HOME＞Experiments＞For Kitchen＞EH009 Kitchen Lithography
Let’s try the printing technique called “lithography,” which utilizes the repulsion between water and oil!
“Lithography” is a printing technique that creates a flat printing plate by chemically treating an aluminum plate to make certain areas hydrophilic (water-attracting) and others oleophilic (oil-attracting). However, since the chemicals traditionally used in lithography can include hazardous substances, this method introduces a safer alternative using non-hazardous materials.
Requires
equipments
・aluminum foil
・rigid plates such as cutter mats
・masking tape
・crayon
・sponge
・paint roller
・drawing paper
reagents
・vegetable oil
・cola
・oil paints
Methods
1.
Cover a cutting mat with aluminum foil and secure the edges with masking tape to create an aluminum plate.
2.
Place the paper with the design you want to print on top and trace the lines with a ballpoint pen.
*The image uses tracing paper underneath, but it’s not necessary.
*The design features “Nihonium,” a personified character representing the element, from the series “GENSOGAKUSHO(元素楽章)” by Agedoridori(X: @agedoridori). Check it out too!
3.
Trace the lines on the aluminum plate with a crayon.
4.
Soak the aluminum plate in cola for a few seconds.
5.
Rinse the plate lightly with water, then add a small amount of salad oil. Use a damp sponge to dissolve and remove the crayon. Now the plate is ready for printing.
6.
Wipe the entire plate lightly with a water-dampened sponge, then use a roller with paint to apply color to the drawn areas.
7.
Place a sheet of drawing paper over the plate, then rub it with a rounded object. Peel off the paper, and your print is complete. This printing process can be repeated several times.
Clearing
Lithography is a printing technique that utilizes the property of water and oil repelling each other and not mixing.
The oil and fat components of the crayon react with the surface of the aluminum foil, making it repel water (hydrophobic).
Additionally, the phosphoric acid and gum arabic in Coca-Cola make the areas of the aluminum foil not covered by crayon more capable of retaining water (hydrophilic).
Now, when you wipe the aluminum plate soaked in cola with a damp sponge, you’ll notice that the hydrophilic areas get wet, while the hydrophobic areas repel the water.
In this state, when you roll a roller coated with oil paint over the surface, the areas wet with water repel the oil paint due to the water-oil repulsion, while the dry areas hold the paint firmly.
By the way, if you sprinkle phosphorescent powder onto the printed and dried paper, the powder will only stick to the painted areas, creating a unique effect.