When the drawing is complete, the lithographer prepares the stone for printing, this is a very delicate procedure. Actual printing is coordinated by the artist and lithographer. Lithograph proofs are always made on a hand press. Color lithography requires each of the printing steps to be repeated for each color used, as each color requires a separate stone. If there are 10 colors, there are 10 stones.
Registration is extremely important.
Each stone has to be registered perfectly on the paper to insure the color aligning itself in the right place. Some labels have as many as 22 color combinations, as shown in the Dante label. Dante is one of the finest multi-colored images ever produced. The details of the devil and angels are vivid and strong. This label's design is complicated and time consuming to produce and is a stand alone masterpiece.