Terminology
Understanding the Terminology
It is a common situation for a customer to confuse the difference between some of the services we offer. Due to this, we have written a summary of our common services to help you understand what they are and where one service might suit your project better than another.
Duplication
The process of recording source material e.g video, audio or other data
onto a CD or DVD recordable disc. Our robot driven duplicators will
auto-load recordable media into a series of 'burning drives' which
record your data onto each one. The master disc (content provided by
you) is copied onto each of the recordable discs, to output 'duplicated
media'. The quality is high, turnaround time fast and is generally
limited to runs of 500 units or less, when 'replication' becomes a
cheaper alternative. The process time is anything from 1 hour to 5 days
depending on volume.
Pro's: Quick turnaround, low volume runs and high quality.
Con's: Expensive on anything over 500 units
Replication
Also known as pressing, this
involves the production of a CD from a polycarbonate mould with the
data pressed into the mould using a stamper. This stamper is made from
a glass master created from your original master disc. They have an
average throughput of 550-900 discs per hour, per moulding line and is
a much more efficient and cost effective way of producing discs in
large numbers. This process is suitable from runs of 1,000 units + and
typically takes 10 working days +.
Pro's: Cheaper per unit on high volume runs, no burn marks, most reliable media format
Con's: Longer turnaround time, minimum order 1,000 units
Digital CMYK
We have a range of very high quality
profesional BULK inkjet printing machines which use Ultra MicroDot mode
with 3 picolitre ink droplets, variable dot size outputting 5760 Dpi
(optimized). In english, the machines are top quality and output premium
CMYK / spot colour on-body, resulting in full colour photographic print quality. We also operate
'rollercoater' systems which laquer the inkjet printed discs to ensure
the surface is UV, Water & Scratch proof giving a professional finish at a great price.
Pro's: Excellent quality all round printing, low run options
Con's: Least durable of all the printing methods (except for when it's rollercoated)
Thermal Re-Transfer Printing
Our thermal
re-transfer printing systems allow us to produce stunning on-body
printing equivelant to offset litho, but with minimum order quantities
of 10 units. The finish is full colour / photographic and is completely
durable with UV protection and water/scratch resilient surface. We
provide CMY on white base and silver base media with true black and
greyscale option available.
Pro's: Stunning photographic quality, low runs, completely durable
Con's: Can be limited to certain colours and can't handle gradients in artwork
CD and DVD replication traditionally uses ‘Silkscreen Printing’. Silkscreen printing is excellent for producing spot colours or block colours (e.g. if the entire CD or DVD surface should be one colour). This method, while still used and relatively popular, is typically reserved for those wishing to produce pantone referenced artwork. It is a lesser quality output compared to the new offset lithpgraphic method which produced much higher quality output.
Pro's: High quality, prints in pantones, high volume turnaround
Con's: not as good as offset litho
Offset (or Litho) Printing for CD and DVD
Replication
‘Offset Printing’ (or
Litho as it is sometimes referred to as) is the best quality printing process
for printing photographic images and complex gradients onto the CD or DVD label.
It produces detailed colours that blend very well together. If your CD or DVD
replication project needs a photographic image or anything that involves smooth
changes from one colour into another printed to the CD or DVD surface, this is
the process for you. It is normally more expensive than the standard process for
CD or DVD replication (Silkscreen Printing), although W.E.B.S Ltd offer it at no additional cost to standard silkscreen printing.
Pro's: The best one!, high volume, premium output
Con's: none really