How are oil lithographs made? And where might I find the info online?

Question

I believe the original painting is copied and then screen printed onto the canvas. But are the detail oils added by machine as well?

Answer 1

A little confused about your mixture of the terms "lithograph" and "screen print" - which are two very different processes - and further confused by the implied application to canvas. To my knowledge, there is no process that incorporates litho printing technology with canvas, though I imagine screen printing would not be impossible (it's just not common).

But you may be referring to a Giclee print - a fairly recent technology whereby a digital image is printed onto a paper or canvas using a special ink jet process very different from a home printer. The archival pigmented ink is sprayed on (hence the word giclee - which means "to spray". I've seen some canvas giclees that have textures added afterward, likely by the use of clear acrylic gels, and probably done by hand.

Back in the 50's and 60's, reproductions of famous paintings were printed (lithographed) onto pressed board which were then stamped with a texture which (almost) simulated brushstrokes. I can't believe how many people find these in their attics and believe they've inherited a masterpiece...

I noticed Wikipedia doesn't offer much info on giclees, sorry...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giclee

Answer 2

No, screen printing is a completely different process. It is essentially a lithograph that uses an oil based ink, as apposed to rubber based ink. It is printed on a lithography press, and each color ink is placed on the page in a seperate "run". You can look up regular lithography to see how the process is made.