lithographic

Meanings

1. 1adjectivebefore a nountechnical

   relating to a printing process in which ink is applied to a flat surface, such as stone or metal, and then transferred to paper.

   Grammar: Used before a noun, as in 'lithographic printing' or 'lithographic process'. It is not used after a verb.

   Patterns

   • lithographic printing
   • lithographic process
   • lithographic technique

   The artist used a lithographic method to produce the posters.

   Lithographic printing became common in the nineteenth century for books and newspapers.

   The museum has a collection of lithographic stones used by early printers.

2. 2adjectivebefore a nountechnical

   produced by the lithographic printing process.

   Grammar: Describes the printed item itself: a lithographic print, a lithographic map.

   Patterns

   • lithographic print
   • lithographic map

   She collected lithographic prints from the 1890s.

   The old lithographic map showed the city before the railway was built.

Common combinations

lithographic printing

Lithographic printing is still used for high-quality art reproductions.

lithographic stone

The printer prepared the lithographic stone with a greasy crayon.

lithographic plate

Modern lithographic plates are made of aluminum rather than stone.

lithographic technique

He learned the lithographic technique from a master printer.

Synonyms and how they differ

offset

Offset printing is a modern development of lithography; 'lithographic' can refer to the older method or to the general process.

Word family

lithography noun

The printing process itself.

lithograph noun

A print made by this process.

lithographer noun

A person who makes lithographs.

Commonly confused: lithographic or lithology?

Practice

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