Monday, June 29, 2009

Silkscreen Printed CDs - Tutorial Number Two

We've gotten some pretty good feedback on our initial Tutorial for Silkscreen Printed discs on how to create colour separations, so we have followed up with Tutorial Number Two: Using Less Than 100% Solid Colour.

We find a lot of todays do-it-yourself designers (as well as a good number of professional designers) that we come into contact with aren't experienced in designing for commercial print, and don't realize that designing for multimedia or the internet has a whole different set of rules than commercial print.

For those designers, Silkscreen printing must seem like some sinister plot to drive them mad.

One of the greatest things about designing for computer-screen viewing is "what you see is what you get" (aka: WYSIWYG) ... you get to proof your designs on the very same display device that the finished design will be viewed on (we will conveniently ignore the fact that the colours may look different when viewed on other monitors).

With commercial print, what you see on your monitor may very well NOT be what you get and Silkscreen printing could be the biggest offender. Proof-in-point is when you use less than 100% solid colours in your design but, rather than re-hash it all here in this post, it's better to check out the tutorial which shows images of the difference between what you see on your monitor and what will actually print.

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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Graphic Design Tutorial - Silkscreen Printing CDs

CD manufacturing, print and packaging involves a lot of technology and complicated equipment, so it does seem kind of unusual that such an ‘old school’ method like Silkscreen Printing is still so viable for CD printing.

At CDwest.ca we offer both CMYK Offset Printing and Silkscreen Printing for our CDs, and there’s no doubt that Silkscreen Printing is still the best choice for *some* types of CD designs. Unfortunately there is an inherent difficulty with using such an old school style of print, in the fact that so very few graphic designers are experienced with it and know (A) what the limitations of Silkscreen Printing CDs are, and (B) how to properly set-up their design files for Silkscreen Printing CDs.

The largest single issue we experience is colour separations… or lack thereof… so we have created a very simple tutorial to get your graphic design started in the right direction.

Additional aspects of graphic design for Silkscreen Printing CDs will be covered in later installments, which will include the use of bitmap images, designing using colours that are less than 100% solid, and specifying the correct colour values for Silkscreen Printing on CDs.

As always, before beginning the graphic design for your CD duplication or CD replication project, follow our artwork specifications and use our design templates - that on its own will help you avoid the most commonly made mistakes!

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Friday, June 12, 2009

Graphic Design for CD Packaging

Making a good first impression is always important, and it's no different for your CD or DVD project. Long before your disc ever gets played it actually gets judged on the quality and design of the CD packaging, so a professional image is very important.

If you need assistance with graphic design for your discs and CD packaging the professionals at CDwest.ca can help you.

  • Standard Design Services: In many instances, our clients already know what they want their disc and packaging graphics to look like, but they don't have the ability of experience to create the design to commercial printing standards. Our answer is this: Send us your design idea, images, graphics, text and then we take it from there. Proofs are provided for your review so we can make sure you're happy with the work that's taking place. Price List for "Standard Design Services" [.PDF format]
  • Concept & Design Services: If you don't know what you want your disc and CD packaging or DVD packaging graphics to look like, we can still help you. Our designers can consult with you and then the vision for the graphic design can be decided upon collaboratively with you. Our standard rate is $60 per hour.
  • Content Creation: Sometimes clients don't have suitable imagery or copy for their discs and CD packaging or DVD packaging designs, but at Precision Disc we can help you with content creation and copy writing as well. Our standard rate is $60 per hour. Please contact us to discuss your specific needs.

Happy Graphic Design Clients

It's always nice to be complemented on a job well done. Here are a few recent comments from clients who came to us for graphic design assistance on their discs and CD packaging or DVD packaging:

  • "Just a note to thank you very much for the great job you did on the discs and sleeves! I am more than pleased with all your work! Thanks again!" - Robert K.

  • "Wowee! You're a damn genius! I love, love, love it!" - Troy K.

  • "I really appreciate the great job you have done." - Rick V.

  • "Everything looks good. It's a go on all fronts...Great Job." - Bill W.

  • "We are good to go - looks fantastic!" - Norine B.

  • "We think your artwork is FABULOUS. Better than we hoped for!" - Robert R.