However hard you try, in production of orders we do sometimes have spoilt print or rejected burns from our machines.
That means we have unusable discs, which we always try to recycle in some way.
Just one wonderful use for a recycled CD/DVD !!
Posts Tagged ‘CD Duplication’
Recycling Discs: 13th September 2019
Friday, September 13th, 2019Love The Diversity: 22nd August 2019
Thursday, August 22nd, 2019
Back Pain Instructional DVD
Whilst posting on Social Media I reflected on the huge diverstity of customers we have at Duplication Centre.
Its fantastic that we can work with so many interesting customers:
Instructional DVD’s for a whole host of topics: Fishing,Pilates, Back Pain Cure, Painting, Guitar tuition…. to name but a few.
CDs for School, CDs for both Solo Artists and Bands, Gospel Music, Prayer Casts, Self Help CDs, Mediation CD’s, Blank DVD’s for Photographers & Videographers,Theatre Prodcutions,University Graduation Ceremonies, Buskers, Fund raising/charity CDs.
Each project has its own special interest and purpose and makes our work both interesting and fulfilling.
Call us if you need help or advice with your project or get an instant quotation online:
Jargon Buster Part 2 – Artwork Files: 16th July 2019
Tuesday, July 16th, 2019This article is the second in our series to help you understand some of the terminology used in the duplication process
Artwork Files:
Beware, we are now moving into the area of artwork and the word image no linger relates to a disc image! When talking about artwork, and image is simply a picture, a graphic or photograph
PDF stands for “portable document format.” Adobe Systems designed this format, which has become the standard for exchanging electronic documents. Its a very complex and powerful format used extensively in artwork design and printing, perfect for supplying your artwork supporting the other artwork formats below, as well as special print formats, colours and vector graphics.
JPEG, TIFF, and PNG
These image formats are ideal for photos and similar images containing many colours offering good quality and acceptable sizes are possible. The quality / file size of a jpeg can be altered through the use of compression.
The three formats all vary slightly in the way they apply compression to the images, each with its own advantages. For printing its best to keep the compression at a minimum so the files are larger and better quality.
PSD
This format is only used by the graphics programs Photoshop. The files are generally large and contain lots of additional information and layers which are not needed for print. The complexity of the files make them perfect for editing and designing, BUT not ideal for printing. You should save your artwork to PDF or JPEG when ready to submit for printing.
To learn more about artwork formats this article is a good place to start, offering beginner guides to the various types: Further information on artwork formats.
Jargon Buster Part 1 – Master Discs:8th July 2019
Monday, July 8th, 2019As in most Industries there are many terms and abbreviations which are used in duplication, that have become part of our ordinary language. For the uninitiated these terms can sometimes appear complicated and a bit daunting. This is especially true of file formats as some terms are used to define different entity’s even when working in the same markets!
Our Director of Technology Mark Smith has written a series for articles that we will publish over the next 3 weeks explaining some of the most used terms,in relation the the optical media (CD, DVD and Blu-Ray) market. With links for more detailed explanations:
Physical Masters:
This simply means a hard copy CD or DVD which we can use to duplicate from.
Disc Image Formats:
The type of images here are not photographic images. The term relates to a ‘snapshot’ of the contents of a disc, the format and the exact layout.
The most important thing when working with disc images is you are sure you have formatted them correctly. Failing to do this will result in any discs made from them to be faulty. If there is any doubt, or you are new to this area, ask for help and advice. We have a team here who are always available for email, phone or online chat and will be very happy to help and advise you.
ISOnrg
An .iso image is a computer file that is an exact copy of an existing file system. ISO files are typically created through a software application that will extract the contents of a CD or DVD, and then write then as an exact electronic copy of the original disc to a file (a .iso file). This allows us to burn to burn an exact copy of the original onto CD or DVD.
Iso files are perfectly acceptable for CD-Rom and DVD-Video, but should not be used for CD-Audio due to technical restrictions
IMG
This format is very similar to a .ISO image with a few subtle changes and features which are beyond the scope of this article. For our purpose they can be used the same as an ISO, but more in depth information can be found in this article should you wish to learn more.
Like ISO files, .img should not be used for CD-Audio discs.
NRG
These files are a relatively new proprietary optical disc image file format. NRG files are used in the same way as other image formats, but are a more advanced and very versatile.
NRG files can be used for any type and format of disc, CD-ROM, CD-Audio, DVD-Video, Blu-Ray, etc.
DDP
This stands for Disc Description Protocol and is commonly used for delivery of disc pre-masters for commercial Glass Master Replication. The DDP format is compatible with all CD and DVD discs and is the industry professional format used in mass manufacture of discs. Although becoming more common, its a relatively unknown format used mainly within the optical media industry for transporting discs electronically between production facility’s and mastering houses.
DDP files can be accepted the same as all other listed image formats for duplication, but are not a specific requirement in any way. Further more detailed information on this format is available here.
Bin/Cue
This is a versatile image file format particularly useful for CD-Audio. The consist of two files,
- a binary data file (.bin file), This is the raw data of a disc, a solid block of information with no organisation.
- a Cue sheet (.cue file). This is a descriptive file, used to give structure and organisation to the raw binary (.bin) file.
Each of the Bin & Cue files are meaningless on their own, and must be provided together with their specific and matching partner, never mixed or edited. Further information of this file type can be found here.
How to create an autorun slideshow
Monday, January 4th, 2010
It's easy to create an Autorun slideshow for yourself!
These days, digital cameras are a common household necessity but with their advent, the practice of printing photos has become almost obsolete. Whilst sharing photos on networking websites and duplicating them onto CDs has become the usual practice, it doesn’t quite have the same personal touch or class as a good old photo album.
So what is the remedy?
How can we make photos personal again?
One of the most popular answers at the moment is to create a slideshow and burn that to CD. The wonderful thing about slideshows is that they can contain music, special effects, annotations and even voiceovers to make a personal, fun, digital age photo album. But to get a really good finish when you duplicate them onto CD for friends, family or even as part of a business idea, it is great to have the slideshow begin automatically when the disc is inserted into the machine. This is called an AutoRun Slideshow and I will be talking about how to create one of these in this article.
In a previous article, I gave instructions for how to make an AutoRun CD, but creating an autorun slideshow is an almost completely different kettle of fish. To program a slideshow to autorun with computer code is actually quite complicated, so I would advise the use of a piece of software to do it for you. There are lots of products on the market at the moment, some of them very expensive and others totally free, but I would recommend AutoRun Slideshow 6.1. It is a very good program with a free three week download so that you can fully test its capabilities before paying for it (a reasonable £18.72 for personal home use).
This program allows an autorun slideshow to be programmed onto your CD at no further bother to you: All you have to do is simply create your slideshow using the software, then copy the file you have made onto the CD. It should be noted that this software only work on Windows machines which run the operating system XP or newer.
The wonderful thing is, it can also be used for professional use (at a slightly higher price) so if you were wanting to use an autorun slideshow for advertisement purposes or as part of a business idea, you can use this program on a CD which can then be duplicated.
Good luck with making your autorun slideshow and duplicating it and have fun sharing your photos around in a personal, fun way!
The Differences Between CD and DVD Duplication and Replication
Monday, January 4th, 2010
CD duplication or replication - there's a big difference, but what is it?
When making many copies of a disc, often it is easier just to hire a professional company to do it for you as it saves you time and, in the long run, money. But there are two different ways of making multiple copies of CDs and DVDs: The first is disc duplication and the second is disc replication. The two are not altogether foreign, but there are some subtle differences which can make a massive difference to which one is better suited to your needs.
The process behind disc duplication involves burning CDs or DVDs the way you would at home, in a disc burner using a laser. However, professional equipment is such that it can burn many copies of a disc at once, using disc burning towers. This makes the process much faster than it would be at home. The discs are then decorated and checked for quality in special machines.
On the other hand with disc replication, CDs or DVDs are copied using a master disc made from glass. This master disc literally punches the digital information onto the disc before the protective layers are added. It thus becomes part of the entire disc manufacturing process.
Although the initial costs of disc replication are more expensive because the glass master has to be made, if you want to make more than 1,000 copies of a disc it is actually cheaper than duplication. But duplication is much faster than replication: Duplication can take from 24 hours to three days, while replication takes between seven and ten days on average.
Also, the type of discs which can be made in both processes differ significantly: Disc duplication will only deal with CD-Rs or DVD+/-Rs, while replication is only for CD-ROMs or DVD-ROMs and also now Blu-Ray discs. This is because CD- and DVD-ROMs cannot be burnt upon and CD-Rs have been taken too far down the 
manufacturing process to then be stamped with the replicating machines. This seems trivial, but it can have a slight difference to which disc players can read them: It is estimated that in the current market that only 98% of CD players will play duplicated CDs while 90% of DVD players will play duplicated DVDs. This could have an effect on your decision: If you need to be able to guarantee your customers will be able to play your product, it is better to replicate the discs! This is because of the way that data is read from the different discs.
Aside from this, there are no real differences in appearance of the discs or the quality of data stored, though it should be noted that duplicated discs can be a little more susceptible to UV damage than replicated discs but this technicality is so slight it only really counts if you are planning on making your disc last more than thirty years!
Good luck with all your duplication and replication and I hope this article has helped you on the way to making your mind up on which is better suited to your needs. Just remember that the most important thing in the decision-making process is simply how many discs you are planning on creating: The basic rule is over a thousand, you replicate, under a thousand, you duplicate!