Lithography is one of the few art forms that was invented on purpose. The story is that the young Alois Senefelder set out to come up with a method to write down his mother's shopping list. He chose a waxy crayon of sorts and wrote the list on a piece of limestone. There could be an element of truth to the story, or not.

What we do know is that in the early '80's, Craig Cornwall set out to develop a better lithographic drawing material than what was then available. After a long period of research and experimentation, he came up with the formulations that are currently in use. For many years the crayons were manufactured in an apartment in the Southwest. When Craig, Pam and their kids moved to Washington State, they were able to make all of the Stones products in a facility that was apart from the house.

In about 2008, we became aware of the fact that Craig was considering selling Stones, and quite frankly, we were the logical choice to purchase the company. We were already their largest customer and one of their suppliers, and coupled with our position in the printmaking world, it seemed like a good fit for both of us. Additionally, we assured Craig that we would continue to run his company in much the same way he would have.

THE STONES ADVANTAGE

• Stones Crayons are ultra smooth to draw with. They have very little drag and lay down beautiful tones on either stones, plates or paper.
• Stones Crayons are insoluble in water. That means they won't smear under gum and can save you processing steps.
• Available in 4 different shapes, and 7 different hardnesses Stones Crayons extend the range of lithographic drawing materials, allowing drawings that previously were unattainable.
• The 1/4 inch crayons are designed to be used with a holder which provides more usable crayon and a constant length. No more short stubby things that are too big to throw away and too small to use!
• Stones Crayons have the hardness of the crayon marked directly in the crayon to avoid the confusion mixed crayons can produce. No more guessing!
• Stones Crayons sharpen easily into a fine point with a simple hand held pencil sharpener. Get rid of the razor blades and frustration.
• Designed by a Master Printer, Stones Crayons will out perform others in a wide range of applications. Put simply, they work better and are easier to use.
• Tested and certified, Stones Crayons conform to ASTM D-4236.
• If the above advantages are impressive and have you almost convinced to make the change but you're just on the edge.... Stones Crayons are up to 50% cheaper than what you are probably using right now.  

With all these benefits, make Stones Crayons your choice in lithographic drawing materials. It's to your advantage!! Do it for your prints!