ABSTRACT
The word lithography [Greek for the words stone (lithos) and to write (gráphein)] refers to the process invented in 1796 by Aloys Senefelder. Senefelder found that stone (he used Bavarian limestone), when properly inked and treated with chemicals, could transfer a carved image onto paper. As a result of the chemical treatment of the stone, image and nonimage areas became oil receptive (water repellent) and oil repellent (water receptive), respectively, attracting ink onto the image area and attracting water on nonimage areas.
