I wish to have a clear explanation of the term GRANO-LITHOGRAPH  
(sometimes spelled without the hyphen)as applied to fine art prints;
how does it differ from a lithograph and is one process superior to
the other?

Dear tuscana,

The granolithography, developed in the 1970s, is a raster-free
transfer and reproduction technique. It works as follows: A
translucent carrier material is furnished with a very fine granular
substance - asphalt dust or another type of fine powder - and then
applied to film. This extraordinarily small-grained, natural "raster"
is placed between the halftone negative of the image intended for
reproduction and the film layer to be exposed. The reproduction
resulting from film exposure using this system will display no
photographic raster and thus be much closer to the original artwork
than an art print made with simple photolithography or similar
techniques.

Other lithographic reproduction techniques, such as collotype print,
are based upon transferring the image from the negative directly to,
for example, a metal plate coated with light-sensitive material by
exposure. A master produced this way would have a photographic raster
that also appears on the prints.

Granolithography is a complex and expensive print technology; but
since it is raster-free, it is far better suited for highest quality
art prints than the lithography techniques more commonly used for fine
art prints and facsimile prints of works of art.



Sources:

German Art Publishers National Association: Glossar der Lithographie
http://www.bdkv.de/htm/glossar_litho.htm

NetLexikon: Granolithographie
http://www.lexikon-definition.de/Lichtdruck.html

NetLexikon: Lichtdruck
http://www.lexikon-definition.de/Lichtdruck.html

Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia: Fotolithografie
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fotolithografie

MSN Encarta: Printing Techniques
http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761569714/Printing_Techniques.html


Search terms used:
"grano lithography"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&newwindow=1&q=%22grano+lithography%22&btnG=Suche&meta=
granolithographie
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&newwindow=1&q=granolithographie&btnG=Suche&meta=
"art prints" "printing technique" lithography
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&newwindow=1&q=%22art+prints%22+%22printing+technique%22+lithography&btnG=Suche&meta=
lithography exposed paper film
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&newwindow=1&q=lithography+exposed+paper+film&btnG=Suche&meta=


Hope this answers your question!
Regards,
Scriptor

What Scriptor hasn't mentioned is (a) that granolithography is a
German term (all his references are to German websites)- for which
there may be an English term or terms; and (b) that it is a commercial
reproduction technique for fairly long runs (eg several thousand), not
a "fine art" technique, as quoted in your question. The following
website is quite helpful in explaining the difference between original
prints (eg etchings, lithographs and wood engravings) and
reproductions - http://www.naia-artists.org/work/2dmethods.htm