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Offset vs Silkscreen Printing

Offset printing is the industry standard for “full-color” printing. The technique or process prints all 4 colors as miniature dots in precise closeness to each other. The size of each dot and its relation to the other dots is what provides the finished look of colors and tones. Offset printing is usually at 175-200 line per inch, producing detailed “true-to-life” images.

Back in the days all CDs and DVDs were printed with silkscreen technique. The artwork is converted to screens and ink is pressed through the screens onto the CDs and DVDs. The usual resolution of silkscreen printing is at 100 lines per inch.

Spot vs CMYK (process) Printing

In CMYK (Process) printing, colors on a printing press are created using a combination of four ink colors - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (called CMYK). These four inks are called process colors because they are the standard inks used in the four-color printing process. CMYK colors look best on offset printing while on silkscreen it will look grainy.

However if preciseness of colors is important to you finished products, spot color printing is recommended. Spot color is one that is printed in its own ink. It is most commonly specified by the Pantone Matching System (PMS). In this case the cost of producing such films will depend on the number of spot colors used. Therefore, spot color printing is most economical for a small number of colors. Spot colors look balanced and is true to its color throughout the disc face for artwork with mostly solid patterns.

What is white flood?

Also called white base or white mask. A White Flood is the coat of ink that is applied first to a disc face print. This flood-coat is often used with 4-color process printing. A CD/DVD is originally reflective silver in color. The White flood-coat acts as a base-coat or primer for the colors printed on it, recreating the effect of printing on White paper. Without the flood-coat background, colors may not be as bright or vibrant as they would print with the darker Silver background.

If the design calls for silver background to show through some part of the design, the white flood can be omitted.