1. Matching color on disc to paper packaging

It is rare that you can match the colors on the disc to the color on the paper insert or covers exactly. Whether the disc is printed with silkscreen or offset printing, the nature of the canvas (silver disc and paper stock) makes in impossible for an exact match.

In the following example, both the cover and disc were printed with the same PMS pink, but the results still slightly vary.

disc packaging and disc with same PMS pink

2. Color variation in center hub
As the image below illustrates, because of the color difference of the inner plastic, mirror band, and the main silver area, the ink that is printed on top will vary slightly, even with the application of the white flood.

white near the center is lighter than the rest

3. White base or no white base?

Since the surface of a disc is silver, white base/white flood can be applied as a base coat for closer color match. If no white base is applied, all the white areas on the artwork will be silver.

4. Printing large area of solid color with CMYK

If you have a full color image sitting on top a solid color background, beware that the solid color may appear inconsistent in different part of the disc. This is actually the case for a lot of CMYK printing process, not just for disc printing. The disadvantage of printing solid color with offset can be remedied by screen printing the solid background as a 6th color (spot color).

In the following example, the solid orange appears to have a slight gradient from the top to bottom.

Solid orange printed with offset printing on disc

5. Spot color vs CMYK in silkscreen printing

Many companies may advertise a lower price with silkscreen printing on the disc. Spot colors yield way better results than CMYK. We cannot stress this point enough: CMYK colors on screen print often produce less desirable grainy print. If you have CMYK images offset printing should be used.

In the following example, the blue is not a spot color, but a CMYK color, therefore when looking closely, the grainy effect is visible. (click on image to view in full size)

CMYK blue on silkscreened CD

Check out our design strategies of a CD/DVD disc part 1 and design strategies of a CD/DVD disc part 2 to see some real-life examples and suggestions.