Swift Duplication

One of the main causes of delays in the replication of CDs and DVDs is the artwork being provided incorrectly. important things to remember are:

1.  All artwork should be at least 300 DPI

2.  Artwork for paper parts need 3mm of bleed.

3.  All full colour artwork should be in CMYK not RGB.

4. Artwork must be created to the exact size.

5. The content is correct before being supplied.

If you are not sure of the correct sizes please ask for a template for you or your designer to work from. If the above is not followed correctly then in some cases it can add days to the production and add extra costs.

Within business there are a number of situations that may occur in which you need a high content of CD’s or DVD’s producing. Trying to do this within your office or home environment can prove to be difficult. Not only would this be time consuming but in many cases you would probably find that the resources it requires would add up to a lot of money, which is why you should leave it to the professionals.

 To make life a lot easier there are now a number of companies in existence whose prime goal is to produce batches of CD’s or DVD’s for you through the means of duplication or replication. But what exactly is the difference between the two? Well let’s take a closer look…

 Replication

Out of the two this is classed as the more professional. The way in which this works is that it creates the new disks by moulding them to be an exact copy of the original master. Your original master is used to make a glass master which in turn allows a set of stampers to be made. High-tech injection-moulding then makes exact clones of the master, using these stampers. What happens next is a coat of reflective aluminium is placed on and sealed using a protective coat of lacquer, which is hardened by an ultraviolet light. After this all of the disks are put through a printing device for label artwork. Once data has been placed onto a CD or DVD disk in this manner it cannot be altered.

 Duplication

This refers to the standard act of burning the data from the original disk onto blank disks there are two reasons as to why this option is chosen over replication; the first is if you are limited with time as this option is a lot quicker; the second is based around the size of the data. You can’t generally replicate a CD or DVD if the run time contained on it is under 1000 units, so in this case duplication is your best option. It should be noted however that this doesn’t mean the quality of the finished product won’t be as good, especially if you use the help of a professional company. This is because these companies have access to the latest technology, which includes litho, screen or ink-jet printed finish, meaning your disks will have the same look and feel of a replicated one.

There are advantages to both of these production processes, so the one you opt for is up to you, however there will be situations when you favour one over the other. As I have previously mentioned both of these would be great for companies who need a high content of disks, another example is if you have created a CD of original music and you need to make a large amount of copies in order to send them out to radio stations and music labels etc. In cases such as this replication comes highly recommended as it ensures you have durable, reliable copies of the highest standard. Replication will also include label art and packaging, giving your CDs a professional look.

Whatever your situation, when it comes to CD and DVD replication you know you can rely on companies whose primary goal is to produce them for you to the highest quality and in the quickest time, so my advice to you is take advantage of them and get your order in now.