedings will be much the same as those suggested for the black and tint work, but the preliminary tracing will be done in lithographic ink on tracing transfer paper or scratched on gelatine, the lines being subsequently filled in with transfer ink, and will be used as a " See also:
For the former class a much wider range of methods is possible, but many of these are difficult to transfer, and the deterioration that arises makes it desirable to limit their use when transferring is contemplated
.
There-fore, chalk-rubbed tints, See also:varnish tints, stumping, wash, See also:air brush, are the methods for original work, while work that has to be transferred is limited to ink work in See also:line or stipple on a polished stone with the aid of " mediums " as before described, and ink " spluttered " on to the stone from a tooth brush
.
It should be mentioned that work done on grained paper is more suitable for retransfer than ordinary chalk work, and so is often very useful when a chalk effect is desired from a polished stone
.
In proving, opaque colours will be got on first, and it will often be found a good plan to put the black on early, for it gives a good See also:idea of how the work is proceeding, and the strength of the touches (for the black should generally be used sparingly) is often pleasantly softened by the semi-opaque colours which should come on next
.
It is desirable to pull impressions of each colour on thoroughly See also: When there is so much original lithography (lone on grained paper by artists of eminence, the transferring of grained paper drawings is the most important . The stone most desirable for this purpose will be neither a grey nor a See also:light yellow, but one that stands See also:mid-way between the two; it should be very carefully polished so as to be quite free from scratches, and brought to See also:blood-See also:heat by being gradually heated in an iron cupboardprepared with the necessary apparatus . The methods that some-times prevail of pouring boiling water over the stone, See also:heating with the See also:flame of an ordinary plumber's See also:lamp, or even heating the surface in front of a See also:fire, are ineffective substitutes, for the surface may thus become unduly hot and spread the work, and there is no increased tendency for the chalk to enter into the stone and thus give the work a long life . If there are no colours or registration troubles to be considered, it is well to place the transfer in a damping book till the composition adheres firmly to the finger, before placing it on the stone; it should then be pulled through twice, after which it should be damped on the back and pulled through several times; after this has again been well damped the paper will be found to See also:peel easily off the stone, leaving the work and nearly all the composition attached; the latter should then be very gently washed away . In cases where the work for some See also:reason must not stretch, such as the hills on a See also:map, it will be necessary to keep the transfer dry and put it on a wet stone, but a piece of the margin of the paper should be tested to see that it is of a class that will adhere to the stone the first time it is pulled through . Unless the adhesion is very See also:complete it may not be safe to pull it through more than once . For a small number of copies a very moderate " etch " is desirable, but for a long run, where the See also:object is to secure a good edition rather than a few good proofs, the Eberle system may be adopted . This method consists in protecting the work with finely powdered See also:resin and then applying the flame of an ordinary plumber's lamp; this will melt the protecting medium round the See also:base of each grain of work and allow of a very vigorous " etch " being applied . As before stated it is not unusual to secure 2000 to 3000 good copies in the machine after this treatment; but the rollers, the ink and the superintendence must be of the best . When the artist who is not a professed lithographer desires to make tints to his work, a reversed offset on grained paper should be made for each colour; this is done by pulling an impression in the usual way on a hard piece of paper, and while it is yet wet this should be faced with a piece of grained paper and pulled through again, when the grained paper will be found to have received the greater portion of the ink; this should be immediately dusted with offset See also:powder of a red shade to prevent the grease passing into the paper, and the drawing of the tints should then be proceeded with in the usual way . Another method of transfer work is to pull impressions from copper or steel plates in transfer ink; it is in such way that simple etchings like those of See also:Cruikshank, Phiz and others are produced, and nearly all commercial work such as maps, See also:bill heads, &c., are prepared in the same manner . Beyond this, much work is done in lithographic ink on what is called writing transfer paper, such as circulars, See also:law writing for abstracts, specifications and plans . Machinery.—The chief items are the hand presses and the machines, whether flat See also:bed or rotary, the principal places of manufacture being See also:Leeds, See also:Otley and See also:Edinburgh . Stimulated by American competition, the standard of excellence in the United Kingdom has been very considerably raised of late years . The rotary machines have only been possible since the more frequent use of See also:aluminium and zinc, but these materials are more suitable to receive transfer than for the general use of an office, the chief reason being that corrections on stone are more easily accomplished and more lasting when done . Preliminary work is therefore frequently done on the stone and transferred to plates for the machine . The question is very frequently asked as to how the necessary registration of the colours is secured; it may be stated for the benefit of the See also:amateur that in hand printing this is generally done by pricking with a pair of needles through printed marks present on each stone ; but in the machine this has been done in different ways, although in quite early days " pointing " or " needling " was done even on the machine . On modern machines this registration depends on the accurate cutting of the edge of the paper, of which at least one corner must be an absolute right angle . The paper is then laid on a sloping See also:board in such a way that the longest of the two true edges gravitates into the gripper of the machine, the stops of which move slightly forward as the gripper closes; simultaneously what is called the " side See also:lay " moves forward automatically to a given extent, and in this way at the See also:critical moment the sheet is always in the same position in regard to the stone, which has already been firmly secured in the bed of the machine . Quite recently a new method has come into use that is probably destined to be a great aid to the craft in its competition with other methods . This is known as offset printing; it is more a matter of evolution than invention, and proceeds from the method adopted in See also:tin-plate decoration so much used for box-making and lasting forms of See also:advertisement . It consists in bringing a sheet of See also:rubber into contact with the charged stone and then setting-off the impression so obtained upon card, paper, pegamoid, cloth or other material, the See also:elasticity of the rubber making it possible to print upon rough surfaces that have been previously unsuited to lithographic printing . Both flat bed and rotary machines are available for this system, the latter being restricted to zinc or aluminium plates, but giving a high speed, while the former can use both stones and See also:metal plates and may be more effective for the highest grade of colour work; by both classes of machines the finest engraved See also:note headings can be printed on rough paper, and colour work that has for so long been confined 16 to coated or burnished papers will be available on surfaces such as the artists themselves use . The following See also:treatises may be referred to with advantage by those in See also:search of more detailed See also:information: A Complete Course of Lithography, by Alois Senefelder (R . See also:Ackermann, See also:London, 1819); The See also:Grammar of Lithography, by W . D . See also:Richmond (13th edition, E . See also:Menken, London); Handbook of Lithography, by David See also:Cumming (London, A . & C . Black) . The first of these will only be found in See also:libraries of importance; the others are present-day text-books . (F . V . |
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