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 CDR Manufacturing...

Everything you ever wanted to know

What options do I have?

Pressed CDs

Versus

Recordable CDs

Recordable CD

Recordable CDs (also known as CDR, or CD-R) are manufactured blank. Your artwork is silkscreened onto the blank CD -- no differently from pressed CDs. The data is written ("burned" is also an acceptable term) onto them at your leisure, usually with desktop burners or stand alone duplicators. One exception, CDRs can not be offset printed due to the pressure applied (unlike pressed cds which can be), these need to be silkscreened.

We offer recordable CD silkscreening with the gamut of printed and unprinted CD packaging. You can order your CDRs with such deluxe CD packaging as full color CD Jackets, mailers, Custom Tray style jackets, jackets with foam hubs, paper sleeves, as well as bulk packed. Our CDRs come silkscreened with up to 5 colors, and inlcude a test disc for your approval. These cdrs are ready for you to burn.

Pressed CD

Pressed CD manufacturing differs from recordable CD burning in one very important respect. In CD pressing, all the data is put into the disc in one "stamping or pressing" step (plating, actually) from the glass master we create from your cdr master. The disc shape is then created by injection molding. Once they are molded, pressed CDs are either silkscreened or offset printed, then inserted into their packaging.

Combination orders - Pressed CD & CDR Silkscreening

We're happy to help with orders of pressed cds and recordable cdr silkscreening, For example, you may need to order 5000 pressed cds with 1000 recordable cdrs to help with updates, all of them packaged in the same professional boxes. That's something we can do for you.

Recordable cds are ideally suited for projects where you need a small quantity of one title. For example, you may want to publish one-of-a-kind data for your clients -- on cds that have the look of a mass-produced title. Also for when your data changes frequently. Recordable media is more expensive than pressing cds, so use only when the project needs call for it.

When is it better to use
pressed cds?

Pressed cds are better suited for large quantity runs (1000 or more of one title).

  Doing pressed cds or cdr silkscreening projects in a RUSH

Although we are able to offer rush production jobs, we can not always commit to them. That's why we have to have production approval on your rush job that's based on actual dates. We want to let you know if we feel we can do your job in the time frame you've specified. Our production staff is very conscientious about delivering what we say we can deliver, so those dates you give us are important.

To commit to a rush job, we will need to know the following:

1. When your cd master will be arriving,
2. When your disc artwork or film will be arriving,
3. Quantity of cds,
4. Type of packaging, such as jewel case with shrink wrap,
5. If you're having printed inserts for the jewel cases, date the artwork will be arriving (* see Tips),
6. Date you need the cds completed, and finally
7. Whether any partial amounts will be good for an emergency situation. For example, if we couldn't get all 1000 in jewel cases with inserts shipped out on your requested date, would 100 bulk cds help.

We can do creative things to help you get through your deadline, tell us your needs and we'll work it for you! We know lots of solutions.

What are some

GOOD TIPS

you can give me

for

my project?

• We know that this is easier said than done, but do try to leave yourself room in your project schedule. If you have printed paper or cardboard (i.e. jewel case inserts, printed sleeves or mailers, boxes), try to add a week to handle artwork issues. Projects without paper products generally take only two weeks. Murphy's Law would suggest more to cover all the Acts of God clauses like hurricanes and UPS strikes and power outages.
• SEND YOUR ARTWORK EARLY. If you have your artwork files before your cd data, send them to us so we can start processing them and handle any bleed, cropping, etc., issues that may need to be addressed, and we can get that film made and start the printing. Doing your printed products early will help enormously.
• When you receive your test CD, TEST IT. TEST it again. TEST it from the mountain, as they say. TEST it on all platforms, Mac, PC, cd players, etc. Try it in different computers or players. You don't want thousands of cds with bugs. We hurt for you when you call back and tell us you found a bug on your original, we hate it when that happens. We really do. Those additional orders have all the fun taken out of them. Please...test.
• LET US KNOW YOUR SCHEDULE. Although it seems obvious, sometimes clients forget to tell us their in hand need dates. Let our experience help your project. Tell us when you need it by, and we'll make suggestions for speeding up art, or even bypassing test discs or matchprints or replacing with scanned copies, to help meet that all important deadline!
• If you have never made a replicatable cd before, don't wait until two weeks before your deadline to try it for the first time- inexperienced premastering can wreck your schedule. Not all cd writing software is created equally. Some software is better suited for archiving and doesn't do perfect ISO images with all the right spacing or RedBook with all the right p's and q's. Also, you might experience a run of bad media if your karma isn't good. These things can happen although rare. Try to allow for extra time to account for these things.