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Here are a few of the most common misconceptions and half-truths in producing masters and designs for CD replication:
Myth: The CD plant will tell me if the on-CD design is not suitable for screenprinting before printing the entire job.
Fact: The CD plant should check that the CD design fits inside a standard template. If the design doesn't fit then the print will bleed into the tacking ring or off the edge of the CD.
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The CD plant is NOT responsible to check the suitabilityof your selected colours, colour density, line widths and font sizes prior to printing.They will do the best job possible with the materials provided.
All CD duplication houses should provide detailed specifications for on-CD design. If yours doesn't - find one that does. It is then up to the designer to select colours and designs that are suitable for on- CD printing. Experience really counts - it is the only way of knowing whether to set up the design with CMYK or solid Pantone colours, how a particular colour will look once it is printed on a silver surface or a whitewash background, whether that intricate design will actually appear as a smudge when printed and what kind of proof to provide.
More home-produced projects come to grief in this area than any other. In fact I've seen plenty of qualified graphic designers struggle mainly because screen printing is so different to offset printing and often their prepress skills haven't extended that far before.
Myth: The CD plant will tell me if there is a problem with my master before pressing 5000 copies.
Fact: All CD plants will check that a CD-R submitted for replication does not contain readability errors and meets industry format standards. If your master passes readability tests and is confirmed to industry (Sony/Philips) standards then the plant will proceed to replication.
From that point, anything that is wrong on your master will be faithfully reproduced on your replicated discs. If you forget to include that auto-run file, or the CD-R master starts skipping after track 6, or there is a drop-out 1:50 into track 4 - standard readability analysis at the plant will not find the error. And you pay for the cost of redoing them if you want it fixed.
It doesn't matter if the error is “obvious” - like skipping audio because the analyzing equipment can't pick this error up. Australian CD replicators rely on automated quantitative analysis equipment and do not detect qualitative errors. In other words - it is rare for anyone at the CD plant to actually listen to your entire master before replication. This is considered theresponsibilityof themasteringengineer.
If you are producing your own master for replication, it is responsibility to ensure that the audio plays correctly and any data components work correctly on all intended platforms and operating systems prior to submittingthemasterfor replication.
Myth: The on-CD printing will match the colours on the proof I provided.
Fact: If you specify particular solid Pantone colours then the CD plant will ignore the proof for the purpose of colour matching. The reason is simple a solid Pantone colour can only be printed as that colour. There is no blending of colours so the printer has no way to adjust the inks to match the proof provided.
Digital proofs, colour lasers and colour inkjet print outs are notoriously bad at accurately reproducing solid Pantone colours. The reliable way to select solid Pantone colours for your on-CD printing is to refer to a current Pantone colour swatch book - not one from 1996 where the colours have faded. Compare the current Pantone colour swatch to the colours on your computer screen and your colour printout. See the difference? The CD plant is going to match thePantonecolour swatch.
Professional digital proofs and chemical proofs will be used by the plant as a colour reference for CMYK jobs. The cyan, magenta, yellow and black process inks can be blended to produce the colours on your proof in most (but not all) circumstances. If the colours on your proof simply cannot be achieved with the films provided then the CD plant will get as close as possible. Colour laser and colour inkjet printouts will always be ignored - even for CMYK on- CD printing - they are not reliable as a colour reference.
Myth: You can screen-print intricate illustrations and photos on CDs.
Fact: The biggest difference between on-CD screenprinting and traditional paper-parts offset printing is the print resolution the clarity of the printed image. Screenprinting literally involves pushing ink through a silk screen. The silk is woven to exactly 133 threads per inch and this limits the print resolution. Intricate designs are not recommended.
CD plants may attempt to use a half-tone ink to print an intricate design. The half-tone inks are thinner than standard solid Pantone colour inks and are easier to push through the screen producing a cleare rprint. The final colour can be compromised, however, as the corresponding half-tone ink is generally a lighter colour than the original Pantone colour selected. Also - not all solid Pantone colours have a corresponding half-tone ink.
The most successful designs for on-CD printing incorporate solid blocks of colour with larger lines & fonts and avoid intricate patterns.
One final word of warning - blending two solid Pantone colours into a duotone is fraught with danger. More often than not the results are entirely different to those expected. Unless you are professional designer familiar with on-CD screenprinting in a duotone format - stick to solid Pantone or CMYK colours. Myth: It takes two weeks to manufacture CDs.
Fact: The production time depends on a few factors:
(i) whether the materials have been provided correct to duplication house specifications, (ii) how busy the CD plant is (forget quick turnarounds before Christmas), (iii) whether printed paper parts are required, (iv) other assembly requirements, (v) freight time, and (vi) whetherpaymenthasbeenproperlyorganized.
It is true that it generally takes 10-12 working days to replicate CDs, print paper parts and assemble the product but this is only a small part of the project. CD Replication lead times are quoted from the time the plant has materials that are correct to specification however so the clock doesn't start ticking until then.
Most duplication houses now accept artwork on disc for paper parts and on-CD printing. A digital proof should be prepared from the design files and forwarded to the designer for approval. Alterations may then be made if necessary and a further proof forwarded. The production lead time does not commence until the final approval is received from thedesigner.
It is also very common for CD-R masters to be rejected by the plant after failing industry format checks or readability testing. The production lead time will not commence until an acceptable master is supplied.
95% of delays in production are a direct result of out-of-spec materials. The CD replication industry in Australia is well organized and generally very reliable in meeting quoted lead times. Nearly every time I hear of a CD launch being missed it is because the original materials were not to spec - and had to be altered before the CDs could be manufactured.
Myth: Direct-to-plate printing of paper parts saves time and money.
Fact: The benefit is real enough - it's cheaper than providing filmsand chemicalproofs.
It is especially cheaper if you pick up an error on the digital proof output from your file. You don't have to spend another $500 on a new set of films and chemical proofs you just forward a new artwork disc and receivea newdigital proof.
However. Many clients provide an artwork disc without properly checking the contents. The old discipline of “getting it right” before outputting films and chemical proofs is gradually disappearing. Fonts and images are often missing from the artwork disc. The design contains spelling errors or fails to follow specifications. Alterations and additional proofs are required before the design is ready for production. Additional costs and production delays result.
Myth: The printer will tell me if my booklet & inlay are not to specification before printing.
Fact: Believe it or not this is partially true.
There are many slight variations in specifications between different duplication houses especially in the orientation of CD booklet pages and page dimensions. For this reason, it is in their interests to check that a design meets their particular specifications before proceeding to print.
There are still charges associated with correcting design errors - but it is a lot cheaper than replacing an incorrect print run. Most duplication houses don't provide any guarantee however - so be careful. When page 7 appears as your front cover, the back cover comes out upside down and rear-inlay is printed on one side not both - it's a bit late to download the latest versionof theart specifications. Myth: My laser/inkjetprint out is colour accurate.
Fact: No it is not.
Commercial colour laser & inkjet printers are actually very bad at reproducing the actual colours specified inyour design files. Myth: The printed booklets and inlays will exactly match the professional digital proof that the duplication house prepared from my artwork disc.
Fact: Printing houses spend over $100,000 on professional digital proofing systems. These systems use high quality printers, professional proofing paper and colour management software to achieve digital proofscolour accurate for CMYK printing.
From a layout perspective your final printed parts should certainly match the digital proof prepared byt he duplication house from your artwork disc. If strange characters appear on your booklets that don't appear on your proof, or the inlays were printed single-sided when the two sides of a double-sided inlay appeared on the proof - send the job back for reprint.
Colour matching is a different issue. Carefully check the colours on any digital proof prepared by the printing house from your artwork. If the job is set-up as CMYK, printers are obliged to print paper parts that match to the colours on digital proof that they have prepared from your artwork disc. That said - there is often a very slight variation between the colours on the proof and the colours on your printed paper parts. This is not an error in printing, but rather a commercially accepted variance due to the inexact nature of theprintingprocess.
If the colour variation is too great (e.g. colour images of the lead singer's face come out a beetroot red) then definitely raise your concerns with the duplication house. The colours should also be consistent throughout the run. If the first hundred CD booklets come out mid blue and the last hundred are navy then ask for a reprint.
If you are printing special colours that must be matched exactly (like corporate stationary), then certain additional quality control steps must be taken. A solid Pantone colour number is often specified but this often ends in tears (especially when designers use old, faded Pantone swatches to select colours). I always recommend that a previously printed item (e.g. business card) is forwarded to the printer with your design disc - with explicit instructions to match the colours on this sample. Special inks may need to be prepared for your job. A press check (where you look at the first few sheets off the printer to approve the colours) is generally recommended - and essential if no previously printed item is available as a sample. Additional costs apply for special inks, press-check time and machine wash-up - but the process guarantees that thecolours are matched exactly.
Myth: DAT & Minidisc are accepted formats for my master.
Fact: CD plants do not accept DAT or MD for direct replication. These formats need to be transferred to an accepted format such as CD-R, Exabyte, DDP or U-matic 1630 tape. The last three formats are generally only found in professional mastering studios.
Myth: CD-Rs are a reliable format for my master.
Fact: The majority of masters are now submitted on CD-R - due to the relatively inexpensive and widely available range of blank CD-Rs and CD-R burners. It is worth noting, however, that there are inherent problems with the CD-R format. They are prone to creating unreadable or corrupt audio and data files if damaged or touched (especially before burning) and occasionally have manufacturing defects. The disc and dye quality varies greatly, as does compatibility with burners.
You need to be able to playback your CD-R master before submitting it for replication - but note that this does not guarantee its suitability for replication. The error correction that occurs in most CD players will compensate for poor quality CD-Rs. Analysers at the CD plant wil lprovide a far more rigorous test.
Different brands and different batches of CD-R vary greatly in reliability. Mastering grade CD-Rs are roughly $1-$2 more expensive than generic CD-Rs but are well worth the additional cost as they are far morelikelyto passreadability tests.
Myth: I checked the program thoroughly before submitting my first CD-R master, which failed testing at the plant. I have submitted a replacement master which was burnt from the same source as the first master. There's no need to check the whole program this time.
Fact: I think you can answer this one. Many errors occur at the point of transfer - especially audio skipping errors. Even though it is a pain - and you may be already sick of listening to the CD any replacement master that you submit for replication should go through exactly the same rigorous listening and/or interactive component checks as the first master you submitted.Don't skimp on this one.
Myth: The CD-R burning software that I use will always create a master suitable for CD replication.
Fact: Creating a CD-R master for replication at home requires a good quality PC, CD-R burner, appropriate software and a knowledge of the settings required.
CD-R burners become more unreliable as they get older. Many CD-R masters fail readability testing because the laser in the CD-R burner used is no longer functioning properly.
Most CD mastering software packages are able to produce an audio CD suitable for replication. The need to burn the program “disc-at-once” rather than “track-at-once” is often overlooked however.
Hybrid CDs - containing audio and interactive software components create a number of problems for home mastering studios . At least 50% of hybrid masters fail testing prior to replication - and most fail because they do not conform to Sony/Philips standards.
VCDs containing compressed video files hardly ever pass testing in the first instance. When creating a VCD master it is essential that the mastering software has the facility to encode the MPEG as either “VCD compatible” or “'White Book compatible” (they mean the same thing). Virtually all mastering software programs (professional, freeware or shareware) have a check-box available to select VCD format. If the mastering software being used does not have this function, then you will need to acquire software that does. As with all masters create the master as “disc-at-once” not “track-at-once.” For reliable mastering grade burning software check out Gear Software.
The incorporation of multimedia files into a hybrid master and the preparation of VCD programs are beyond the scope of this article suffice to say that you may need to seek advice from a multimedia developer experienced in producing masters for CD replication.
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