lithography

Meaning

1. The process of printing an image by drawing the image with a water-repellent material onto a hard, flat surface (typically metal), then copying the surface by applying water and ink (or the equivalent) to it and pressing another material against it.

Etymology / origin

From German Lithographie, from λίθος (líthos, “stone”) + γράφειν (gráphein, “to write”). Originally the printing surface was a flat piece of limestone that was treated with grease to form a surface that would selectively transfer ink to the paper; the stone has now been replaced, in general, with a metal plate. By surface analysis, litho- + -graphy.

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