Monday, April 26, 2010

CD Text for your CD Duplication Project

In the past year we've seen quite a large increase in audio CD clients who are creating their own Masters for production use. It appears that most of these clients have an understanding of what CD Text is, but there is still a lot of confusion about [a] how to create CD Text, and [b] where you can view it.

~ What exactly is CD Text?
CD Text is a technology that is used on audio CDs which enables low bit rate information such as the song name and the name of the artist to be stored on the within the disc itself. If CD Text is included on an audio CD, specific devices and applications that are able to read and display this information will recognize this information, retrieve it and, in turn, display it to the user.

~ Is CD Text visible on all players and programs?
No - and this happens to cause a great deal of confusion and worry for clients because the client often thinks there is something wrong with their CDs because the CD Text isn't being displayed. A common culprit is Windows Media Player - it's one of the most widely used computer programs for playing music but it doesn't display CD Text unless you install a plug-in.

~ Creating CD Text
It's actually quite simple to add CD Text your audio Master for CD duplication or CD replication, but you need to be using a disc burning program (such as Toast or Nero) that allows you to enter in the appropriate data.

~ I've already made my CD Master - can I add CD Text to it?No, it is not possible to add CD Text after you've already created your audio Master. If you've already created your CD Master and you want to add CD Text after-the-fact you will have to create a new Master.

[ LEARN MORE ]

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CDwest.ca is your factory-direct source for CD manufacturing and CD duplication with eco-friendly print and pacakging solutions. Located in Surrey, B.C. (a suburb of Vancouver) we ship daily to clients throughout Canada and the United States.
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Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Designing A Booklet For Your CD Manufacturing Project

For inexperienced designers, figuring out the correct page sequencing when designing a CD Booklet can be rather confusing. This article is intended to clarify the difference between what looks right and what is actually right. In short, Printer Spreads versus Reader Spreads.

If you’d like to add printed biographical information or song lyrics to your CD duplication or CD manufacturing project you will likely need to incorporate a CD booklet into your budget and designs.

Booklets tend to be more popular than “folders” because we’re much more accustomed to the format of a booklet. Just like a book or magazine, a booklet is folded in half and is stapled in the middle, so they are very compact and easy to browse through.

Printer Spread Page Sequencing

Designing the booklet for your CD duplication or CD manufacturing project shares many of the same design rules that apply to every other aspect of your project, but there is one commonly overlooked aspect we want to bring to your attention: Printer Spreads.

Through a whole lifetime of familiarity with books and magazines we know that ‘page 3’ comes after ‘page 2’ and then ‘page 4’ comes after ‘page 3’. This is absolutely correct after a book has been printed, cut, assembled and stitched but you actually have to design it counter-intuitively.

For the purposes of your CD duplication or CD manufacturing project your ‘booklet’ is a series of 2 panel folders that are stacked together, stapled and then folded to create the book. There is a specific page order required to assure the booklet has the correct page sequence after it has been assembled, and this sequence (or page order) is referred to as Printer Spreads.



Create A Mock-Up

The best way for you to see this is to make a Printer Spread mock-up of something simple. Here’s how you can create a Printer Spread mock-up of a 4 panel (8 page) booklet using two pieces of scrap paper:
  • Stack two pieces of paper together (face to face).
  • Fold the stack evenly in half.
  • Put a staple in the fold to keep the two pieces of paper together as to create a booklet.
  • Now number each page beginning with the front cover as ‘page 1’.
  • After you’ve finished remove the staple and take the booklet apart.
If you’ve done this correctly you should have a total of eight pages that relate to each other as follows: [Page 8 - Page 1], [Page 2 - Page 7], [Page 6 - Page 3] and then [Page 4 - Page 5].

[READ MORE]

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CDwest.ca is your factory-direct source for CD manufacturing and CD duplication with eco-friendly print and packaging options. Our offices and manufacturing facility are located in Surrey, B.C. (a suburb of Vancouver) and we ship to clients throughout Canada and the U.S. daily.
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Monday, April 12, 2010

CD Digipak Super Special Pricing in April

CDwest.ca has a super CD Digipak price for our April VIP Special!

Our CS1000 style CD Digipak is available in quantities as low as 100 units and we're confident these are the best retail prices you'll find in Canada.

Join our VIP Program to get access to this deal - the program is absolutely free and it's very easy to sign up.

This is an all-inclusive offer featuring full colour disc print, all set-ups, clear or black digipak tray, 4/0 digipak print, assembly, wrap, barcode, pre-press, one round of .pdf proofs.

What if you really like the price but you're not quite ready to take advantage of it in April? If you place a 50% downpayment in April we'll be happy to hold the price for you until you're ready with your production assets.

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CDwest.ca is your factory-direct partner in Western Canada for CD manufacturing and CD duplication services complete with eco-friendly print and packaging solutions. Located in Surrey, B.C. (a suburb of Vancouver) we're proud to be the manufacturer of choice for clients throughout Canada.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Featured VIP Member Jared Robinson of Nebulus Entertainment

The CDwest.ca featured VIP Member for April is Jared Robinson of Nebulus Entertainment... an award winning and extremely talented composer, musician, producer, engineer, designer, and photographer.

Jared Robinson grew up in the prairies of Canada and has always held close his love for art and music. Over the years Jared has been involved with a number of bands, some of which were nominated for some of the country's most prestigious music awards (Sweetsalt), not to exclude winning an award for "Best Independent Pop Recording" in Canada and having his music extend into the USA and beyond, earning international exposure on "Dawson's Creek" and "Party of Five" DVD series.

[ READ MORE ]

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CDwest.ca provides factory-direct CD manufacturing and CD duplication services with a large range of eco-friendly print and packaging options including CD Sleeves and CD Digipak.

Join our VIP Member Program (it's free to join) to qualify for special offers, discounts, prize giveaways and much more!