Music
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CD Pressing
CD Printing
CD Packaging
Check out our blog for detailed information on making CD masters and links to mastering software. What is an ISRC codes? How do you add CD Text? We have articles telling you exactly what you need to know.
Then you will find the techniques for correctly setting up correct colours and bleed for CD printing. From simple covers to CD booklets & Digipacks, get your CD design right first time.
If you are serious about CD Printing you need to know the difference between silk screen & off-set litho disc printing. Looking to create a innovative design, check out our CD printing articles for all the whys and hows to get your ideas to print.
Below you will find DVD & CD printing templates and specifications. The print templates have been compressed into ZIP folders, in the folders you will find PDF & InDesign versions. If you cant find the template you require, please contact us.
Our PDF CD printing documents can be opened by most design packages. If using Photoshop please make sure that the document is set to a minimum of 300 PPI / DPI at the outset. We recommended starting out with the colour mode set to CMYK, if you choose to create the artwork is RGB mode, the file should be converted to CMYK before it is supplied to us.
On the PDF files you will notice the inclusion of blue guides, these are visual guides to help you with laying out files correctly and will need to be removed before you supply the documents to us for print.This applies to all packaging and disc label templates.
If the blue visual guides remain in the printable or bleed area we may reject your files. The only guides we require are the black crop marks that appear on the corners of the templates. The image below on the left shows artwork supplied correctly with no blue visual guides in the print area, the image on the right is incorrect as blue visual guides remain in the print area.
Correct, No Blue Guides In Printable Area
Wrong, Blue Guides Are Within Print Area
The visual guides on the PDF templates are to help you layout the artwork correctly, below is a key to using these guides.
1The inner thick blue band is the No Text Area, we do not recommend having text within this blue band.
2At the outer end of the blue band is a darker blue line, this is the trim area, this where the artwork gets cut out from the sheets.
3Outside of this you will see a blue dotted line, this is the bleed area, any artwork or images that run to the trim area must extend out to meet this blue dotted line. It is important that no important areas of images (like the tops of people heads) are in the area between the trim line and the edge of the bleed area, as this will be cut off. You can find more information about bleed on this link.
No Text Area
It is recommended that text is kept out of this area
Trim Area
This is the where the print is trimmed / cut
Bleed Area
Images and backgrounds that go to the trim area must extend out to here
Best Watched Full Screen
Most DTP software will come with a Press Quality PDF export option, these are generally fine and require no modification. We prefer to use ZIP for colour and greyscale image compression, and 300 DPI resolution produces excellent results, we are happy to accept files with a resolution up to 600 DPI, however anything above this will result in bloated files and no improvement in final print quality.
We recommend images have a minimum resolution of 300 DPI, we can accept images with a lower resolution lower than this. If we detect images with low resolution, will advise you, however we understand it is not always possible to
All artwork should be in CMYK, and if you are using colour profiling, we recommend “Coated FOGRA39″ profile. We have a maximum ink density of 330%, we can accept files with higher ink density, but automatic black reduction will be used going to press. We cannot accept files with an ink density of 400%.
All of the CD & DVD print templates for packaging have object frames that are the size of the packaging with bleed, generally 3mm. You will notice inside of the frame the actual page frame.
For templates with stapled CD booklets you will find most templates will open up with single page view, you can switch to facing pages in the document setup dialogue box. Please note the first and last page will not face.
You will notice in the PDF export option that bleed has not been set, most designers prefer to proof excluding bleed. When creating the print ready PDF files, please set the bleed to 3mm on all sides. We do not require any printers marks on the print ready PDF’s, however crop marks can useful and should be offset by 3mm, we do not require bleed marks or colour bars.
Our standard CD’s are printed up to 5 colours, this can be full colour offset litho (CMYK + White Base) or up to 5 Pantone Colours.If you are not sure which method of printing you should use, you can send us a draft of your design and we will advise you on the options available.
Templates are in InDesign, PDF and PSD format.
Visit our in depth post for technical details about CD Printing
We recommend using Pantone colours if you design uses mainly solid blocks of colour. Please only use Pantone Solid Coasted Book when selecting colours. It is not recommended using tints less than 80%, tints lower than this can cause the dots in the screen to become visible. When printing as Pantone, you can use one of the colours as a spot Matt varnish
For most standard serif fonts on a single plate we recommend a minimum font size of 4 point, and if on two or more plates a minimum font size of 5 point. For light or condensed fonts the minimum point size will be higher, and this will be dependent on the line thickness of the font.
For designs that incorporate graduations and halftones, we recommend using off-set litho print. This type of print works very well for photographic images, however solid blocks of colour will not have the same density as Pantone solid colours. When printing black using offset, it is recommended to support the black with Cyan 40%, Magenta 40% and Back as 100%. Printing 100% black on its own can result in the black looking slightly gray.
For most standard serif fonts on a single plate we recommend a minimum font size of 4 point, and if on two or more plates a minimum font size of 6 point. For light or condensed fonts the minimum point size will be higher, and this will be dependent on the line thickness of the font.
Best Watched Full Screen
All of our CD booklets are printed full colour on all pages as standard. The 4 page – 12 page booklets are printed on 150gsm gloss art, other types of paper and weights are available, however this can increase the price significantly on runs less than 3000 units.
For most standard serif fonts on a single plate we recommend a minimum font size of 4 point, and if on two or more plates a minimum font size of 5 point. For light or condensed fonts the minimum point size will be higher, and this will be dependent on the line thickness of the font.
For 4 page booklets, the artwork should be supplied as spreads 4+1 & 2+3. For stapled booklets of 8 pages or more that are stapled, art work can be supplied as single pages, printers pairs or readers pairs. If supplying spreads please specify printers or readers pairs in the file name.
Our CD Inlays can be printed full colour on both sides as standard. The inlay has a 6.5mm spines on the left and right hand side. If you are having a barcode it will be printed on the rear of the inlay, barcode position is entirely up to you. We recommend a minimum white box size of 15 x 30mm for barcodes.
See the link below for out detailed blog on CD inlay printing.
Templates are in InDesign, PDF and PSD format.
Visit our in depth post for technical details about CD Inlay Printing
All our CD & DVD card packaging is printed full (cmyk) colour as standard 4/0. Our card Wallets are printed on 200g white back card, CD Digipak and CD Gatefold wallets are printed on 330g white back card and come with a choice of a Silk or Gloss finish. On certain Digipaks and Gatefold Card Wallets we can provide a UV Matt or Gloss, or an option to print on the reverse of the board, please contact us to make sure the particular packaging you are design for can be printed on the reverse side of the board.
You will notice on the templates that there is a cut between the two inside panels, this enables the packs to fold correctly. Please note that no artwork will be present in this area and white card will show through. It is also important to note that the vertical cut between the two panels is classed as an edge and therefore will require 3mm bleed towards the centre of the packs.
If you cant find the template you require or if you need any help with regard how to set-up or supply artwork please get in touch.
You can use the form to to the right to contact us or give us a call on 0161 833 0089 and we will do our best to advise you.
You may also find our blog pages a useful source to some of the most frequently asked questions, you will find a link below.
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