Disc Duplication Help

Audio files are only accepted as .WAV, FLAC or MP3 files. No other formats are accepted. All audio files should be encoded with a sample rate of 44.1 kHz and in 2-channel (Stereo). The bit rate depends on the file type and should be as follows: WAV and FLAC : 16-bit ; MP3 files: bit rate between 128 kb/s and 320 kb/s.

If you have an audio CD master, but would like to upload content for your order, you will need to convert your tracks to an audio format such as WAV files. Please note that attempting to upload a track directly from your audio CD, without converting to one of these formats first, results in a .cda file being uploaded which does NOT contain any audio data.

We recommend using iTunes (but you can also use Windows Media Player, RealPlayer and others). You must be aware that by default these media players may be set to encode using a compressed audio format such as MP3, AAC, or WMA. These formats are all "lossy", meaning they discard some portion of the audio information in order to create files that are smaller in size and require less storage space. While this is acceptable to many people as a final distribution format that listeners can store on an MP3 player, you probably want your CDs duplicated from a high quality, 16-bit/44.1K file format such as WAV.

Sure! Before ripping your CD, check the Import Settings by selecting Edit > Preferences > Import Settings (on the General tab). Make sure "Import Using" is set to WAV Encoder. You can also click the "Import Settings" button at the bottom of the screen that comes up when you insert an audio CD into your drive.

You can be sure the file is the correct type before uploading by making sure the file extension is .WAV.

You will need to create the CD master with CD Text and mail in your CD Master.

If you selected Mail-in Master, you will mail your master to our NJ headquarters: 7905 N. Route 130, Pennsauken, NJ 08110. Use a delivery method that allows for tracking, such as UPS, FedEx, or DHL. Be sure to include a copy of the email with your master so we have your project ID number.

All of our products are manufactured in our New Jersey headquarters.

A CD is a replicated disc, and a CD-R is a blank disc that will be duplicated.

Replicated discs (often referred to as pressed discs) are created in a manufacturing process that starts with raw materials like polycarbonate, and involves physically pressing your data into the surface of the disc. Duplicated discs (often referred to as burned discs) encode your data onto a specially manufactured disc by burning microscopic holes into the dye layer of a recordable CD or DVD. Replicated discs are the standard for major commercial releases; however, duplicated discs have lots of advantages, too.

The short answer is no. They will play in most players, but not in some older players.

Download our templates, and create your artwork in a professional graphics program, using high quality 300 ppi images. Be sure to use CMYK. We will convert any RGB images to CMYK for printing, which will result in color shifts. It is better that you see this change on your own computer.

Finished design files must be submitted in PDF format. When exporting your final design for submission, we recommend exporting your PDFs using the PDF/X-4 preset available in every layout application.

We offer templates in Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Macromedia Freehand 8 and MX, Quark XPress. CorelDRAW. We also provide a PDF template that you can import into any other graphic program of your choosing. When you download the template package you will get all of these formats. Click here.

Our color disc printing uses a CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) process that combines these four primary colors to create the colors that print on your disc. This process is different than how we print your inserts (or how your ink-jet printer at home works), and following the simple guidelines below will achieve the best results.

DO:

• Fill the entire surface of the disc with your design.
• Use BOLD and LARGE text
• If you have any background imagery underneath the title and text on your disc, use subtle, grainy textures.
• Use BOLD , rich colors

DON'T

• Avoid large areas of a solid color. Since we combine four primary colors (CMYK) to print on the disc, the results may not be as smooth and consistent as you had envisioned.
• Do not use thin, small text. This can be difficult to read when printed on the disc label and may not be as crisp as the art was when displayed on your computer monitor. We recommend that you keep all text 9 points or larger.
• Avoid using drop shadows or other effects on your text. The subtle nature of a drop shadow or other effect commonly used on text does not translate well when printing on the disc surface.
• Try not to leave large portions of your design blank or white. There will be some color shift near the center hub of the disc, and if this area is left unprinted that effect is more noticeable.
• Avoid using close up pictures of people on the disc surface. It is difficult to make the photo look as good as it does on your monitor when printing on the disc.

All of our templates are compressed in a .ZIP format which are compatible with both PC and Mac OSX. On a PC, you will need WinZIP, which is generally pre-installed. On a Mac, simply double-click the ZIP file.

Better than that, we provide free of charge a font that includes this and many other standard industry logos. Download it from bottom of our templates page.

For short-run projects, we use a state-of-the-art digital press for inserts. Jackets, wallets, and Digipaks are printed using traditional offset printing. We use a few different methods for color printing on disc.

First, purchase a UPC bar code in the project quoter. If you're doing design off-line, plan ahead for where your bar code will go. It doesn't need a white box, just an area with no critical text or images. Size of bar code is .5" tall by 1.25" wide. (Note: we can only print horizontal bar codes at this time.) After the screen where you upload your artwork (or create it if you are using our designer), you will be taken to a screen that allows you to choose the location for your UPC bar code in your artwork.

No, you must create your bar code and embed it in your design files. If you have your UPC number and need the scannable code itself to plug into your design, search online for a free UPC code generator. There are a lot of them out there that will create a bar code in a number of different formats.

Start in My Account with the project, you want to use and select "Copy Project". A new project called "Copy of (old project name)" will be created. As you proceed through the Project Center, you can make any changes you need – upload new art files, correct a typo in the designer, or indicate that you will be sending in a new master.

Yes, we ship to many International locations. Check the drop-down "Ship-to Country" in the right column of the quoter. If your country is listed, you can place your order on the site.

DHL always gives a 2-6 day window on shipping, but in our experience most deliveries are within 2-3 days.

At this time, we don't offer split shipments. But with the short-run service, you can easily place one order for one location, and then reorder whatever quantity you want shipped to another location.

We accept Visa/MC, AMEX, Discover, and Paypal.

If we haven't answered your questions here, please email us at shortrun@discproductionservices.com..