Who wants to be a lithographer?

March 19, 2024 3:33 AM

Using only aluminum foil, vinegar and a brayer, oh, and a printing press you too can become a lithographer. This is quite fun. I've actually done this. The kids will enjoy this too. Make your own greeting cards, etc.
posted by Czjewel (13 comments total)

I’ve tried it too - it really works! We used coca cola instead of vinegar to etch the foil, and though we had a press to print with, I also tried printing by just rubbing the paper with the back of a spoon, and that worked pretty well too.

This method was invented by Émilie Azier in 2011.
posted by moonmilk at 5:02 AM on March 19 [1 favorite]

This is my chance to quote William McGonagal’s “classic” lines:

And when Life's prospects may at times appear dreary to ye,
Remember Alois Senefelder, the discoverer of lithography.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:04 AM on March 19 [5 favorites]

2011? Is that certain? I seem to have a memory of doing this. I remember working the oil crayon on the foil, removing it with oil, the sticky ink on the roller... but that must have been a school art class, which would be pre-2000. Or I did it somewhere else? Or it's a false memory?

This technique is so cool, anyway. Thank you for reminding me of it. I want to do it again.
posted by sixohsix at 5:23 AM on March 19

Art teachers are always mucking around with projects like this, so I wouldn't be surprised if the technique had been independently discovered dozens of times over the last few decades.
posted by echo target at 7:32 AM on March 19 [4 favorites]

Very cool! 🙂
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 7:47 AM on March 19

Yeah, sometimes a discovery in the internet age will turn out to be a re-discovery of something that was previously known but never explained on the internet before. I remember doing this at a summer school in the 1990s, pretty sure we used Coca Cola? Super fun and easy craft to do with kids though!

Hardest part these days would be finding an oil-based crayon, methinks.
posted by Doleful Creature at 8:37 AM on March 19 [2 favorites]

I saw this YouTube video last week where they used a lot of the same techniques, but also used a pasta maker as a press.
posted by ssmith at 8:44 AM on March 19 [4 favorites]

I 3d-printed an Open Press for a friend, with is probably closer to intaglio than lithography. It's supposed to use milk carton card as its plate, with holes pricked in the surface with a pin. But it probably could work with tinfoil.

The problems I had getting this put together were getting small sized bits of printing blanket and (most annoying of all) sourcing the long metric bolts used to hold it together. But maybe the latter is just a Canadian problem.
posted by scruss at 9:41 AM on March 19 [1 favorite]

Scruss, I was mystifies by the many layers of blanket and paper needed to remove before you got to the actual print. Maybe you could cut up a larger piece of blanket to set the smaller versions needed.
posted by Czjewel at 10:10 AM on March 19 [1 favorite]

Hardest part these days would be finding an oil-based crayon, methinks.

I had some luck with oil pastel crayons, which are pretty easy to get; and then i bought litho crayons, designed exactly for this, at a slightly bigger art store.
posted by moonmilk at 12:40 PM on March 19

I can’t wait to try this! I started grad school as a lithographer (but all the chemicals forced me to make less toxic art). I miss the process of print-making a lot though. So different than painting or drawing. This article also reminded me of my Chinese calligraphy blanket (same as you would use on a press. Search sumi felt if you need one.) My Staffie bit a giant hole out of the center when it was rolled up. SMH.
posted by tingting at 1:18 PM on March 19 [3 favorites]

I may want to try this! I've been doing some various art things at home and I keep being served gel print videos on Instagram & that looks like fun but I don't want to buy all the supplies for that. This at least seems like it has some cheaper start-up costs. (Art supplies are an expensive hobby.)

It seems like a fun weekend project and I bet I can enlist a friend into doing this with me.
posted by edencosmic at 6:01 PM on March 19

I did something like that too, sixohsix, in the 80s in school.
posted by tiny frying pan at 10:44 AM on March 20