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Christmas Message From Duplication Centre!

Friday, December 21st, 2018

Everyone at Duplication Centre: Martin,Mark,Una,Mark,Jo,Abi,Chanelle,Anna,Tig and Phil all wish you and you families a Very Happy Christmas!

Looking forward to working with both New and Existing Customers in the New Year!

We continue to work in both Duplication Services, Replication Services,Digital Publishing & Fulfilment and Waterproof Printing and we are happy to chat to you about any of these on 01702-530354 or you can learn more online :

www.duplicationcentre.co.uk

www.replicationcentre.co.uk

www.thedigitalpublishingcenter.com

www.waterproofprint.com

Duplication Production continues over the weekend until Christmas Eve and we continue to accept new orders or re-runs over all the Christmas period but these will not go into production until Wednesday 2nd January 2019.

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New Product

Monday, October 1st, 2018

Just live on our Web-Site for the start of October is the New 4 Page Lancing Pack.

The Lancing pack is a 4 panel card wallet which opens like a book.

Printed in full colour front,back and inside using our industry leading digital press.

There are 4 panels for your artwork and an opening on the right for your disc to slot snugly into.

The card is die cut for an immaculate finish and is made from FSC Certified and sustainable premium Pro Card Stock  300 gsm .

The Lancing Pack has a modern look and is the perfect,more Eco-Friendly option to the CD Jewell Case.

And for the finishing touch you can choose to have Shrinkwrap applied to the Lancing Pack  or for it to be sealed in one of our fitted Cellobags.

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Cellowrap, Shrinkwrap & Cellobags

Wednesday, September 12th, 2018

Here at Duplication Centre we offer all three of these options for giving your CD/DVD or Blu-Ray the fully professional finished look.

What is the difference?

CELLOWRAP:

We use this process for wrapping Single Standard DVDs along with Double DVDs,3 Way and 4 Way DVD cases and for all Standard Single and Double Jewell cases.

This process is semi-automated and applies a thick plastic outer wrap by a heat sealing process, to pre-cut pieces of the plastic wrap.

SHRINKWRAP:

We can use this process to wrap any of the cases we offer in the duplication process using PVC shrink film (gauge 15 micron) including:

Jewell Cases both single and any multi-way, DVD cases single and multi-way, Blu-Ray cases both single and multi-way,Clam Shells, Digi-paks, and all the slimline versions of the cases that we offer on the web-site. We can also use shrinkwrap on our digi-paks and card wallets.

Like cellowrapping this is a semi-automated process where the roll of wrap is cut to size using a heat bar, sealed and then literally “shrunk” to fit the case being wrapped with a heat gun.The customer then rips this off to open the product.

 

Both of these processes produce fully sealed units which not only look very professional but are then fit for sale on the internet. For many company’s cellowrap /shrinkwrap is a requirement  acting as proof that the product is new and has not been “tampered” with.

Both are easily removed and then the wrap needs to be discarded.

 

CELLOBAGS:

These are bespoke bags that we have are made-to-measure for  products that we offer them on; they fit snugly and look professional.

They are clear and can be sealed with a sticky panel much like a self-seal envelope.

The advantage with these is that with careful removal your product can be reinserted for added storage protection.

The process of applying these is completely manual.

It is available on all the single and double cd jewell cases (standard and slimline) and on DVDs both single double 3 and 4 way as well as the slimline version.

It is the most popular choice for our card wallet and digi-pak products.

These are all optional additions to the packing of your order and not essential unless you plan to sell on web-site like Amazon where it is a must!

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Printed Parts Are Important

Tuesday, September 4th, 2018

All of our customers are producing a CD,DVD or Blu-Ray to communicate Audio and/or Visual, Music, Spoken Word, Information or Performances to their audience/customers. This is the main event!

With a physical CD, DVD or Blu-Ray however there is another dimension/medium available to express visually in Word, Picture and Images through the use of printed covers and booklet inserts. This recruits yet another of our senses and gives an additional aesthetic dimension to your product. For most customers this is a really important feature of the duplication process and for many is not just the imparting of information, but another expression of art.

Our clients can spend a great deal of time designing artwork for their orders so with this in mind we invest in a State of the Art printer technology which is second to none for print production.

We only use the highest quality card and paper on all the associated printed parts that come with CD, DVD and Blu-Ray Production.

How often have you pulled out a CD/DVD booklet that is thin and shoddy quality? We know that you want your duplication order to be of a professional standard so we only use card that is 350gsm and 170gsm papers. These are good to handle and allow the print quality to show at its best. Your carefully planned project deserves no less than the highest quality printed parts and that is what we provide.

We also manage to remain Eco-friendly whilst maintaining this high quality by using FSC certified sustainable stock for our printing 🙂

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Which CD/DVD Case is Right for You?

Thursday, July 5th, 2018

This article is revisiting the topic of casing and giving a more up to date analysis of what is available and popular at the moment.

Over the last few years there has been a great shift in the type of CD/DVD casing chosen by customers.This is partly due to the increasing access we all have to the digital world, where personalising and producing bespoke products is much easier and ever more professional in outcome.

Whether you are a band selling at gigs or a school producing a play or a company producing product or financial information it matters how you present your CD/DVD to your customer or client.

What are your choices?

The first decision to be made is whether you want printed parts with information on for your customer to read…if you don’t then your options are:

FOR YOUR CDS

A plastic Clam Shell Case or a plastic wallet ; both of these will allow your onbody print on the CD to show through and are a good  and  really low cost option.

The plastic wallet comes in single or double versions and also those used for inserting into books and magazines with clear self adhesive strips.

 

 

If you do want printed parts there are a wealth of options and things to consider.

By far the most popular form of casing currently is the card wallet which we print in full colour on both sides.

The Card Wallet

We have noticed a real shift in sales over the last couple of years and this has grown in popularity to become our best selling case option.There are many reasons for its popularity not least because it is very eco-friendly,unbreakable  and  easy to post. It is most popular however because you can tailor the wallet to print photos , text…whatever you choose…and end up with an inexpensive bespoke product printed on high quality fsc certified 350 gsm box board.

 

You can then choose to have these cellobagged or shrinkwrapped just to create the complete profession look or for selling online.

The CD Digi-Pak

Along side this is the CD digi-pak which is a 4 page card option with a clear or black tray for the CD to sit in; this gives

all the same benefits as a card wallet but has the more sturdy plastic tray for the CD to sit in.

And finally in the card range is the 4 page lancing pack which is a double card wallet with one side sealed with glue or left open for a booklet.

 

The CD Jewell Case

The CD Jewell Case….named because they are said to pick up light like jewells!! …. are transparent plastic, fitted with 2 arms that support the lid…these are by far the most traditional, and were the preferred option for many until recent times.

These too allow you to bespoke your order with 2,4,6 and 8 page booklets giving you the space to include all the information you want to; along with a rear tray,single or double sided for your track listings.

The jewell case also comes in a slimline version where there is no back tray so no art in the back, but still plenty of room for the booklet to be inserted in the front.We have the black tray option on the web-site but can order in a clear tray  if you wish.

 

FOR DVDS

For your DVDS the same decision process applies as with CDS….Do you want printed parts?

As a DVD and a CD Disc are the same size you can have any of the CD casing options if you want to for your DVD….. we do have customers who choose to have a DVD in a slimline cd case for example or in a CD card wallet…..however we do offer some other packaging products which are particularly designed for the DVD.

DVD Digi-pak These are made with the same high quality card as the cd digi-pak but are a different shape…rather more like a book …longer but nice and slimline in design.

 

Our DVD customers mostly still choose the AMARAY standard DVD case made of plastic which comes in single,double,3,4,5,10 way and so on….

 

The Standard Amaray DVD Case

 

They come in all colours but we advertised black and clear as they are by far the most popular.

 

The clear case gives you the option for a double sided wrap to be printed…the black for just single sided.

This traditional DVD casing can also be ordered with a DVD booklet 2 or 4 page.

 

Our web-site offers a free artwork creation tool and all the templates for both the disc art and printed paper parts are in our Artwork section. Artwork Creator

If you hover over the case options on the web-site you will also see an image and description of the case in question.After you have done this if you are still undecided give us a call and we’ll use our experience to help you decide. Instant Prices and Ordering

 

 

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CD-TEXT and the Gracenote Database

Tuesday, May 1st, 2018

Gracenote CD Database and CD-TEXT

We live in an age where all things exist on the cloud, but this is only partly true for the text information’s we see when playing CD-Audio disc.

There are in fact two ways to add track text info to a disc:

In the beginning, not long after CDs were released in the 80s, an update was made so small amounts of text could be added to a CD. This text lives in sub channels of the disc so it won’t effect playback, but a CD-TEXT enabled player can read and display the information. Nowadays these players are less common, but still used in most car stereos unless you’re driving one of a few higher end vehicles.

A common assumption is that most computers read CD text, however this is not the case; iTunes, Windows Media Player etc. do not use CD-Text at all. They use a more modern system, the GraceNote – Compact Disc Data Base (CDDB). With this system none of the text used is actually stored on the disc, but all saved on the internet.

When you insert a CD and view through iTunes for example, the computer identifies the disc and then looks it up on the web. If it cannot find a match it will not display the text information, or may display a close match (from another artist!). So even if you have a CD which has CD text, but is not registered with the CDDB, its unlikely the text will show up on a computer at all.

We have customers who have experienced this problem and fortunately its very easy to correct.

We recommend using iTunes as it’s one of the easiest ways to upload your CD information.

The below link will show you how to do this in just a few minutes:

http://support.gracenote.com/support/pkb_Home?l=en_US&c=Public%3AArtists_Labels_Publishers

Once submitted it can take a couple of days to update but that’s all you need to do.

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The Fight Against Illegal Pirate Videos and Music

Wednesday, August 16th, 2017

Pirate CDs - bad for business!

In today’s society everything is done by internet: Emails whizz from company to client, children do their homework via the web, people illegally download music and video from the internet… This last, the pirating of music and film, is becoming an ever-growing problem in our technological world. But it doesn’t just occur on the internet: Pirated discs can be bought as well! But what effect is this having on our music and film industries and is it such a big problem that we need to worry about its effect on the CD and DVD manufacturing world?

The answer, unfortunately, is yes! We do need to worry about it: The music and film industry is an expensive business to run: With hiring actors and musicians, studio fees, pre- and post-production costs, disc duplication, advertising and distribution of the product there is a lot of money being sunk into making the product in the first place. There is a delicate balance between the money being sunk into films and music and the money being made from these to produce more films and music and if we as the public begin to pirate the products, there will not be enough money going into the cycle to make CD and DVD manufacturing continue.

Of course occasionally you get a film such as Lord of the Rings or Titanic which makes an absolute mint but for the most part films just about make back what was spent on them in the first place, if not even making a loss. The same can be said about music: Michael Jackson and Madonna may be incredibly wealthy but there are literally thousands of bands who every year scrape by. Is it really fair to pirate the work of these people?

Piracy has become a serious offence in many countries now, with the media recording cases of suing up to and over £60,000 pounds – a lot of money in anyone’s books! And yet it is still happening: Loop-holes are being found or people are simply taking the risk so that they can save money in the short term. But the effect this is having on our music and film industries is palpable and soon the cycle of money going in and out could get so broken that both industries will collapse entirely and there will be no more CD or DVD manufacturing!

So what can we do to help? Well, the answer is simple: Don’t use pirated goods! Don’t download illegally off the internet! Whether you use pirated goods or simply buy them, you are still enjoying the same product (nearly always at a higher quality if you buy it, as well!) So why not support the industries so that they can produce more music and film while you’re at it? Get a higher quality product and keep film and music alive by buying legitimately rather than pirating!

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What CD or DVD case is right for you?

Tuesday, August 27th, 2013

It doesn’t matter what type of DVD or CD case you use, right?

Wrong.

In most cases, the DVD or CD case is more important than the actual CD label itself, particularly in the consumer markets. So which CD or DVD case is best for your company? There are several different options and we will cover all of them to make sure you are using the right type.

CD cases

CD cases tend to be smaller than DVD cases. They are almost the same size as the CD inside.

What types of CD cases are there?

Jewel case

These cases are said to pick up light like jewels, as they are transparent plastic, fitted with two arms that support the lid. They are the most common types of CD cases and allow for a small leaflet to be inserted in the front and back.

Pros: Strong protection, aesthetically pleasing, allows inserts and offers different variations that hold more CDs

Cons: Teeth and arms are prone to breaking, which render the holder useless. They are not environmentally friendly and they are bulkier than other case options.

The sleeve

A simple sleeve saves the most space out of any CD storage option. They are made from a thin plastic called ‘tyvek’ or paper.

Pros: The tyvek sleeves protect from water and spills, while the paper sleeves are environmentally friendly.

Cons: The paper sleeves don’t protect from condensation or spills. Both the paper and tyvek sleeves do not protect the CDs from getting snapped or crushed.

Eco-friendly options

  • Soft or Green case – most eco-friendly option, made from recycled discs and known for opaque quality
  • Digipack – only one component of plastic
  • Jake case – origami-like
  • WowWallet – FCC approved paper and cardboard

DVD cases

DVD cases are typically the size of a thin, A5 book in order to fit small booklets and extra information inside the case.

Keep cases

Most DVDs are encased in book-sized plastic boxes called Keep Cases. The front allows for a small cover to be inserted and the plastic is usually made from black plastic.

Pros: Strong, durable, allows for booklets and information to be slid into teeth and plastic covering.

Cons: They are not environmentally friendly and are expensive.

Bulk packaging

When it comes to bulk packaging, CDs and DVDs are both packed in Cake Boxes. A Cake Box piles discs on a spindle, with one large cylindrical plastic cover to protect them all.

However some of the cheaper CDs can also come in Blister Packs. Only blank discs are sold in this manner and it is advisable to at least buy sleeves to protect discs with information on them.

Hopefully this article proved useful for choosing your CD and DVD case needs. If you have any questions feel free to ask us!

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Which disc label printing method is right for you?

Monday, August 5th, 2013

You should always have labels on your CDs.

Why?

For professionalism and so people know which way the disc should be facing when putting it in a CD player.

However, there are four methods for printing labels on your CDs. Which one is best for you?

Let’s review the four options and decide:


Lithographic (offset) printing

Lithographic printing is where your artwork is placed on a processing plate using a chemical treatment. The plate is then ‘offset’, or imposed onto a rubber blanket cylinder. This is then pressed onto the surface of the CD to create the print.

  • Pros: It looks great, provides high-quality photographic printing and sharp text.
  • Cons: It is only possible when replicating discs, not while duplicating.

Overall, this process is great if you need more than 1000 discs, however it typically isn’t the cheapest option.

Thermal transfer printing

Thermal transfer printing is when each colour is set onto a transfer ribbon and then applied beneath a heated print head. This creates a seal, making the disc waterproof and smudge free.

  • Pros: Taken directly from the computer, fast, cost-effective in small runs and it looks great.
  • Cons: You can’t print right up to the edge of the disc and you may need a white base to print other colours on it.

Silkscreen printing

This process passes ink through a monofilament screen, where each colour is applied separately.

  • Pros: It is the cheapest option for large batches and great for simple designs with minimal colours.
  • Cons: Grainy effects often occur around the colour gradients and text. Also, the more colours you use, the lower quality it will look.

Inkjet printing

Inkjet printing entails printing directly onto a specially prepared disc. After that, the disc is covered with a UV-resistant lacquer to prevent fading and scratches.

  • Pros: Very high-quality finish.
  • Cons: Pricier for large batches (since the price is fixed).

Overall, each one of these four CD label printing techniques is a viable option, but hopefully with the guidance above you can narrow down which printing option works best for your project. We understand that price and quality are usually the determining factors for printing on CDs so we tried to focus primarily on that.

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Dual Layer DVD Recording

Monday, September 12th, 2011

Dual Layer DVD RecordingHave you ever wondered how a full length feature movie plus bonus material fits onto a single DVD Disc? The answer is dual layer DVD technology and you may be surprised to know that this is not new technology we are talking about. Hollywood has been producing major motions pictures on stamped dual layer DVD Discs for years.
We are now witnessing the rise of recordable dual layer DVD technology on the consumer market. A look at the technology could explain this progression.
Dual layer or double layer DVD, also referred to as a DVD-9 disc, appears to be a natural progression of single layer 4.7GB recordable technology. For starters a DVD-9 disc offers up to four hours of high quality MPEG-2 video, or up to 8.5GB of data on a single-sided disc. This mean you can pack up to 12 CD’s worth of information on to one disc. Thanks to the additional layer of recordable space you can store approximately 2,000 songs in MP3 format or up to 17,000 high quality JPEG images.

In a dual layer DVD-9 disc, two individual recordable layers, like the one found on a standard single/ DVD-5 disc, are joined together with a transparent spacer and a thin metal reflector between the two.  The bottom layer is written and read in exactly the same manner as a standard DVD-5.  The difference with a DVD-9 is that the laser now focuses a fraction of a millimetre beyond the first recording layer, giving access to the second recordable layer.  A downside to this is that the layer change can display a noticeable pause in some DVD players, up to several seconds.
Certainly business users will appreciate the increased storage capacity of a dual layer DVD recordable disc especially when distributing a large amount of data on a single disc is needed. It can even be used for desktop system backup and single server backup with time and cost savings over older traditional technologies. IT managers can even create their system “images” for configuring client PCs on a single disc for rapid deployment of new computers on corporate networks.
Independent filmmakers and studios alike will appreciate the ability to author a dual layer DVD video disc and try it out without resorting to expensive and time consuming replication. This set of users can now fine tune their works on cost effective dual layer DVD recordable discs before creating the master for replication.
Dual layer discs are not as common, as the single layer format as the 4.7GB capacity of the single layer discs is usually sufficient for most business uses and dual layer discs are also a lot more expensive.  Also the question of compatible software arises. Typically only newer DVD recorder drives will be able to write to dual layer or double layer discs. Many current DVD recorders support dual-layer technology, and the price is now comparable to that of single-layer drives, though the discs remain more expensive.  However, the recording speeds reached by dual-layer media are still well below those of single-layer media.

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