CD and DVD Manufacture
Supplying your master
CD
We ask that you supply a Red Book CD-R to master from. We will assume that you have checked the master and are happy with it. Points to remember are the length of time between songs and the overall volume. The final CD you receive will be a replica of the one you supplied.
DVD
Supply a DLT (Digital Linear Tape) or a DVD-R. If you require CSS encryption please supply DLT’s and make sure you have “enabled” the DLT to by encrypted at the authoring stage.
Please keep a back up copy of your CD / DVD master and your artwork.
It is important to allocate your master a catalogue number. This number should be unique and will be applied to your CD/DVD label and artwork so that each part is correctly married up to ensure the final product is correct. Examples are PTDCD001 or ZXDDVD1005. Check CDs and DVDs from your collection to see examples of this kind of number.
Glass mastering
A Glass Master consists of glass, optically ground and polished, then coated with phostoresist. A laser exposes a pattern of pits - the digitised sound information - into the photoresist coating. Exposed pits are etched away (developed) to generate the final pit structure. This is then coated in silver to form the master. Electroforming replicates the master layer in a nickel plating bath, forming a negative (father). Multiple positives (mothers) are made in order to produce negatives (sons) which are used as stampers in the moulding process.
Replication
The Stampers are then used to make the CDs in an injection moulding process. Hot polycarbonate is forced under high pressure into a circular mould containing the stamper and then cooled so the polycarbonate takes on the mirror image of the mould. A thin metal “reflective layer” is added to one side of the disc. This reflective layer allows the laser to read the digital data that is created by the pits. Finally a lacquer coating it is added to protect the disc. This process makes about 100 CDs per hour.
DVD disc replication is similar to the process used for CD replication, although DVD discs require much more stringent manufacturing tolerances and also require a bonding step that is not required by CD replication. The bonding process involves two thinner discs (0.6mm) being glued together to form the final disc. In the case of DVD -5, the recorded side is bonded to a blank disc. DVD –9 and DVD -10 have a metallised pit structure on both discs.
The CDs / DVDs are then moved to a printer where, using label films (see artwork) with your catalogue number, silk screen on body printing is applied. (note on DVD10 the available print area is around the hub area only). From there the discs are moved to the packing area and depending on the packaging are either machine or hand packed. Booklets, inlays and wallets are all machine packable, but items such as digipaks and stickering are hand packed and a charge is made per hand pack movement.
Supplying artwork
For details on how to supply your artwork see Artwork and Specifications. Please take time to read this, as it will almost certainly save you time in the long run.
Please send your artwork on a separate clearly marked CDR or use our FTP facility. Your artwork is normally checked within 24 hours of it arriving at Key. Once it has passed checking we will create final proofs for you to approve, either printed colour proofs sent by post or an emailed PDF, which ever you request. Please take note that PDFs can never be colour accurate and they may look different on your screen to ours.
When the artwork is approved the CD / DVD labels are sent to the plant and the booklets & inlays are printed, cut and creased and sent to the manufacturing plant. Please note that pantone colours are only used as standard on CD label printing. Process colours are used as standard on booklet, inlays and cardboard packaging. Special colours will cost you extra. Once at the printers the catalogue number on the print is matched to that on the disc and the packing process is completed.
For further information on DVDs see our Links section for informative websites.
