{{umbrella|Imprint}}
When imprints occur in multiple places, we need to establish which of these imprints is most important, using the following hierarchy:
#Imprint on the typographical title page
#Imprint in the colophon
#Imprint on the engraved title page
#Information from the document
#Information from external sources
If the work contains an imprint (cases 1, 2 and 3) then other information from the document (e.g. from the approbation, ...) is left aside. Should they diverge greatly, they can be mentioned in a general note. If we only know the divergent details from an external source, then they are explicitly mentioned in a general note.
If there are multiple imprints in one work, there are two possibilities: either they are identical, or they are not identical. Two imprints are '''identical''' when they offer the same information about the work. Another formulation, a different spelling, a year in Arabic versus in Roman numerals, ... all this offers no new information about the work. A second, identical imprint is left out of consideration. Spelling variants of the printer's name, the adress or the shop sign are however added to the printers' thesaurus or the geographical thesaurus. Misprints in the year of publication are not considered a divergent variant. They are added to the printers' thesaurus, under the form 'YYYY [=YYYY]'.
When a second imprint diverges significantly however, so if it mentions a different printer, a different place and/or a different year than the first imprint, we call this an '''additional imprint'''. If it is just a divergent '''year''', we mention this in a general note:
<blockquote>'''''Example'''''
The year in the colophon reads [...]
The year on the engraved title page reads [...]</blockquote>
These years are also added to the printers' thesaurus, but between parentheses: '(YYYY)' or '(col.YYYY)'. Roman numerals are converted to Arabic numerals, unless is concerns a clear mistake (e.g. defective or unsolvable years). In those cases, the year is quoted between single quotation marks and at the end an exclamation mark between square brackets.
When the second imprint contains a different '''printer''' and/or '''place''', this additional imprint is added in a second 'imprint' field. If the imprint is found in the colophon, we use the spelling variant as reference term in the description and use the 'colophon' source indication. If the additional divergent imprint is found on the engraved title page, we note the main form in the description (source: 'document'). A general note indicates where the additional imprint was found. If the additional imprint only mentions a different printer, the colophon imprint duplicates the place and the year from the title page, with 'document' as source indication.
With title editions, an '''old imprint''' is sometimes still visible or - when it has been pasted over for example - it is possible to reconstruct it. An engraved title page from a previous edition is also often taken over without adjustments. In those cases, we take the oldest readable imprint as first imprint, then followed by separate imprint fields for all additional, variant imprints found in the work.
The general rules are followed here: imprints from the title page (including paste-overs) and the colophon are recorded as reference terms, imprints from the document and from secondary title pages are recorded as main form.
Each particular situation leads to a separate edition: what counts, is the '''form in which the work was offered for sale'''. When encountering a work with a 'normal' imprint, and in a different copy the imprint is pasted over or a title page was added, then two separate database records are created. Is only one copy known, with a pasted-over of additional imprint, then there is just one record: it is impossible to know whether the work was also sold without the added imprint.
Title editions in which the original imprint does but the pasted-over imprint does not correspond to the geographical or chronological boundaries of the STCV are, exceptionally, added after all. The situation is always clearly explained in a general note, mentioning where the additional imprints are found.