Autographic Inks Various transfer procedures are used in lithography. Transfers are made either because it is easier to work on paper - in fact it is easier to draw on paper than to draw directly on a stone - or in order to avoid damaging the stone which bears an original drawing. Transfers are also made in order to copy the same drawing onto several stones. The paper used for these transfers are, as we shall see shortly, of various kinds and the inks used vary according to the job they are meant to do. Senefelder always showed great interest in transfers, basically because this method permitted him to avoid wrtiting in reverse, since transfers operate a double reversal (first from the paper to the stone and then from the stone to the impression). In the beginning Senefelder used normal drawing ink but he soon realized that it was too hard and that in order to achieve a satisfactory result one had to heat the stone. The drawback to heating the stone was that it considerably complicated the transfer. To avoid this problem he invented a special ink for "cold transfers". The ingredients were as follows: lac.....................3 parts wax...................1 part tallow.................6 parts mastic in drops....5 parts soap...................4 parts lamp black...........1 part If the ink would not come off the paper and onto the stone cleanly (when pressure was applied) Senefelder would add a bit of butter or oil to it. However, these additions could only be made by remelting the ink. The temperature of the room in which the transfer was made was of the utmost importance for good results. If the temperature was too low the ink tended to become rigid and the transfer failed. Later on transfer methods were improved, especially by the invention of special paper. The two types of paper developed came to be known as autographic paper, which was used for transferring writing and music, and transfer paper, which was often grained like a stone and was used for drawings. Autographic ink, which is used with autographic paper, can be either liquid or solid. A general recipe for such ink is given by Doyen, it consists of: white wax.................100 parts marseille soap............80 parts lac..............................160 parts dragon's blood............. 60 parts purified tallow...............50 parts (dragon's blood was used in this recipe as a colour ) This solution must be kept in a tighly closed flask. If it becomes viscous add a bit of distilled water, while heating the mixture in a double boiler. For more information about autographic inks, check Lithography in André Béguins technical dictionary.