These prints are not hand printed and they usually involve none or very little collaboration between the printer and the artist.

When buying prints one should be aware that dealers and artists often refer to prints as original lithographs when they are in fact reproductions of artwork that are printed in the same way that posters and magazines are printed. It needs complicated machinery and equipment and is only used by artists to do reproductions of their work. Offset printing is the technique used in industry for printing books, magazines etc. Offset lithography, although evolving from the same chemical processes as hand done version, is a separate and distinctly different process.

The chemicals used in processing are relatively harmless and pose no threat to the artist. With a skilled master printer to guide the artist almost any effect is possible. It can have large areas of flat colour or else areas can be 'scratched' into. It can be subtle with many layers of washes or it can look like a pencil drawing with strong lines that pick up the texture of the drawing tool and the 'tooth' of the plate. Lithography is a very versatile printing technique and artists can get the medium to suit the needs of their particular style. So a print that is built up of ten colours would take the master printer ten days to print. Like many other printing processes, one colour at a time is printed. Paper is then placed on the print and is run through the press by hand. The plate is placed on a special press and is then rolled up with either leather or rubber rollers. The inks are oil based and should be lightfast. The image will repel water and accept ink. An image is drawn, painted or photographically applied the stone or plate using a greasy medium. Traditionally this flat surface was a specially prepared limestone, but today grained aluminium printing plates and the original stones are used. The artist works on a separate stone or plate for each colour. Printing is done from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a grained surface using oil-based inks. It is a method of printing based on the principle that oil and water do not mix. Lithography refers to a lithograph print that is made from an image which has been applied to a flat surface.

Photoshop lithograph effect