There are two methods of CD Manufacturing. For smaller quantities and fast turnarounds, CDs are duplicated using blank CDR disks.

Duplicated CDRs are burned or duplicated individually in CD-writers. This can be a single CD writer in a PC or laptop, or can be an industrial “tower” of up to 16 CD writers where the CDs are duplicated in bulk. A Master disk is copied repeatedly to blank CDRs  (a process which can damage the Master Disk unless the content is transferred to a hard drive from which the duplicated CDs are burned ). Duplicated CDRs are usually ink-jet printed for speed and cost reasons, but can be litho-printed or screen-printed if the appropriate disks are used. Duplicated CDRs are not as reliable or compatible as replicated CDs.

For CD duplication, All Write Media use top quality tower burners with hard drive transfer, industrial standard inkjet printers, and – most important – top quality blank CDRs to ensure maximum reliability and compatibility.

Replicated CDs are ideal for large volume production. The content of the Master Disk is transferred to a glass master from which a stamper is grown; this stamper is placed in an injection moulding machine where it is introduced to molten plastic; when the plastic is rapidly cooled is takes the shape of the finished CD. An alumium coating is applied and the CD is ready for printing. Litho-printing and screen-printing are the two standard process used for CD onbody printing.

All Write Media use CD replication for all large-volume orders, with superb quality litho-printing.

For more information on the CD manufacturing process, please phone or email us, or visit our website at www.allwritemedia.com

If you mean printing on the actual CD, read on. We usually refer to this as on-body print. If you want to know about pressing CDs, burning CDs, replicating CDs or duplicating CDs, there are more appropriate pages on our website to help you.

CD printing and DVD printing is done in a number of different ways:

1. A sticky label can be applied to the disk. This is not recommended as the disk spins very rapidly in the player, and the heat within the player can cause the adhesive to break down; the label will curl up on the disk and get stuck to the inside of the player. Not only will you lose your CD or DVD, but your player may be destroyed!

2. Ink jet printing direct to the disk: the quality can vary from superb to terrible, depending on the surface of the disks, the CD printer itself, and the skill of the operator. All Write Media will ink-jet print CDs or DVDs for smaller runs and fast turnaround orders, we use the top industrial machine available and top quality disks to ensure our discs are properly printed.

3. Screen printing: this is the oldest form of printing in the world and depending on the skill of the operator, the results can be very good. Spot (pantone) colours are best printed using screen printing. The cost usually varies depending on the number of colours used, from 1 to 5 (the latter usually being CMYK on a white base).

4. Litho-printing: this is the best CD printing method by far, delivering superb results consistently. There is no variation or additional charges relating to the number of colours required, and full colour (CMYK) is standard. Litho-printing is used by All Write Media for most of our large volume CD printing or DVD printing (usually 500 and more).

For more information on CD printing or DVD printing, feel free to call or email us, or visit our website at www.allwritemedia.com

There’s a wide range of packaging options available for CD and DVD.

So what you need to ask yourself is, which format is best suited to my product, and my budget?

No doubt you want your finished CD or DVD to look totally professional, whether it’s a music album or  a corporate presentation.

If it’s a music album, it can be in a standard CD jewel case with a printed booklet and backliner, which is a relatively inexpensive but high quality option, and which is available for small or large quantities; or a digipak where a minimum of 500 is recommended for a litho-printed and machine-glued digipak. It is possible to get digitally-printed and hand-glued digipaks for smaller runs, however, glue and CDs are not a good mix…think about it!

Other options include lancing packs, softfiles, digifiles, card wallets, or if you need to include a booklet, double card wallets. Some of these formats are available with additional panels for more versatility.

For the corporate sector,  we offer basic plastic wallets (with optional adhesive to allow them to be adhered to a publication), or bespoke versions of any of the above formats.

Call us to see samples and variations on all these formats.

Or look for more info on the various packaging options for CD manufacture and, DVD manufacture, on our website, http://www.allwritemedia.com/packaging.htm

DVD-R Duplication:

The data contained on the original master disc is burned (duplicated) onto blank DVD-R discs. With smaller quantities, this is the most effective and cost efficient way of producing DVD copies. The storage capacity is 4.7GB of data or approximately 2 hours of video.

DVD-5 or DVD-9 Replication:

The content on the original master is transferred via a “Glass Master” to a Stamper, a metal disc which looks like an oversize DVD. The discs are manufactured by an injection moulding process whereby this Stamper is introduced to hot, liquid polycarbonate, which is rapidly cooled so it hardens, thus creating the disc. A fine layer of aluminium is spread across the surface of the disc to create a reflective surface.  DVD-5 is a single layered disc with a storage capacity of 4.7GB (the same as DVD-R). Replication is the most cost effective way of producing larger quantities. The storage capacity of 4.7GB of data equates approximately to 2 hours of high-quality video.
DVD9 is a dual layer disc which doubles the capacity available.

If you are unsure about which format you need, feel free to give us a call or email and we’ll be happy to clarify any of this.

Visit us at www.allwritemedia.com

This is a question we are regularly asked so without getting too technical:

CDR Duplication:
The data contained on the original master disc is burned (duplicated) onto blank DVD-R discs. With smaller quantities, this is the most effective and cost efficient way of producing DVD copies.

CD Replication:
The content on the original master is transferred via a “Glass Master” to a Stamper, a metal disc which looks like an oversize CD. The discs are manufactured by an injection moulding process whereby this Stamper is introduced to hot, liquid polycarbonate, which is rapidly cooled so it hardens, thus creating the disc. A fine layer of aluminium is spread across the surface of the disc to create a reflective surface. Replication is the most cost effective way of producing larger quantities.

The question of compatibility is also raised regularly.  A replicated CD will play on ANY CD PLAYER, ANY CAR STEREO,  ANY RADIO STATION PLAYER, ANY PC, ANY WHERE!

Duplicated CDRs, however, are not quite so compatible, and older CD players may reject them.

Visit us at www.allwritemedia.com