• Pronunciation: \li-ˈthä-grə-fē\
• Function: noun
• Etymology: German Lithographie, from lith- + -graphie -graphy
• Date: 1813

1 : the process of printing from a plane surface (as a smooth stone or metal plate) on which the image to be printed is ink-receptive and the blank area ink-repellent
2 : the process of producing patterns on semiconductor crystals for use as integrated circuits

Basically, a lithograph is what people used before Xerox machines were invented.

A Xerox machine is what people used before Ctrl+C was invented.

Lithography is a form of copying from an original master proof, to secondary copies using a few different methods. Offset printing is a form of lithography that is used to print most of today’s books. This differs from your usual home printer by instead of printing little dots of ink like your home printer, offset printing prints entire pages in one go based off of the master slab. When used in full color printing (like posters) separate masters are used for separate colors and they are all printed on one poster. This is ideal for high volume printing because of its speed, relative cheapness, and high fidelity.