Alois Senefelder

“ If a roller has been used a long time, it loses its elasticity and softness and becomes useless for fine work. Still worse is a roller that has hardened from the drying of the ink. It is surprising to see what a difference [185] it makes if one has worked for a time with a poor roller and then replaces it with a good one. It is almost impossible to believe that the new impressions come from the same stone. I am inclined, therefore, to believe that the quality of the ink-roller has more effect on good impressions of crayon and fine pen work than even the quality of the printing-color. ”

“ When a copper-plate engraver has partially finished his plate, he can have a proof pulled to enable him to study his work. Then he can make corrections as he pleases,—an advantage that the stone worker has lacked hitherto.
To produce an impression that shall be faithful to all the beauties of a crayon design is a matter dependent on so many trivial details that of the many hundred crayon designs that have been produced by lithographers since the origin of the art, hardly one has realized the designer's hopes and ambitions. ”

“ The proper dampening of the paper is not a matter of the greatest importance in pen designs, so long as it is not too wet, in which case it causes squashed impressions, does not take color uniformly, and, if the printing-color is tough, will stick to the stone. In general, the rule holds good that the degree of dampening must be in proportion to the firmness of the varnish, and that a softer varnish permits increased dampening. Dampening is done chiefly to soften the paper, and the qualities of the paper dictate the amount necessary to a large extent. ”

“ Not all kinds of paper are equally good for lithography. On the whole, however, it may be assumed that this form of printing is very similar to copper-printing and book-printing, and that the paper that is good for these branches is suitable also for the stone, if only it does not contain too many impurities, grains of sand and other substances that make any considerable roughnesses. Such roughnesses, if considerable, have an ill effect not only on the impression, but chiefly on the leather in the printing frame. ”

“ With the exception of Herr Andre of Offenbach, he was the only one who reasoned thus: "These strokes and points, of such great fineness and again of such great strength, can evidently be made on the stone, therefore it is possible to make drawings similar to copper-plate etchings. That this cannot be done yet is due not to a fault in the art of stone-printing, but to the insufficient skill of the artists."
Even at that time he did not say: "The art is still in its infancy," as many a would-be wise man does to-day, thus exposing his lack of knowledge of the entire matter. ”

“ There is no press as yet that is so perfect for lithography that it leaves nothing to be desired. The press whose plan I laid before the Royal Academy of Sciences in Bavaria, which does its own inking-in and which can be worked by water-power, has not yet been built on a large scale, so that its value cannot be stated exactly.
I am only too well aware, however, of a grave defect in lithography, which is that the beauty and even the number of impressions depend mainly on the skill and the industry of the printers. A good press is necessary, to be sure ”

“ In the pen and crayon method all the lines that are to take printing-color are drawn directly on the stone with a fatty preparation. But lithography has a unique way of transferring to the stone a drawing or inscription that is first put on paper with the fatty substance. This is possible only for lithography, and I incline to the belief that it is the most important of all my inventions. It makes it unnecessary to learn reverse writing. ”

“ From all this it appears that lithography makes it much easier to write and design and then to print swiftly and produce any desired number of impressions, of all those works that heretofore could be produced only on copper or zinc, providing they do not demand the very greatest degree of delicacy, strength, and sharpness obtainable with copper; in a word, so long as it is not vital to attain the utmost possible artistic beauty. ”

“ Before everything else, it is necessary to remove all that should not be on the stone, all smut-marks and black dots; and where the design has darkened, white points or lights must be graved-in. To accomplish this, the stone is inked-in first with a firm acid-proof color, and over this with a lighter one. Then erase or grind away the dirt that is outside of the design and that would dirty the margin of the printing-paper. No erasing or grinding must be done within the design itself because then the grain would be destroyed and the necessary drawing could not be done as it should be. ”

“ It is the nature of earthly being and of human imperfection that rarely is anything found that combines in itself everything to be wished for and required. So it may be said of stone-printing that it makes neither book-printing nor copper-plate printing entirely superfluous. It is possible that in the future, by perfecting the presses, lithography may equal book-printing in point of speed, as it does not now ”

“ I will merely make the general note here that designs on stone take the ink best when it is thin and fluid, but that there is less danger of off-set on the parts of the stone that are to remain white, if the ink is tougher or contains more lampblack.
Too much lampblack and too tough a varnish endanger the finer strokes and dots, however, so that they will not take ink, being, as lithographers say, rubbed out. The rubbing or grinding effect of too tough an ink is like that of pumice or other grinding material. ”

“ One of the most necessary tools of lithography is the steel pen for writing and drawing on the stone. Simple as its manufacture is in principle, it demands much care and skill. The beauty of the work depends largely on a good and well-cut pen. The best artist, using the best chemical ink on a perfectly prepared plate, cannot do good work unless the pen is good and cut to suit his hand. ”

“ It is easier to produce all kinds of script on stone, both with fatty inks and with the engraving needle. Therefore lithography serves excellently for charts and similar work, which can be done at least three times faster on stone than on copper.
If copper-printing is to reach a high degree of perfection, the printing itself must be done by very excellent workmen. Indeed, some persons allege that the very best German copper-plate printers do not yet equal the Parisians. Printing from stone is not so difficult, and only a few particular methods demand especial care or unusual knowledge. ”

“ If the stone is ground rough, so that instead of a polished surface it has one resembling rough paper, the crayon work appears as a mass of dots that are coarser or finer according to pressure with the crayon, and produce an effect similar to crayon designs on paper. As almost every artist and painter knows how to use crayon, no particular practice is required for working on stone, and there are no obstacles such as the difficulty of using the steel pen. ”

“ The press has two defects. It is easy to miss many parts of the design with the small scraper, and the paper is likely to stick to the leather, producing poor register. I have obviated these faults with the following invention: A large scraper is fastened to the lever to press on the plate with a force of one hundred pounds. A small one is fastened to this in such a manner that it can be moved to and fro easily. While one workman rubs to and fro with the small scraper, another draws the entire stone and printing-frame slowly along under the large one. ”

“ If a crayon plate is spoiled in printing through carelessness or lack of skill, the rules for remedying the trouble are the same as those named for pen work, and the judgment of the worker must decide which method is the most applicable. In general, it may be assumed that the best remedy for blurred spots is to draw them over again with crayon; and for smutted parts the best is to apply firmer printing-color, or to cleanse with oil of turpentine and gum and afterward ink-in with acid-proof ink, and then use light etching with weak aquafortis followed always by coating with gum and water. ”

“ If the full beauty of a well-made copper plate is to be equaled, care must be taken, as said before, to achieve the proper depth of engraving, [204] and the stone must be wiped harder. Otherwise the method is the same, except that beautiful, shining impressions often can be made by using a firm color, if the stone can bear the necessary tension.
The inking-in with the ink-roller is like the same process in other methods, except that the color must be softer and the roller well filled with it. It is necessary, also, to learn by practice how to work the color into all the deep lines. ”

“ Oh! If only human life were not so limited, if it were granted to me to execute only one tenth part of my designs, I would make myself worthy of this great honor by making many another useful invention! ”

“ While the writing or design is drying, select a stone that either has not been used before or at least has been thoroughly ground off, and grind it down once more with pure and dry pumice stone without water, until it is certain that all parts of the surface have been rubbed down so thoroughly that the stone may properly be considered a new one. Clean away the dust with clean paper, fasten the stone in the press, examine the scraper to make sure that it is even, adjust the press for the proper pressure; in a word, do all that is necessary for good impressions. ”

“ In contrast with preparation by wet wiping there is the wiping with dry and fatty bodies, which produces full acceptance of color on the partially prepared plate, while in the case of the fully prepared plate there occurs at least partial color acceptance or semi-preparation. As every property of the stone can be used for good impressions just as well as it serves in unskilled hands to ruin a design, so in this case; the lost parts can be restored through proper use of rubbing with a dry, fatty substance, and the clean, prepared portions of the plate can be smutted. ”

“ Fresh cheese, or drops of congealed milk, mixed with soap, potash, linseed oil varnish, and the desired tint, make an excellent composition, with which all intaglio designs, even aquatints, can be printed handsomely if the plate is very smooth.
If the design is made well, the various colors can be laid on quite roughly, care being taken merely that each color shall be laid only where it is desired. Then the stone should be permitted to dry, after which all the surplus colors can be scraped away with one manipulation, without danger that one will mix with the other in the design. ”

“ After rubbing-in with black printing-ink and cleaning again thoroughly, it is rinsed with a great deal of clean water to take away every trace of gum. When it is dry a small brush is dipped into the preparing-ink, and the stone is spattered as described in the article on spatter-work. After drying, the dots that are too large are treated with the needle, and missing ones are drawn in with the pen. Now apply the roller with the dissolved etching-ground, that must, however, have only enough color so that the outlines of the design can show through it. ”

“ The difficulty of getting impressions from crayon that shall not differ from the original design on the stone led me to consider the use of the grained style of the copper-plate engravers. A crayon-like design in intaglio would have a greater strength in the dark parts and greater delicacy in the lighter; be more durable and more easily corrected. I saw at once that if I could attain some perfection, it would mean a great step forward in color printing, also. ”

“ The inner composition of the stone and the temperature have a considerable effect on the print and also react on the color. A stone, especially a porous one, has much less internal moisture on very warm, dry days. Then the dampening done before each impression often evaporates instantly and unequally, so that it is difficult to ink-in uniformly with a soft color or one lacking varnish, unless one wets the stone unduly, which, again, injures the impressions. In that case one must use a color that is firmer than should be used according to ordinary rule. ”

“ If the stone is coated with fatty matter, but not so thickly that the acid is entirely resisted, it will pierce the covering and eat away more or less of the stone. If the etching is continued or if the acid is strong, the fatty coat will be destroyed entirely, the surface of the stone will be clean, and ready for the ensuing preparation. The preparation of the stone for pen drawings with oil or soap-water and several aquatint methods, is based on this principle, that a very thin coating of grease can be etched away partly or wholly, at will. ”

“ I have obtained the handsomest and darkest green by printing the design blue first and then printing over it a yellow plate, so that the yellow lay over the blue. By using Berlin blue and fine ochre a fairly handsome color is produced. On account of its loss of color in water, ochre cannot be used unless Venetian turpentine is first mixed with the varnish.
A handsome and at the same time dark yellow is equally hard to obtain. Till a good color is invented, we must content ourselves with ochre, Terra de Sienna, Neapolitan yellow, mineral yellow or chrome. ”

“ All metals have great inclination for fats; but if they are quite clean, being ground with pumice, for instance, or rubbed-down with chalk, they can be prepared like a stone, that is, they acquire the property of resisting oil color, thus becoming available for chemical printing. ”

“ Everything rests still on the same principle: ink of wax, soap, etc., then gum, aqua fortis or another acid of which none has an advantage over the others, further oil varnish and lampblack,—these are, ever and in the same manner, the chief elements of stone-printing as they were then. Not the slightest thing has been changed, improved, or invented in the fundamental principle. ”

“ When it is dry, a strong impression of the design is made on sized but well-dampened paper with a printing-color rather soft than firm. Before the paper has a chance to dry and thus to shrink, the red stone is placed in the press and the impression is laid on it face down. Use moderate pressure. The drawing will transfer itself to the red surface, but the paper will stick. Wet it with weak aquafortis till it is completely softened and permits itself to be removed. Care must be taken not to spoil the drawing by violent wiping and rubbing. ”