Friday, January 30, 2009

February Special... CDs in Eco-Sleeves!



Our February Special is for CDs packaged in our ever-popular CS100 Eco-Sleeves!

Visit www.CDwest.ca/special for all the details and pricing on this month's special offer. If you have any questions or comments please contact us and we'll be happy to help you!


Sunday, January 11, 2009

Audio CD Master - do-it-yourself issues

While it's great that people are becoming more empowered to take direct control over their CD project, it can lead to problems caused by inexperience.

Here's an issue I thought I would share with you - because we're beginning to see it more frequently these days: Audio masters that are not formatted properly.

Before you begin burning your Master:

1. Formatting a CD for music/audio is different than formatting a CD for data (aka: CDROM). Any reasonably good disc copying software program should ask you what type of disc you're trying to make (music or data), so be sure you check the various default settings before you create your master.

2. Make sure that your disc is finalized (ie: single session - disc at once) because supplying an 'open session' disc will lead to problems when we try to make the glass master and replication stamper from it. Again, check the default settings on your disc copying software program to make sure your disc will be finalized.

4. Only use high-quality name-brand blank CDR media. Going with a cheap 'no name' brand isn't worth it.

5. Burn your Master at the slowest possible speed to ensure the best possible image on the CDR.

6. Test your Master on all sorts of different play-back units (home stereo, car stereo, portable CD player, etc.), both old and new, just to make sure your files are formatted properly for the widest possible compatibility.

7. Make sure you listen to your Master from beginning to end - all the way through - to ensure it performs EXACTLY as intended with no errors, skips, pops, etc. Remember - the CDs that you are getting manufactured will be exact clones of your Master, so whatever is on your Master will be on the finished product.

8. Don't include any other files (like artwork) on your Master unless you actually want them on your finished product.

Hope these tips help!

Short-run eco-friendly CD packaging

In the last year our eco-friendly CD sleeves, CD jackets and CD digipak orders have out-sold the more traditional plastic CD case orders.

Based on that, we are upgrading our print/packaging department with new equipment that will allow us to provide short-run quantities of all of our eco-friendly products.

The upgrade is taking place right now and, because of the learning-curve with the equipment involved, we'll be rolling out a couple of products at a time. All going well, it shouldn't take very long to have all of our current product line available in short-run quantities, as well as NEW product types being announced.

Exact details will be announced as we progress, but we have already planned to offer these products in quantities as low as 100 units... and perhaps even lower.

Stay tuned to CDwest.ca for more details!

CDwest.ca sponsors Supernova's "Band On The Run" competition.

CDwest.ca is proud to be entering into a sponsorship agreement for the Supernova.com "Band On The Run 2009" battle-of-the-band series in Western Canada.

We're very excited to be a part of Supernova's 2009 series as this fits perfectly with our mandate to provide a local partner for Western Canadians who would like a factory-direct source for their CD duplication and CD manufacturing, print and packaging needs.

The Western Canadian leg of Supernova's "Band On The Run 2009" series is already booked to take place in Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, and we will be providing merchandise and CD duplication prizes for the qualifying and city-final rounds of the competition.

It's great to see Supernova providing this type of live performance opportunity for independent bands as it's a huge boost for the independent scene on many different levels. Check them out online at http://www.supernova.com/

Welcome to the CDwest.ca blog!

Hello and welcome to the CDwest.ca blog.

I hope this blog is able to provide you with some useful information and updates about who we are, what's new with us, pointers, tips, and all manner of things.

Due to the sometimes hectic nature of business, one thing I'm already anticipating is that the blog postings may come in 'bunches' instead of being a steady day-by-day thing. We'll just have to see how that plays out.

If you ever have any questions or comments we encourage you to contact us... because your feedback is always welcomed and appreciated!

Cheers!