American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
20
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VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue01 2025
PAGE NO.
20-21
10.37547/ajsshr/Volume05Issue01-06
Lithography
Ummatova Charos Abdukhalikovna
Teacher of the Department of Miniatures and Book Graphics, Kamoliddin Bekhzod National Institute of Art, Uzbekistan
Received:
25 October 2024;
Accepted:
27 December 2024;
Published:
17 January 2025
Abstract:
This article examines the historical aspects of the emergence of lithography, its technical characteristics
and influence on the development of art and polygraphy. Particular attention is paid to the role of lithography in
the mass production of images in the 19th century and its transformation into modern offset printing. The reasons
for the popularity of lithography among graphic artists and its importance in modern conditions are also analyzed.
Keywords:
Lithography, printing technology, printing, art graphics, offset printing, history of lithography, color
lithography.
Introduction:
Lithography is a type of printing in which
an image is engraved on a stone by an author-artist or
a master lithographer and printed in a special hand
printing press or on a special printing machine. The
process was invented in the late 18th century by the
German playwright and actor Alois Senefelder, who
was looking for an inexpensive way to reproduce text
and images. Lithography is based on using a smooth
surface, usually a stone or metal plate, onto which a
design or text is applied using a special oily substance.
Post-treatment of the surface with chemical solutions
allows oily areas to attract ink, while remaining
hydrophilic areas repel it, ensuring accurate
reproduction of the image when printed.
METHODOLOGY
One of the main features of lithography is the ability to
convey the finest details of the original image. This is
made possible by using lithographic stone, a type of
limestone with a fine-grained texture that provides a
very smooth and flat surface. Such qualities of stone
allowed artists and publishers to achieve high accuracy
and aesthetic expressiveness in printed works. In
addition, the lithography process proved to be more
economical and convenient than traditional engraving
methods, which helped make it popular in the 19th
century.
Lithography played an important role in the
development of fine arts and printing. In the 19th
century, it was widely used to create posters,
illustrations and art reproductions. Artists such as Henri
de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Gauguin, and Pierre Bonnard
actively used lithography as a means of artistic
expression, experimenting with color, texture, and
form. The technology of color lithography, which
appeared in the middle of the 19th century, opened
new possibilities for the mass production of color
images used in the publication of advertisements,
books and magazines.
Color lithography, or "chromolithography" as it is
commonly called, is one of the richest visual arts in
graphic art. Here, as in no other method, lithography
has enormous tools for realizing its creative plan, both
in terms of tone and texture, and in terms of the
richness of color possibilities. In color lithography, an
independent printing form - stone is prepared for each
individual color, individual paint. As they say, each color
is produced "in its own stone", which requires a
separate printing process, machine or machine
operation. When performing color lithography, the
main and most important task of the lithographer is to
divide his color composition into component colors, the
totality of which can convey his artistic intention,
desired color, color and tone relationships, nuances,
etc.
This complicates the task, because if the lithographer
does color lithography not only for himself, but also for
wide distribution, printing in large quantities, he must
American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
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American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research (ISSN: 2771-2141)
find colors and combinations that limit him to the
smallest. The working procedure in color lithography is
as follows: depending on the nature and complexity of
the intended color lithography, the artist makes a more
or less full-color sketch or even a detailed and final
color composition - the original.
This sketch or original must be prepared in full size, i.e.
in the same format as a finished color lithograph. Here
the artist determines the number of paints and the
technique of performing each of them, that is, he
determines in advance which color of paint will be
painted on the smooth stone, which one will be painted
on the vertebral stone, and what color will be done
with it. Then the outline is removed from this sketch or
from the original using one of the methods described
above.
RESULTS
Modern technology has significantly changed the
lithographic process, but its basic principles remain the
same. In the 20th century, lithography evolved into
offset printing, one of the most common methods of
mass reproduction of printed materials. Unlike classic
lithography, offset printing uses an intermediate
medium, which provides greater clarity and
consistency of the image. However, traditional
lithography remains popular among graphic artists,
who appreciate it for its unique aesthetic qualities and
craftsmanship.
Lithography is also the name given to the final result of
the work - printing from stone. The same term applies
to a printing plant where lithography is carried out. At
the same time, lithography means not only when stone
is taken as a material for a printing plate, but also such
types of lithography when printing from metal plates -
zinc or aluminum. The latter type of lithography is
sometimes referred to by the special term "algraph".
DISCUSSION
Working on metal plates is classified as lithography,
because according to the principle of printing, these
varieties are classified as flat plate printing. There is
almost complete similarity in processing the shape and
printing with real lithography, and zinc and aluminum
only replace the stone. The formation of lithographic
stone is explained by the gradual sedimentation of lime
carbonate and other mineral substances at the bottom
of large rivers, carrying a lot of sand, clay, minerals, etc.
in their flow.
First, the heavier particles fall to the bottom of the
river, and then, as the current loses speed, the lighter
and smaller particles accumulate. Thus, these deposits
accumulate gradually, the upper layers increasingly
press the lower layers, and over thousands of years or
even millions of years, sedimentary rock is formed. Due
to changes in the earth's crust over the centuries, these
areas rise and end on its surface. The period in which
the lithographic rock was laid down is called the
"Jurassic period" in geology; it ended long before man
appeared on earth.
Printing color lithographs is no more difficult than
printing black (monochrome) lithographs. The main
thing here is the ability to easily and quickly create the
desired color, which, together with others, will give the
final print the necessary new colors and shades. Before
you start printing color lithography, you need to paint
and slide the paint of the desired color onto the plate.
Then they put the stone of the first ink to be pressed on
the machine and adjust it, that is, set the press
pressure, select and calibrate the rib, prepare the deck
folder, rib, printing paper, etc. Then the stone is
washed as usual with water and turpentine.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it should be said that lithography is not
only a historically important technology, but also an
important artistic and industrial tool that continues to
develop and finds application in various fields of
activity. It shows how the combination of scientific
principles and creativity can lead to the creation of a
universal style capable of satisfying both the technical
and aesthetic needs of mankind.
REFERENCES
Lazukin, S.I. Lithography: Technology, art, history. St.
Petersburg: Art,2012.
Lashinov B.A. Technology of lithographic processes.
Textbook - Moscow State Institute of Electronics and
Mathematics. M., 2011.
Marakov, P. L. Technology of printing processes.
Moscow: MGUP, 2009.
Childs, E. Modernist Prints and Lithography: Artistic
Experimentation and Mass Production. New York:
Abrams, 2015.
Gasparov, B. M. History of graphics technologies.
Moscow: Science, 2005.
