Lithograph

Lithographs look like crayon or ink drawings.  Artists make stone lithographs by drawing directly onto Bavarian limestone and chemically processing the surface to make the print.  Because the stone is flat, lithography is known as a planographic technique.  The stone will accept ink and repel water in the areas where it has been drawn; the un-drawn areas will hold water and repel ink.  The printer must repeatedly roll ink onto stone and keep it damp with a sponge.  When the stone is fully rolled-up with ink, he places a piece of paper on top and runs the stone and paper through the press.  The print is then peeled off and laid to dry. 

Fine art lithographs are printed one at a time by the hand master printer, usually in small or limited editions.

Today, many artists use aluminum plates to make their lithographs instead of the traditional stone.  The process is otherwise the same.