Just a note about the comparison: We believe that Stones Crayons are the finest lithographic crayons in the world, but it is not our intention to give information regarding this comparison that is unfair to other lithographic drawing materials. The comparison and the results are something that you can reproduce for your self. (Unlike cold Fusion!) This comparison does not have unrealistic criteria. Nor, We hope, a prejudicial evaluation. It is meant to give printmakers a comparison of two products and their ability to withstand an etch. We debated whether to use real names and decided that everyone would know anyway so ...

 

A light yellow stone was prepared to a 220 surface and divided it into nine strips. These areas were drawn with a medium light, tone as evenly as possible by a visiting artist in our shop.

(see results )

 

Artist Comments:
#1 Soft Crayon: " The Stones Crayons were very smooth and easily laid down a smooth texture using little pressure. There was little drag on the stone so keeping the tone even was fairly easy.”
“The Korn’s crayon was very sticky and wanted to build up more quickly than I wanted. It was harder to keep the tone even and keep the crayon from leaving white dots that were hard to cover.”

#3 Medium Crayon: “The Stones Crayon once again laid down easily and was easy to control.”
"The Korn’s crayon also laid down very well and seemed a little harder than the Stones. The tendency to lift off specs showed up as I drew darker.”

#5 Hard Crayons: “Both Stones and Korn’s #5 were easy to draw with and laid down nicely. The tone was very fine for both crayons.”

#7 Stones - Very hard Crayons: “There is nothing that compares to the Stones #7. The #7 draws like a soft colored pencil and the grain is very fine. Tone can be built up very slowly and subtle nuances can be easily achieved.”

 

Rubbing Crayons - (Drawn using a Chamois)
“The Stones rubbing crayon was a little slow while it built up on the chamois and then was very consistent throughout the drawing. Dark areas could be worked around to insure an even tone. The application was not perfect but fairly forgiving.”
“The Korn’s rubbing crayon was quicker to start drawing but was not consistent during the drawing and not at all forgiving. Dark streaks were easily made and impossible to correct and the consistency of the crayon seemed to change as it warmed up.”

 

The Etch: (by Stones Crayons)
In an attempt to be as consistent as possible, the stone through dry gum. 10 drops of acid in an ounce of gum and painted it on the first strip. The etch back was moved back and forth on this strip for about a minute and then wiped off the excess with a small sponge. An additional 10 drops of acid were added to the gum and the next strip was etched. This progressed until the last strip was etched with 90 drops of acid in the gum. (This is a HOT etch!) The roll up and second etch were done overall to stabilize the drawing that was there. Proofs were pulled till they accurately reflected the stone surface and the various drawing areas.

 

The Proof:

As you can see the etch was strong enough to give a nice range of results. The tones in the first column are fairly accurate but :
Stones Crayons' #1 is little darker than drawn.
Stones Crayons’ #7 is lighter than drawn.
Korn’s #3 & #5 is a lighter than drawn.
Korn’s Rubbing Crayon is Slightly darker than drawn

As the bands move across the page the effects of the ever increasing hot etch are evident. Tones grow lighter and lighter as the etch opens up the drawing and/or overpowers the crayon

 

The Evaluation: (by Stones Crayons)
Compare with the proof below

#1 Crayons: Both brands held well.
#3 Crayons: Stones Crayons withstood the etch well but the Korn’s had a tendency to be light and dropped out in areas.
#5 Crayons: The Stones Crayon #5 was affected by the hot etches but not nearly to the extent of the Korn’s crayon which was badly burned.
#7 Crayons: The Stones Crayons #7 although effected by the etches out performed the #5 Korn’s in its ability to withstand an etch.
Rubbing Crayons: Both rubbing crayons showed their ability to withstand hot etches but the Stones Crayons showed more consistency. The Korn’s printed a little darker with a lighter etch and was burned by the hot etches.