In lithography, instead of drawing directly on the stone or plate, the artist can draw on transfer paper, a sheet of paper that has been covered with a soluble surface layer. The transfer is effected by placing the paper face down on the moist stone or plate and passing it through the printing press. This action dissolves the soluble layer thus adhering the greasy drawing to the stone. Advantages include ease of transport and the fact that the image is automatically reversed so that the final result is in the original direction. The transferred image may be easily reworked on the stone.

Paper coated with a thin layer of powder used in transferring one drawing to another surface.

Paper used by the artist to draw on that is transferred to plate or stone. With this method the image need not be drawn in reverse.