Short Run CD and DVD Duplication – Considerations
1) CD and DVD short runs – The smaller the order, the more expensive the unit cost
The first consideration that you need to make is that a short run of professionally printed CDs or DVDs will have fixed set up costs which are dependent upon the printed design of your discs and the type of packaging that you have chosen; the discs will be either screen printed, litho (offset) printed or digitally printed.
Screen Printing
Screen printing requires the manufacture of a silk screen for each colour used in the design and is suited for designs made up of bold block colours or printed text. The screen printing machine has a rotating table with 5 printing stations. At each station ink is pressed through a silk screen using a rubber squeegee; the silk screen only allows ink to be printed onto the disc in the particular places where this colour is required. The ink is UV sensitive and each colour ink is “cured” under a UV light before it rotates around to the next station for the next colour to be applied. The more colours involved in the design (from 1 to 5) the more screens need to be made before printing can take place.
Litho (Offset) Printing
Litho printing is an altogether different printing process whereby the ink is applied to the disc using a rubber sheet that is rolled over the disc. This process is suited for highly detailed, photographic type artwork and requires printing plates to be made up in accordance with the disc artwork
Digitally Printed Discs.
Digitally printed discs are printed using an inkjet printer and are sealed with clear lacquer; this process is costly in terms of sundries and time taken and is only suitable for very low numbers of discs (less than 50) where fixed costs for the other printing methods are prohibitive.
Unit costs start to drop dramatically for quantities of 200 or more CDs or DVDs. The same deal also applies with your packaging. The more you order, the lower the unit cost.
A single colour screen print with the logo showing through in silver.
A single colour screen print with the logo showing through in silver.
2) Controlling your CD or DVD short run costs
Often, you’ll be working within a tight budget on your project but that certainly doesn’t mean that you have to compromise on the quality or visual appeal of your disc or packaging. If you pay close attention to how the artwork is prepared then you can still end up with an eye-catching end product whilst keeping the costs low.
CD and DVD Artwork – Lower your costs by going for a screen printed design
Costs can be lowered dramatically by using a screen printed design involving only 1 or 2 colours, you are then only paying for 1 or 2 printing screens and a little ink rather than an expensive set of litho (offset) printing plates. The silver disc surface itself is attractive, so take advantage of this by allowing any disc text to show through a block colour in silver. If your band or your business has a striking logo then go for a single colour, bold screen print and allow the logo to show through as the silver disc surface.
Take a look through your CD collection; you’ll be surprised how common this approach is and how effective a 1 or 2 colour screen printed disc can be.
Short run CD and DVD Packaging
You will, no doubt, be well aware of the myriad of packaging options available. There are all sorts of criteria to be considered to determine which sort of packaging is best for your project.
The most basic sort of packaging is the paper or plastic wallet both of which are inexpensive but only offer a basic level of protection for the disc. They are ideal if you need a cheap cover for handing out CDs or DVDs at an exhibition or for distributing data internally within a business environment.
If the disc is to be sold either on the high street or online, or if detailed instructions are required as to the end use of the disc, then you will need some form of either printed packaging or packaging that can accommodate printed paper parts.
Printed Card Wallets
You could always include a printed card insert in a plastic wallet but for a slightly more premium impression a printed card wallet would be the next level up in terms of cost and disc protection. Again, there are many variants of the card wallet available some of which can contain a printed booklet or which have extended folding panels to accommodate more printed information or printed images, if required.
Card wallets with glossy, digitally printed images will give your package a premium look and feel and it’s worth spending time on the artwork to get the look just right because the cost will be the same per unit whether you have a simple logo printed on the wallet or you have an intricate design or photograph.
Jewel Cases and DVD Cases
Should you need a heavier duty packaging type (especially if it is to be posted out) then, once again, there is a wide selection of cases to choose from. Standard Jewel Cases are the typical packaging type for audio CDs and are made from a polycarbonate material with moulded features to hold printed card inserts in place. There are also cases available, such as the standard movie DVD case, which are made using a more flexible, durable polypropylene material again with moulded features to hold card inserts.
As you would expect, the packaging costs grow with the complexity of the packaging. Bespoke packaging, such as printed CD tins and “limited edition” or “collector’s edition” style packaging, are at the higher end of the spectrum.
Short run CD and DVD Artwork – Do it Yourself!
If you can handle the basics of an art software package such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator or Quark XPress, ask your chosen supplier for artwork templates. Producing the artwork yourself to the spec required by the supplier can save you money rather than having to pay a professional graphic artist to produce your design. Always ask if your supplier is willing to help out with the artwork design, many companies will happily assist at no extra charge depending upon the complexity; they’re producing disc and packaging art day in and day out and so will be efficient and creative.
So, in a nutshell:
A 1 colour screen printed CD or DVD in a Plastic wallet with artwork designed and produced by you or a friend/colleague = the low cost option.
A full colour litho printed CD or DVD in a case with printed paper parts and artwork designed by a professional graphical artist = the high cost option.
3) Double check your text content
Check your text content thoroughly for spelling errors, correct grammar, repeated words and missing words. When you’ve written it and worked with it for a while it’s all too easy to miss simple mistakes which could potentially let down the first impression of the product; this can be a big issue if the disc is promoting your business and may be a potential customer’s first point of contact with your business.
You would be wise to ask a third party who hasn’t read the text before and has a good knowledge of spelling and grammar to check through it. Also, most decent word processing software will have features that will assist you.
4) Double check your CD or DVD master
If your CDs or DVDs are to be duplicated using a master disc then, as with the text content above, double check it. It may only be a short run of CDs or DVDs but if there’s an issue with the master and it goes unchecked then the potential headaches of missed deadlines, returned sales, poor first impressions may come back to haunt you. Check it yourself and ask a third party to check too.
5) Why not ask for samples from your supplier?
Any CD or DVD duplication company worth their salt won’t mind a bit about sending out a sample of a printed disc or packaging type so that you can assess the quality of the product. Even though you may only be ordering a short run of discs, from a business point of view it’s quite likely that you will remember good service and may use them again or recommend them to a colleague or friend. Give them the opportunity to impress you with their great customer service!
6) Make sure you order enough CDs or DVDs for your short run project
If your short run of CDs or DVDs are going to be sold via a retail outlet or online, then the last thing that you would want to happen is to lose out on potential revenue if you don’t order enough discs. If your discs are to be handed out to potential customers at an exhibition, you wouldn’t want to run out before the end of the exhibition as you may miss out on a valuable marketing opportunity. Similarly, if your discs are to be used to circulate information within a business environment then, dependent upon how vital the information transfer is, it can be costly if you need to get a few more discs made after the initial run.
Market Research, Pre-order Deals, Event Forecasts
If you’re planning on selling the discs, then carrying out some market research as part of your project planning would be an excellent idea or even organising a pre-order deal would be worthwhile to enable you to better gauge how many discs you may need to get printed. If you’re handing out the discs at an exhibition as part of a marketing exercise, then find out how many people usually attend the event and work out how many are likely to be interested in your product or service. In this case it’s a good idea to design your discs so that any surplus discs can always be used at another event; if possible, focus your artwork around your company rather than tailoring it to the event.
It’s always less costly and less stressful to have a few discs over than not enough.
7) Stress Free Project Advice
Nobody likes being under stress, so if at all possible:
Plan and order your short run CD or DVD duplication, giving as much notice to your supplier as possible.
Don’t introduce major artwork changes at the last moment, if at all possible. The last thing you need is a delayed project along with increased costs if it can be avoided.
Short run jobs can generally be prepared in 48 hours depending upon the complexity, but that allows no margin for potential errors anywhere in the process albeit very unlikely that anything untoward would occur within a professional CD or DVD printing business. If you can possibly avoid the potential headache of a project delay, it would be highly recommended.
Conclusions
If you do your best to stick to the guidelines above, hopefully your project will run smoothly and will be stress free. If you’re not sure of something at any step in the process then communication is key; keep in close touch with your CD or DVD supplier. You may only be ordering a short run of discs but you’re just as valuable a customer as your positive testimonial carries just as much weight as a customer with a larger order.
