Craft · 6 pages · 12 min
How a printing plate separates water and oil
Image areas take greasy ink, and a water film on the blanks refuses it.
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From the opening
A lithographic plate keeps ink only where the image is, because those areas accept greasy ink and the blank areas hold a thin film of water that rejects it. Oil and water do not mix comfortably, so the damp non-image stays clean while the ink-loving areas take the color. The opening covers grease accepts the oily ink, a water film rejects it, and the plate is dampened, then inked.
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Inside
- Grease accepts the oily ink
- A water film rejects it
- The plate is dampened, then inked
- The printing surface stays flat
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- Senefelder's grease-and-water lithography
- Hydrophilic and oleophilic offset plates