Many customers love the shiny effect of the disc to come through the design. Silver effects can be printed on blank discs, replicated CDs or replicated DVDs.  Here are a few example of how silver can be incorporated into the design:

1. Print over silver (no white base)

The reflective nature of silver adds an interesting factor to the design, just keep in mind that the mirror band and inner ring is a different color than the main silver color, as shown in the examples below:

1 spot color on silver

2 color silkscreen with silver knockout

2. Avoid the stacking ring altogether

Because of the difference in color of the mirror band and stacking ring, some people avoid the them altogether. The art is only printed to the edge of the main print area, as illustrated below:

CD print with larger inner ring

3. Using white base

Another solution to the silver base problem is adding a layer of white base. However white ink appears lighter in the stacking ring area, for example:

white base over silver disc

If the background color is darker, the difference in color seems almost unnoticeable:

silkscreen CD sample with darker color background

4. Spot varnish

You probably have seen title of a book or CD with a layer of a clear coat to stand out, this is called spot varnish and it can be done to a disc print as well. We can either do “gloss over matte print” or “matte over glossy print”. Either way it will be subtle way to make the title or any graphic element stand out.

gloss over matte print / spot varnish

For examples of how to incorporate silver for more experienced designers, read part 2 of design strategies of a disc.