Jason Cole and http://www.DiskFaktory.com offer great tips and information regarding CD Duplication. Get info about DVD Duplication as well by visiting http://www.diskfaktory.com/tips/CD-duplication-tutorials.asp
While at your local record store, browsing for CDs, you notice how slick and professionally manufactured your favorite artist's CDs look. This may be kind of disheartening if your band's last attempt at a demo was burned on your home computer and labeled with a black felt tip marker. Why not step it up and have your next recording manufactured professionally? There are numerous duplication and replication labs out there that are very affordable. The process is very simple, requiring only a couple of things from you. What do you need to start your CD duplication project?
1. CD Artwork
You will need to create the artwork for your CD face and the artwork for any inserts. An insert is the artwork that is displayed in the jewel case, which includes the "booklet" that comes with many CDs. To create these files, you will need an image editing/creation program. I recommend using Adobe Illustrator, or Adobe Photoshop. But there are many different programs available for you to use that will work just as good.
When creating your artwork, please take in mind that most print houses (CD duplication facilities included) print everything in CMYK format. CMYK refers to the different inks used to print your artwork.
C= Cyan
M= Magenta
Y= Yellow
K= Key (Black)
Fun fact: The reason that black ink is represented by a K and not a B is to prevent it from being confused with Blue.
Fully explaining CMYK printing is an article in itself, and most of you will not need to understand it in any more detail. Just remember that when you open a new file in your graphics creation program, you need to set the file format to CMYK. Also, for high quality printing, your artwork will need to be at least 300 DPI. DPI stands for dots per inch, and is a measure of printing resolution, in particular the number of individual dots of ink a printer or toner can produce within a one-inch space. If your artwork is any less than 300 DPI, the final print will most likely be blurry. Refer to your CD duplication house's documentation for any further information, as specifications vary from company to company.
2. Audio Files
All audio is converted to .CDA format when pressed (replicated) or burned (duplicated) on to a compact disc. If you have had your music recorded professionally, they will provide you with a "master". A master is the original copy of your recording on a disc (or tape), used to create CDs and records. CD quality audio files are usually presented to your CD duplication house in the form of uncompressed 44.1 kHz, 16-bit stereo .WAV files. You will need to check with the company that is manufacturing your CDs, because like your artwork, specifications vary from company to company.
These two items prepared correctly, will net you a fine looking (and sounding) batch of CDs. Keep in mind, video buffs, that most of these duplication companies also duplicate DVDs. I hope that all of you, musicians and filmmakers, realize now that it doesn't take that much to bridge the gap from amateur to professional quality media. Bring your next project to the next level!
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A
- What The Car Audio Manufacturers Don't Want You To Know
- Car Audio - Car Audio Sale for The Big Boys
- Megaloud - a New Concept in Car Audio
- Helix Germans Top Car Audio Brand
- Car Audio – a New Buyer’s Guide to Purchasing Quality Equipment
- Car Audio DVD Player with Bluetooth FM TV
- Top Manufacturers Of Some Of The World’S Most Expensive Speakers
- About Car Audio Brands - I
What to Look For in a Guitar Humidifier
By: Brian & Jeff | 04/01/2010Learn more about the Guitar Humidifier and see if it is right for you at this time. Please read our unbiased review of the Guitar Humidifier and make your final decision.
I Want New Albums From These Groups More Than I Want a New BMW Turbo
By: Kasan Groupe | 04/01/2010I want new albums from these bands/artists/groups. It has been too long since they have released any new material and I am getting anxious and even a bit ornery. So c’mon guys, get it together. Get your ____ into the studio and record some new material for your fans or else we are going to move on and forget about you.
Underrated Urban Albums That Needed More Love Like a Neglected Fish Tank
By: Kasan Groupe | 04/01/2010I believe these two albums aren't given their due appreciation as great albums, possibly the best albums for the respective artists. Both of these albums did not chart as well as others by the artists but they should have because they are much better. Here is a list of two recent urban albums that should have gotten more praise.
iTunes Organizer, Program that Automatically Organizes iTunes Library
By: Peter Built | 04/01/2010iTunes organizer, how to organizer your iTunes, what the problem is with all of the programs out there that are supposed to help you automatically organize your iTunes library.
Early 2010 Albums to Drown Out the Sound of Train Horns Pt. 1
By: Kasan Groupe | 04/01/2010The early part of 2010 has a number of new releases that any fan of music should be interested in. No matter what genre of music you like, from hip-hop to country rock to indie rock to dance pop to electronica, there are some great new releases coming out that may have flown under your radar. Well, thankfully I am here to let you know what great albums are coming out in early 2010. Without further ado, here is a list of some of the most noteworthy new releases in early 2010 to look forward to.
Early 2010 Albums to Drown Out the Sound of Train Horns Pt. 2
By: Kasan Groupe | 04/01/2010The early part of 2010 has a number of new releases that any fan of music should be interested in. No matter what genre of music you like, from hip-hop to country rock to indie rock to dance pop to electronica, there are some great new releases coming out that may have flown under your radar. Well, thankfully I am here to let you know what great albums are coming out in early 2010. Without further ado, here is a list of some of the most noteworthy new releases in early 2010 to look forward to.
Early 2010 Albums to Drown Out the Sound of Train Horns Pt. 3
By: Kasan Groupe | 04/01/2010The early part of 2010 has a number of new releases that any fan of music should be interested in. No matter what genre of music you like, from hip-hop to country rock to indie rock to dance pop to electronica, there are some great new releases coming out that may have flown under your radar. Well, thankfully I am here to let you know what great albums are coming out in early 2010. Without further ado, here is a list of some of the most noteworthy new releases in early 2010 to look forward to.
Early 2010 Albums to Drown Out the Sound of Train Horns Pt. 4
By: Kasan Groupe | 04/01/2010The early part of 2010 has a number of new releases that any fan of music should be interested in. No matter what genre of music you like, from hip-hop to country rock to indie rock to dance pop to electronica, there are some great new releases coming out that may have flown under your radar. Well, thankfully I am here to let you know what great albums are coming out in early 2010. Without further ado, here is a list of some of the most noteworthy new releases in early 2010 to look forward to.
Tracker Software – the Beginning of Software Music Sequencers
By: Bill Arnoldi | 24/01/2007 | SoftwareTrackers! What are they? Tracker is the generic term for a class of software music sequencers which, in their purest form, allow the user to arrange sound samples on a timeline across several mono channels.
File Sharing Ethics
By: Bill Arnoldi | 24/01/2007 | InternetEver since the invention of the internet, people have used it to share files. Be it music, movies, video games, and other copyrighted and non-copyrighted electronic material. This has raised some interesting ethical issues. The debate over whether file sharing is legal and right is one of the most important issues dealing with the internet right now, and has sparked many lawsuits.
Total Hd – “super Disc” an Update on the Battle Between Blu-ray and Hd-dvd
By: Bill Arnoldi | 24/01/2007 | TechnologyAlright, we’ve all been following the heated battle between the new Blu-ray and HD-DVD technologies. If you’d like a little refresher on what’s conspired so far, please refer to my article titled “New CD and DVD Technology – Blu-Ray and HD-DVD”. This will run you through how each disc type functions, why they’re better than normal DVD media, and the differences between the two types. But I digress, this article is about the industry’s newest solution to the problem of having two new, very simila
Audio Effects – Vocoder and Auto-tune
By: Bill Arnoldi | 15/12/2006 | MusicAlright, thanks for coming back for my next installment in this article series concerning audio effects. In the past few weeks we have covered quite a few commonly used effects, such as reverb, delay, flange, and compression. These effects all have wide scopes of usage, and are probably used on a daily basis in most modern recording studios, on a wide range of different musical styles.
Podcasting – What is it and How Can you Benefit From It?
By: Bill Arnoldi | 15/12/2006 | InternetTraditional radio is slowly becoming obsolete as technology in modern times grows in leaps and bounds. We last discussed internet radio, which is basically audio files streamed over the internet to whomever chooses to listen to it. And in this article we’ll be discussing podcasting.
CD Burning – the Differences Between Track-at-once and Disc-at-once
By: Bill Arnoldi | 15/12/2006 | TechnologyAll of us who own a personal computer have burned at least a CD or two in our days. Being able to download music and create your own mix CDs has been one of my favorite features since the beginning. Software such as iTunes and Nero has made this task even easier, pretty much doing all the work for us. All you need to do is insert your CD-R into your CD burner, pop open either one of those programs, drag in your audio files, and hit the burn button. In a couple minutes your CD is ready to go.
Audio Effects - Phase Shifting & Chorus
By: Bill Arnoldi | 06/11/2006 | ElectronicsAudio effects! Is there anything they can't do? We're continuing on with this series, this article being part 4 in the series. I was thinking about the best way to abstractly describe the function and importance of audio effects and knowing your effects well. This is what I came up with. Your studio is basically your tool box, with all your effects and gear being tools in your tool box. Most people know their tools pretty well, but most are not masters.
Setting Up your Own Internet Radio Station
By: Bill Arnoldi | 06/11/2006 | InternetRadio has been lagging for some years now, seeming to be a dinosaur compared to streaming internet radio, podcasting, XM satellite radio, and the plethora of other technologies that have reared their heads in the past 10 years. One of these new technologies is basically the same thing as old-school AM/FM radio, and that is internet radio.