Planography for Dummies

Planography is a term that we often use in the study of printmaking, which is a way of creating art by transferring an image from one surface to another. Now, imagine for a moment that you want to make a copy of a really cool picture that you saw in a book. You could try drawing it by hand, but what if I told you that there's a way to make an exact replica of that picture without having to draw it all over again? That's where planography comes in!

You see, planography is all about using a special kind of printing process that allows us to make copies of images in a very precise and detailed way. The word "planography" actually comes from two Greek words: "plano," which means flat, and "graphy," which means writing or drawing. So, when we combine these two words together, we get a process that essentially means "flat drawing" or "flat writing."

But how does planography actually work? Well, the main idea behind planography is that we use a flat surface, such as a metal plate or a stone, to transfer our image onto another surface, like a piece of paper. We do this by treating the flat surface with certain chemicals and inks, which will adhere to the areas of the surface that we want to print. This is similar to how a stamp works - when you press a stamp onto a piece of paper, the ink on the stamp transfers to the paper, creating an image.

In planography, we use a special kind of printing press called a lithographic press to make our prints. This press allows us to apply just the right amount of pressure to transfer the image from the flat surface onto the paper. The flat surface that we use is called a lithographic plate, and it's usually made of stone, metal, or sometimes even special types of plastic.

Now, there are actually a few different techniques that we can use to create planographic prints. One of the most commonly used techniques is called lithography, which involves drawing our image directly onto the lithographic plate with a special type of greasy crayon or ink. The greasy areas will attract the ink, while the non-greasy areas will repel it, creating our image.

Another technique that falls under the umbrella of planography is called serigraphy, or silk-screen printing. In this technique, we use a stencil made of a fine mesh screen, which allows ink to pass through only in certain areas. By carefully placing the screen on top of our surface, whether it's a piece of paper or fabric, we can push ink through the screen and onto the surface, creating our printed image.

So, in a nutshell, planography is all about using a flat surface, like a stone or a metal plate, to transfer an image onto another surface, like a piece of paper. We can do this using different techniques such as lithography or serigraphy. It's a fascinating and creative process that allows us to make beautiful prints and copies of images without having to draw them all by hand.