Kitchen Lithography

Here's a short video of how to replicate the principles of lithography 
using things you can find around your kitchen:


Click here to find the latest English version of the Handbook of Kitchen Lithography
which explains the process using the following ingredients:

Metal or plastic plate backing board, thick aluminium foil, Scotch tape, 
Marseille soap (alkaline), paint brush, litho pencil, 
Oil, Cola (or basic soda with phosphoric acid), 
Roller, Oil-based etching ink, 2 sponges, basin or sink, water, paper

I loved that they also added this disclaimer:
Be careful: "simple" lithography don’t mean "easy". 
You must take time to your dexterity to succeed.

Comments

kathy Boyle said…
this looks like fun, will give a try and post the results
Kathy
J. Aaron Scott said…
I love this process it has freed me from being anchored to expensive materials and allows for so much freedom with in the process. i will share a bit more info on the process.

The printmaking community over at
http://inkteraction.ning.com/forum/topics/kitchen-lithography
has been actively experimenting with this as a new form of lithography to be practices in a more free manner than traditional litho processes i am posting some a brief bit on the process steps and of course you can always join in the fun with this new way to do litho.

Kitchen Lithography: Rapid, eco-freindly and less-toxic !
Kitchen lithography is fast, and inexpensive. Most of the materials can be bought for very little and are found in most kitchens. If you have the ink and a press all the better but even the press is not required.
Material List:
• Reynolds heavy-duty aluminum foil
• Polycarbonate or Plexiglas plate (for stretching the aluminum foil)
• Paper Towel (viva is what I uses)
• Tape (for anchoring the aluminum foil)
• 1500 grit waterproof sandpaper (sanding the foil to increase the tooth and surface area)
• White kitchen vinegar (cleaning off prepared foil and making it more receptive)
• Soda/Cola containing phosphoric acid (for etching the plate)
• Korn’s litho crayon (drawing the image)
• Vegetable Oil
• Sponge (for wiping the plate and keeping the plate wet)
• Oil based Etching Ink (graphic chemical ink is what I used)
• Press or Wooden Spoon
• Paper torn to the correct size for the image, any good quality smooth surfaced paper should work(BFK, Stonehenge, Magnani Pescia, ect )
Preparing aluminum plate:
1. Start with Reynolds heavy-duty aluminum foil, shiny side up, use a small amount of tape to anchor the foil to the plastic plate. Place a bit of water between the foil and the plastic plate. (This is done so you can get a good smooth surface to work from.)
2. After applying the water use a paper towel to smooth the foil out. Getting all of the bubbles from between the foil and plastic.
3. Once the foil is smoothed out wet the waterproof 1500 grit sandpaper. Sand the surface of the foil until you get a bit of a paste of ground foil on the surface.
4. Use a clean paper towel and vinegar to remove the ground aluminum.
5. Rinse with water and dry with clean paper towel.
Draw the image and Process it:
1. Using the Korn’s litho crayon create an image.
2. Using the Soda/Cola, containing phosphoric acid, poor it over the drawn image. Allow the cola to sit on the surface for 5-7 seconds.
3. Rinse the Plate with water.
4. Apply oil to a clean paper towel and remove the Korn’s litho crayon from the plate.
5. Sponge the plate with a damp sponge. (Just like traditional Lithography). At this point the image should be visible as a slightly different color than the etched portion of the aluminum.
Preparing to print the plate:
1. Sponge the plate and make sure it is slightly damp.
2. Using a high quality etching ink roll up the image once.
3. Sponge the plate and make sure it is slightly damp.
4. Using a high quality etching ink roll up the image once again not over working it and never allowing the wet area to become dry.
5. Sponge the plate and make sure it is slightly damp.
6. Using a high quality etching ink roll up the image once again not over working it and never allowing the wet area to become dry. Repeat steps 5-6 until the images is sufficiently inked.
Print the plate:
1. Place a dry sheet of paper on the image.
2. Run through press or Burnish with at Wooden Spoon.
3. Remove the paper.
4. Return to the Preparing to print instructions.
Anonymous said…
Thank you J. Aaron Scott, that's an excellent write-up/addendum! I'm going to try this with my high school art metal class in Victoria, BC.