The answers to everything duplication blog

Many clients ask how to insert special characters such as © (copyright), ™ (trademark) symbols in Photoshop or Illustrator. Here’s how to do it on a Mac and PC respectively:

Mac:

Step 1: First we are going to enable the special characters palette. Bring up the System Preferences menu, via Finder, then click on ‘International’

Step 2: Click on ‘Input Menu’ tab and check the ‘Character Palette’ box

Step 3: Now a symbol like an American flag should show up in the upper right corner, click on it and then click ‘Show Character Palette’

Step 4: Now the Characters window will appear, the © (copyright), ™ (trademark) and other popular symbols can be found under ‘Miscellaneous’. Browse through the other sets for foreign language characters. Once the symbol is selected, put your cursor where the character going to be pasted in the program (Photoshop, Word or others), then click on ‘Insert’ in the ‘Characters window’, whoa-la!

Windows:

Step 1: Go to ‘Start’, ‘Run’, enter ‘charmap’ in the text box and hit ‘OK’

Step 2: Select the font from the drop down menu, browse for the copyright symbol. Once you locate it then double click on click ‘Select’. Click ‘Copy’ to copy to clipboard. Now you can paste it into any program you desire (Photoshop, Word, Email, anything). Also note each font might have a slightly different set of special characters.

Before you hand off your DVD to a replicator, an important step is to sign off on the DVD master, these are just some of the essentials to look for:

• Platforms: Check the DVD master on as many platforms as possible, in a set top player (new and old, different brands), and on both Mac and PC. Never test the DVD master on a computer only, as it tends to be more “forgiving” as far as compatibility goes
• TV standard: check whether the title is NTSC or PAL on a TV set, a computer will play both PAL and NTSC
• Menu: it should starts up properly, all menu buttons should be functional, check for general flow of navigation
• Aspect Ratios: Make sure that the aspect ration look acceptable on both a 16:9 and 4:3 tv
• Video: Make sure that the quality is up to expectation, play it all the way through and look for skips and freezes
• Audio: Check for audio levels throughout the video and make sure it is acceptable

Proofing for artwork proof is an important step in the CD/DVD replication process. It gives you one last chance to see the artwork before it goes off to be printed thousands of times. Here is a checklist that might help you organize what needs to be verified:

• Bleed: make sure there is enough bleed, this is the area that is beyond the crop mark or trim lines
• Crop marks / Trim lines: look for crop marks or trim lines and make sure it is not cropping any important graphics or text off. If the artwork should bleed out, the graphic should continue beyond the trim. If the artwork has a white border, make sure to check the thickness of border is satisfactory
• Safe area: make sure no graphics or text is less than 1/8″ away from the trim or fold, or it might be cut off since the trim line will slightly shift during actual production
• Correct size: dimension of artwork should be correct, print and cut out the proof to ensure the right sizing
• Fonts / type: check to make sure correct fonts are displayed, whether it should be regular, bold or italics
• Text content: proof read all text to make sure there is no typo, however this should have been checked long before this step
• Correct images: make sure the right images have been used, especially when multiple revisions have been made
• Special effects: look for any drop shadow and transparency effects, make sure they show up correctly
• Spot colors: if any spot colors is used, it should be noted on the proof
• PDF artifacts: sometimes you might notice that the vertical strokes of certain letters such as ‘L’, ‘H’, ‘I’ might look thicker than the other letters. Usually this is a problem on the acrobat reader, and the way to verify it is the print the pdf proof out, it should be a concern if the problem does not show up on the actual print out.

These are our suggested minimum steps to verify we have received all the graphic elements correctly for print; if there are special requirements for your specific project, please check for that as well.

Remember, when you sign off on a proof, you indicate that everything on the proof is correct. If a problem is discovered afterwards it is likely that you will incur additional costs to fix it.

Next, we’ll talk about the different artwork proof options.

Silkscreen and offset printing are the method of printing for large run CD/DVD replication. Is one better than the other? That depends on the artwork. See the 2 examples here:

The one on the left is offset and the one on the right is silkscreen. Offset printing is best used on photographic images and any artwork that does not have areas of solid colors. Offset printing gives photos a detailed and realistic look.

On the other hand, silkscreen is best for solid colors such as the example here. The colors are vibrant and consistent throughout. For setting up artwork for silkscreening you need to use Pantone colors (or sometimes called PMS colors) and vector art is preferred.

Replication and duplication are different methods of copying a disc. The main difference is that duplication is burning the disc and replication is molding the disc from a glass master. The results are the same: a copy is made. Usually the method to use is determined by the quantity and the timeframe the copies are needed.

Duplication - mainly for short run discs (<500) and faster turnaround time
Replication - higher minimum (>500), lower cost per disc and longer turnaround time

For example, a client who needs 100 discs will opt for duplication because the minimum for replication is 500 discs. A client who needs 2,000 discs in 3 days will also be doing duplication because the normal turnaround for replication is about 10-12 days.

The quality of the copies on replication and duplication are the same. However one thing we should point out: since duplication makes use of blank media for the burning, it is possible that certain (older) DVD players will have compatibility issues. The number of incompatible machines are minimal and should not be a concern. Another way to minimize the problem is to use high quality grade A media, which in general has higher success burn rate and is more compatible for DVD players.

DVD-5 is a single layer DVD with 4.7GB of storage. It is the most common type of DVD format.

DVD-9 is a double layer DVD with 8.5GB of storage. It is also very common for a feature length video.

Now, what about DVD-R and dual layer DVD-R (DL DVD-R)? These are blank media formats for duplication only, which is burning with DVD recorders. DVD-5 and DVD-9 are created by molding from glass masters, which does not involve any blank media. This is also known as replication.

Tomorrow we’ll tackle the issues that everyone asks: Are replicated discs better than duplicated discs?

Many manufacturers boast the fact that their products are printed on ‘recycled’ materials. One has to read the fine prints to compare their recycled packaging options. A few things to look for when shopping for recycled packaging:

1. Post consumer waste: also known as PCW, is the preferred recycled materials because it comes from paper and cardboards that are recycled; compare it with pre consumer waste, which is paper that is disposed during the manufacturing process.

2. Percentage of recycled content: find out the percentage of recycled content in the paper stock. Beware of companies who claim to use recycled stock but in reality the paper used has a low percentage of recycled content.

3. Generic cases that are made of recycled materials tend to be lesser quality and less durable; therefore check a sample of cases before making your decision.

For more information on other frequently mentioned print terms, check our FAQ on eco friendly printing.

PAL and NTSC are television standards that are used in different parts of the world. United States is a NTSC country while most of Europe and Asia are in PAL. What does that really mean? Well if you bring a DVD or tape from overseas, chances are it will not play in the US. The reason is NTSC DVD players are not compatible with PAL discs. You will need to convert the footage from PAL to NTSC in order to view it. On a contrary, most PAL DVD players in Europe or Asia play NTSC discs, so if you need to send someone overseas a DVD there is usually no need to convert to PAL.

One important note is that all computer-based (PC and MAC) DVD players will play both PAL and NTSC discs. If you are QC’ing a disc on a computer, you won’t know whether it is NTSC or PAL because it will play both! ALWAYS QC your work on both computer and set-top DVD player.

Many clients have been asking for recycled packaging without any plastics. Same as the packaging used for “An Inconvenient Truth” DVD, a tall case is a DVD-sized wallet, it’s a 4-panel sleeve with full color cardboard printing. It’s sized almost like an amaray case, but much thinner due to the lack of digi-tray. It also weighs much lighter than a digipak and amaray case, which will save on shipping costs.
This product is available with cardboard with AQ, matte, glossy coating, fiberboard/woodfree, recycled stock and reverse printing. Click here for listing of our available finishes.