In the
modern technological world of today, tradition is oft
forgot, so that in the realm of fine-art printing, the
market is glutted with cheap "giclée" prints,
which, despite their French name, are no more than
glorified Epson ink-jet reproductions. Whereas, at the
peak of craftsmanship and tradition stands out the time-honoured
process of chromolithography, the crown jewel of hand-made,
museum-quality, fine-art printing.
(stoneprinting press in the studio
on Eglistrasse in Zurich) INTRODUCTION
At the beginning of the twentieth century the
lithographer and art expert Johann Edwin Wolfensberger
built the house Wolfsberg. Wolfensberger was not only an
expert in the traditional stone lithographic process, he
was also particularly committed as a patron of the arts.
The Wolfsberg was to be an open house to everyone. Over
many years, Wolfsberg became a meeting place for artists,
lovers of art and specialists in printing techniques.
J. E. Wolfensberger is seen as a pioneer of the highly
artistic, Swiss posters produced in the first half of the
twentieth century. In addition to the printing business
he also managed a gallery and provided many artists with
a platform, enabling them to show their work to a broader
public. For more than ninety years the "Wolfsberg
Art Salon" Kunstsalon Wolfsberg has enjoyed a sound
reputation for its exhibitions well beyond the Zurich
city border. At the same time the idea for a publishing
house specialising in art publications took root.
The traditional lithographic workshop which was run on a
commercial basis at first has, over the years, developed
into an art studio. Our lithographic studio is used by
both established as well as young and (still) unknown
artists who are fascinated by the very specialised
technique of printing using lithographic stones.
The stone lithographic process has a long tradition in
our company. We are fascinated by the expressive quality
— especially the intensity of the colours —
that can be produced using the stone lithographic
technique. The Wolfensberger company values its close
ties to the art world and to artists — and this
reason and our passion for lithography keep this process
alive.
All traditional printing methods possible using the stone
technique are used in our lithography studio. In addition
to classical lithography we also provide the possibility
of integrating related printing techniques or combining
these with others such as woodcut printing or linocuts.
Three different printing presses are available. For small
print-runs, trials, proofs and experiments using
different materials and techniques, hand presses are used.
The machine-operated press is largely used for printing
limited series of lithographic originals. Other
bibliophiles can also be printed in larger print-runs on
the machine-operated press. To be able to meet the
precise wishes of our artists and other customers, we
stock an extensive range of hand-made vat papers and
Japanese paper.
(stone plates of "Alice
and the Cheshire Cat" for each colour)
(awaiting stone plates)
(stone plate of "Alice
and the Cheshire Cat")
(proofs of the "Cheshire
Cat" at Wolfensberger's studio on Eglistrasse in
Zurich)
(awaiting stone plates)
(stone plate - side view)
(fine art paper manufacturing at Papierfabrik Zerkall -
Germany)
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Our Mill is located in the valley of
the small river named Kall in the hilly countryside south
of the city of Dueren between Cologne and Aachen. Its
history can be traced back to the 16th century when
official documents mention the existence of a water-driven
mill for the first time.
The small mill served different purposes until 1903 when
it was bought by Gustav Renker, an engineer of Swiss
origin. He enlarged the site to a modern paper mill
designed to produce mould made paper with four deckle
edges on a cylinder mould machine. The production was
successfully introduced to the European markets and
export to the USA was started in the 1920´s. The
registered trademark ZERKALL-BUETTEN (Zerkall Mould Made)
became well known and is still representing the claim for
some of the finest quality mould made paper.
Today, the fourth generation of the Renker family is
running the mill which produces a complete range of mould
made stationery items containing sheets, cards and
envelopes as well as a large variety of mould made paper
for fine art printing, printmaking, book art, watercolour
and drawing.
It is for all these applications that we supply mould
made paper in sheets ranging from 90 to 600 g/sqm in
different colours and several finishes. Individual
requirements can be achieved with special makings up to a
maximum sheet size of 150 x 225 cm. The standard furnish
is composed of a mix of cotton fibre and high alpha
cellulose, while a number of grades are furnished with
100% cotton fibre. All grades are acid free, neutral
sized, alkaline buffered with calcium carbonate, without
optical brightener and non-ageing (DIN ISO 9706, ANSI/NISO
Z 39.48-1992).
After leaving our Mill our Mould Made papers are
delivered to printers, bookbinders, designers and artists
around the world who turn them into printed matter,
graphic editions, books and artwork of all kinds.
ZERKALL is acknowledged to be a reliable paper of very
high quality when it comes to fine art printing and
printmaking. On our paper the graphic works of many
different artists – among them Max Ernst, Jasper
Johns, Georg Baselitz, Paul Wunderlich, Horst Janssen,
Markus Raetz – have found their places in
collections and museums throughout the world. Graphic
editions are the result of a very close collaboration
between the artist and the master printer, who performs
the process of printmaking. Many master printers with
international reputations use ZERKALL for printmaking,
among others are Ernst Hanke, Kurt Zein and Kenneth Tyler.
In contrast to the art market mould made papers are no
necessity for designers and advertising agencies. They
are however repeatedly being used in order to highlight
the special material of a printed feature. Examples are
letterheads and annual reports, but even applications
like the cover for the first-class menu of Lauda-Air were
printed four-colour offset on ZERKALL.
In the production of books ZERKALL is used for text or
cover. The variety of end uses ranges from the limited
editions of small hand presses to high-class editions of
large publishing companies.
ZERKALL has also found a place in the history of Germany
as many state treaties have been signed on our document
paper. Among them is the reunification treaty from 1990
which is exhibited in the museum "Haus der
Geschichte” in Bonn.
(stoneprinting press:
Steindruck-Schnellpresse von Maschinenfabrik Johannisberg,
Germany, circa 1905)
(four of the eight stone
plates of "Alice and the Cheshire Cat", one for
each colour)
TRADITIONAL
LITHOGRAPHY
At the end of the eighteenth century the Austrian actor
and playwright Alois Senefelder discovered the
possibility of printing using a flat limestone. He soon
put this printing method, based on the attracting and
repelling principle of grease and water, into practice.
He called prints made this way polyautographs, and the
process chemical printing or stone printing. Around 1803
the term lithography was first coined in France.
Senefelder refined this principle to a considerable
degree, also with regard to the materials, formulas and
equipment needed and, in 1818, he published the first
manual on lithography. In the course of time,
Senefelder’s development was optimized for
industrial use. The stones became thinner and lighter,
before experimenting with malleable aluminium sheets as
now used for offset printing. Printing is no longer
dominated by Gutenberg’s letterpress printing but by
Senefelder’s chemical planographic printing.
(stone plates of "Alice
and the Cheshire Cat" for each colour)
As opposed to letterpress printing, in which raised metal
type is inked and then printed on the paper, with
planographic printing everything is on one flat plane.
The differentiation between what is to be printed and
what not is made chemically. After a series of steps
those areas not to be printed absorb water, the other
areas greasy ink.
The traditional lithographic process is with slabs of
limestone from Solnhofen. The fine pores in the soft
stone are absorbent, making it possible to draw or paint
using greasy materials (crayon or ink applied by
brush or sponge). The worked area is then washed over
with a solution of gum arabic and nitric acid which bites
into the surface of the stone (up to a depth of around 0.25–1
mm), leaving a shadow of the image to be printed. At the
same time, the unworked areas on the stone become
chemically modified. The caustic solution renders those
parts not to be printed hydrophilic. Before printing, the
stone is wetted — the water only being absorbed by
the hydrophilic areas. The greasy ink to be printed, on
the other hand, is water-repellent. In this way, the
differentiation between what is to be printed and what
not, is reached through a chemical process.
Apart from the advantages of this revolutionary chemical
printing process, Alois Senefelder also recognized its
limitations for many artistic applications at an early
stage. The heavy stone tied the artist to his studio and
working with mirrored images did not suit everyone. This
could be avoided, however, in an interim step, by drawing
on transfer paper with similarly greasy materials,
instead of directly on the stone. By coating the paper
with paste or gum arabic solution the grease cannot be
absorbed. The drawing is then transferred to the stone
under high pressure. Since the drawing on the stone has
to be a mirrored image, the artist can work on paper as
normal. However, the advantage this method brings also
presents certain limitations with regard to the quality,
such as in the case of dot gain in chalk drawings.
