Chromolithography was the first method for making true multi-colour prints. Earlier attempts at polychrome printing relied on hand-colouring. The type of colour printing stemmed from the process of lithography, and it includes all types of lithography that are printed in colour. It replaced colouring print by hand, and eventually served as a replica of a real painting. Lithographers sought to find a way to print on flat surfaces with the use of chemicals instead of relief or intaglio printing. Depending on the amount of colours present, a chromolithograph could take months to produce. To make what was once referred to as a "'chromo'", a lithographer, with a finished painting in front of him, gradually built and corrected the print to look as much as possible like the painting in front of him, sometimes using dozens of layers. The process can be very time consuming and cumbersome contingent upon the skill of the lithographer.