The answers to everything duplication blog

Common design software that are used today include Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Quark Express, therefore our CD DVD graphic templates are designed to work with them. However if you do not own these software you could still create your own design. Many burning software come with a label/cover design program with preloaded templates and will let you create simple CD DVD label and package without much technical knowledge on graphic design. When you are finished, the key is to export the final files to a non-proprietary format such as jpg, pdf or tiff so we can place it on our CD DVD design templates.

Thermal printing is a method we use for short run CD duplication and DVD duplication. The process does not require much set up and allows capacity of up to 1000 discs per day. However as in all printing methods there are certain limitations, if they can be avoided you can make sure to get the best possible print quality.

Tips for thermal on-disc printing:

1. Gradient effect: although it may look good on offset printing, gradient on thermal sometimes results color changes that are not smooth. Try using solids, pattern or photographic image instead.
2. Thin lines: avoid lines that are thinner than 0.3 pt, the result is pixelated lines with uneven colors
3. Small fonts: keep all fonts, even the small copyright copy to at least 5 pt. Text that is too small will be hard to read and look pixelated.
4. Grays and Blacks: avoid designs containing only grays and blacks. Distinctive and contrasting colors can achieve vibrant and pleasing results.
5. No Pantone allowed: thermal printing is essentially a 4-color process, so if your design contains any Pantone spot colors it will be converted to CMYK. If there is a color you need to match, bring a sample print or let our staff know the PMS number the piece needs to match. However the colors will never be the same as the Pantone.
6. Full color images: high-resolution photographic images is the best way to showcase the photo-listic feature of thermal printing, a combination of images, solids and text achieve great results

As always if you are unsure how your design will look on thermal printer, we provide production proofs, or ask to speak with one of our printing specialist.

If you got a DVD and need to make some copies to send over to some clients over in the UK, here are some of the things to consider:

- Decide whether or not to make a PAL DVD master. Consider this: the majority of PAL players will play NTSC discs, you will probably be able to get by without a PAL master if the quantities you are distributing is small. However, if you are planning a considerable amount of copies distributing to overseas, creating a PAL master will give you a highest possible compatibility.

- Make sure the DVD is region free or in the region that you are distributing to. Region codes is a way that studios control releases in different regions. In the US we are region 1, therefore, if the DVD is set at region 1, it cannot be played in Asia, or Europe. If you are not sure, ask for a region-free master, which means it will play anywhere in the world.

For every order we ask the client to fill out an Intellectual Property Rights form, which basically states that the customer owns the rights to reproduce all the materials on the CD or DVD. The materials includes music, video clips and software. Every customer is required to fill out this form for every job that we produce, without it the job will be on hold.

Sampling and other third party materials
If your content contains materials that you do not own, you need to obtain the appropriate license for legally be using it. If you are recording a cover of someone else’s song, then you are required to obtain the Mechanical license in order to legally reproduce it. If your content contains an existing recording, you need to purchase a Master Use Licensing from the record label or the rights owner.

If your content contains third-party software such as Quicktime, Window Media Player, check their website for special licensing agreement for distribution. Even though they are free software for download, a distribution license maybe required to put it on a disc.

Do I need a license if the products are not for sale?
Many clients wonder if can use other people’s material if they are not for sale or for private use only. The answer is no, you need permission to use licensed materials even if it’s not for sale.

Most music player programs such as iTunes and Window Media Player connects to internet databases such as Gracenote to retreive audio track inforrmation. So the trick is the send your CD information to gracenote so anyone with an internet connection using iTunes will be able to see the name of the songs, album name, year, genre etc.

Step 1: Put the CD in the computer so it will appear in iTunes. Go to iTunes, right click on a track to bring up the Get Info window. Enter as much information as you’d like, then repeat this step for all tracks on the CD.

Step 2: When all track information is entered, go to Advanced then Submit CD Track Names. It will ask you to confirm the Artist and Album information, verify then hit OK. The track information will now be sent to Gracenote. Give it a day or so for the information to be live. Test it out by putting the CD in different computers, the same track info should be showing up now.

You might have been there before: you’re getting the DVD master today and you need to duplication a couple hundred of them in a day. How to duplicate them without paying a huge rush fee?

The short answer is: get the project started as soon as either the DVD master or artwork ready

There are 2 basic steps in dvd duplication - the actual duplication of DVDs and the printing of the disc face. There is no particular order which step that should happen first. That means we can be working on DVD duplication while waiting for the disc face artwork being created, or we can pre-print the disc face while waiting for the CD/DVD to be finalized. There is no need to wait till both components to start the job. This will save you significant time and you will be a happy camper.

For DVD replication - the steps are more complicated, but the principals are the same. There is no need to wait for both the artwork and content to ‘officially’ begin dvd replication. If the artwork is ready, submit it first and get the proofs underway; more importantly if the CD/DVD master is ready, the stamper can be made while the artwork is still being finalized. Approaching the project this way will save you valuable time and money.