lithografischer

Lithografischer is the attributive form of the German adjective lithografisch, derived from Lithografie, the printing process based on the principle that oil and water do not mix. The term is used to describe things related to lithography, such as lithografischer Druck (lithographic print) or lithografische Prozesse. In German, lithografischer is the masculine nominative singular form before a definite or indefinite article, and it inflects for gender, number, and case like other adjectives.

Lithography originated in the late 18th century. It was invented by Alois Senefelder in 1796 in Bavaria as a planographic printing method on flat surfaces. Images are drawn with a greasy substance on a stone or metal plate; the surface is treated so that the image areas attract ink while the non-image areas retain water and repel ink. Over time, lithography evolved from stone-based methods to metal plates and photolithographic processes, enabling more versatile and scalable production. In the 20th century, offset lithography became the dominant commercial form, transferring images from a plate to a rubber blanket before printing on paper.

The term lithografischer is commonly used in German to describe objects, works, or processes associated with lithography. It appears in discussions of art, printing technology, and historical or technical descriptions, for example lithografischer Druck (lithographic print) or lithografische Kunst (lithographic art). The concept remains central to fields such as fine art printmaking, publishing, and modern mass printing.

See also: Lithography, Lithographic printing, Offset printing, Lithographic art.