Replication (often called 'pressing' or 'molding') is the original
and traditional method of manufacturing optical discs. Raw materials (melted polycarbonate)
enters a mold and the base of the disc is formed. The information (pits and lands) is
physically stamped into the clear polycarbonate using molds/stampers made from
a glass master which is created from your source master. The
disc is then finished off with protective layers and is ready for silk
screen printing.
This method of manufacturing CDs or DVDs requires that a minimum of 500 units
be pressed. Because of the amount of time and materials involved in
setting up each replication run, it is not cost-efficient to produce
less. The greatest cost benefits are seen when 1000 units or more are
created.
It generally takes 10 business days to create a finished product from
your source master. This includes the making of the glass master, pressing
the discs, silk screening them, printing of the insert materials and packaging.
It may be possible to have your discs manufactured in 7, 5 or even 3 business
days. However, there are limited slots available at any given time, and
they are sold on a first come - first serve basis and require additional
rush charges.
Please note that because of the demand for Replicated CDs or DVDs can flucuate
throughout the year, standard turn around times can vary. Your turn time will be
calculated based on the day that your Replication-ready master and all licensing and anti-piracy
paperwork are received in our office.
You've read the about the technical differences above, but what does
this all mean in the real world? Well.....actually not much at all.
When it is all done and said, the end result is almost identical. Here
are some differences we have noted:
With CD-ROMs/DVD-ROMs (or data discs) you will rarely, if ever, find a CD or
DVD drive that will have a problem reading a good quality, correctly
burned recordable disc. Some very old drives may experience problems, but we
haven't seen one yet.
With audio CDs, the grade of the recordable media is important.
One other item to be aware of is that a few portable
and in-car CD players have sometimes experienced problems. This is due
to the extra engineering that goes into these types of players to
handle all the bouncing around that they are exposed to. Again,
these problems are minimized with a high quality, correctly burned
CD-R. How common is this? Out of the most recent 100,000 Audio CD-Rs we
have burned, we have had exactly two (2) issues.
Insert printing refers to the paper materials that are 'inserted'
into jewel cases or DVD cases. Inserts can be printed with color
on one side (4/0), color on both sides (4/4), or color on one and grayscale
on the other (4/1). This term encompasses both the front insert (which
is usually listed as a 2,4,6,8 or more panel insert) and the traycard
(the paper that shows through the bottom of the jewel case, it sits
under the tray that holds the CD and includes the two little spines).
It is generally assumed that a traycard is always included when discussing
your artwork. Traycards are included in all of our print pricing.
Outsert or wrap printing refers to the paper materials that are inserted
into the vinyl sleeve on the 'outside of a DVD case. Outserts can be printed with color
on one side (4/0), color on both sides (4/4), or color on one and grayscale on the other (4/1).
Thermal - this is one color (black) that is printed on the silver
or white disc surface. It will not smudge or smear (it is never wet). Great
for text, logos and simple halftones. Some photographs print fine,
others not so good - we won't know until we try to print it. The
only other real limitation is large areas of solid black, stay away
from these.
Color labels - don't knock them until you have seen ours! We use
a high quality, digital color laser system to produce amazing full
color labels. Many times, our color labels look better than the
same artwork silkscreened on a disc!
Full color Thermal - the new standard in digital printing! Photographic
quality that rivals offset printing on CDs & DVDs. High resolution, fully saturated
color with minimal setup time and no film!
Silkscreen - Recordable discs can be silk-screened, however the cost may be
prohibitive on runs of less than 500 pieces.
Replication
Silk screen - replicated discs are almost always silk-screened, and 1, 2 or
3 colors are included in our prices. 4 color process printing is available.
Offset - replicated discs can be printed with a CMYK offset process. This is great
for photographic prints, but not as good for PMS or spot color printing.
Tyvek sleeve with clear window (white, a little more tear and wrinkle
resistant)
Paperboard sleeve (white pocket, no window, can be printed)
C-Shell (also called a 'clamshell' - clear, soft plastic, single disc
holder in the shape of a clamshell. Different colors are available in
certain quantities)
Basic layout is included with every CD or DVD project. This includes picture
cropping and placement, text editing and layout, and everything necessary
to get your electronic files ready for printing.
Our basic services assume that you have:
all pictures scanned at the proper resolution and adjusted for
the look you want.
most, if not all, of your text entered into some sort of electronic
format or document.
provided us with a hardcopy print (even if some of it is by hand)
of your design to work from.
Complete design and layout services are available starting at $35
per hour.
Film is an integral part of the printing process for silk screening
discs and for printed materials that are produced on an offset press.
When silk screeening CDs or DVDs, film positives are created from your electronic
artwork and screens are created from the film. These screens are used
to actually apply the ink to the disc surface.
For offset printing, film negatives are created from your electronic
artwork and printing plates are created from the film. These plates
are used to actually apply the ink to the paper for inserts, traycards
and paperboard sleeves.
Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used. To make this notice easy to find, we make it available on our homepage and at every point where personally identifiable information may be requested.
The Information We Collect:
This notice applies to all information collected or submitted on Disc Hounds' website. On some pages, you can order products, make requests, and register to receive materials. The types of personal information collected at these pages are:
Name
Address
Email address
Phone number
Credit/Debit Card Information
(etc.)
On some pages, you can submit information about other people. For example, if you order a gift online and want it sent directly to the recipient, you will need to submit the recipient's address. In this circumstance, the types of personal information collected are:
Name
Address
Phone Number
(etc.)
The Way We Use Information:
We use the information you provide about yourself when placing an order only to complete that order. We do not share this information with outside parties except to the extent necessary to complete that order.
We use the information you provide about someone else when placing an order only to ship the product and to confirm delivery. We do not share this information with outside parties except to the extent necessary to complete that order.
We offer gift-cards by which you can personalize a product you order for another person. Information you provide to us to create a gift-card is only used for that purpose, and it is only disclosed to the person receiving the gift.
We use return email addresses to answer the email we receive. Such addresses are not used for any other purpose and are not shared with outside parties.
You can register with our website if you would like to receive our catalog as well as updates on our new products and services. Information you submit on our website will not be used for this purpose unless you fill out the registration form.
We use non-identifying and aggregate information to better design our website and to share with advertisers. For example, we may tell an advertiser that X number of individuals visited a certain area on our website, or that Y number of men and Z number of women filled out our registration form, but we would not disclose anything that could be used to identify those individuals.
Finally, we never use or share the personally identifiable information provided to us online in ways unrelated to the ones described above without also providing you an opportunity to opt-out or otherwise prohibit such unrelated uses.
Our Commitment To Data Security
To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
Our Commitment To Children's Privacy:
Protecting the privacy of the very young is especially important. For that reason, we never collect or maintain information at our website from those we actually know are under 13, and no part of our website is structured to attract anyone under 13.
How You Can Access Or Correct Your Information
You can access all your personally identifiable information that we collect online and maintain by contacting us. We use this procedure to better safeguard your information.
You can correct factual errors in your personally identifiable information by sending us a request that credibly shows error.
To protect your privacy and security, we will also take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making corrections.
How To Contact Us
Should you have other questions or concerns about these privacy policies, please call us at 610-696-8668 or send us an email at info@dischounds.com.
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