Thursday, October 27, 2011

Graphic Design Is A Huge Part Of Your CD Duplication Project

Have you heard the old saying "Image is everything" or that "You've only got 15 seconds to make a good first impression"?

As superficial as that may sound, in many instances it is absolutely true. Everywhere we turn we're being bombarded with advertisements, slogans, and messages, so we have become very adept at tuning out what isn't meaningful to us or doesn't impress us.

So what does that have to do with your upcoming CD duplication project?

When a complete stranger first looks at your freshly manufactured product what will they see?  You notice I said "what will they see?" and not "what will they hear?" because it's your packaging and the graphic design that people see first... and judge first. For some people, if they are not suitably impressed with what they "see" they'll won't bother getting to the "hear" stage of it.

Who are these nasty pre-judging people? Don't they know that it's all about the music and that the graphic design and CD packaging is just window-dressing?

Well, from countless interviews, discussions and articles that I have been privvy to, a significant segment of these pre-judging people are the very industry professionals you should be trying to get on the good side of - such as booking agents, reviewers, program managers.

These industry pro's are inundated with submissions from artists or bands just like you, with everyone wanting a piece of their time and crossing their fingers for a favorable review or opportunity.
When it comes to this visual pre-judgement, the comment I've heard most often goes something like this, "I've been doing this long enough to know that an amateurish looking package or graphic design generally means amateurish music. There aren't enough hours in the day, so if there's no immediate wow-factor for me I move on to the next package."

In short, what these people are looking for is professionalism. Professional attitude, acting professional, professional performance, professional merchandise, professional look, etc. etc.

At the end of the day, impressing people with some visual wow-factor is going to get you a lot further ahead than saving a few bucks by doing the graphic design on your CD duplication project yourself. Do what you do best - and if that's not graphic design then don't be too shy or too proud to hand it off to someone who can make you look good!  :)

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CDwest.ca provides factory-direct CD manufacturing and duplication with a wide variety of the most popular eco-friendly print and packaging options. Professional graphic design services are also available. From our offices and replication facility in Surrey, BC (a suburb of Vancouver), we ship to clients throughout Canada and the United States daily.
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Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Indie Musicians Should Think of QR Codes Instead of Barcodes

QR Codes are becoming increasingly popular for marketing purposes… you’ll be seeing their use skyrocket in 2012.

“QR Code” stands for “Quick Response Code” and was created back in 1994 by a subsidiary of Toyota to track vehicles during the manufacturing process.  It is very much like a barcode in that each unique code relates to unique data but QR Code popularity comes from how quickly and reliably it can be read, plus its large storage capacity.

In today’s marketing world QR Codes are now being used quite creatively to relate promotional information. All you need is a Smartphone with a code reader and you’re off to the races. Here’s an example:
You’re walking down a city sidewalk and see a sign outside a restaurant that features a QR Code. You scan the code using the QR Code reader on your Smart Phone and you get information about a special discount or promotion that the restaurant is offering (or whatever other information the restaurant might want to promote to you).

The way I look at it, using QR Codes is an excellent and exciting guerrilla marketing tool for independent musicians, film makers, promoters, etc.  Here’s why, using independent musicians as an example:

One of the toughest things for a musician is to get noticed and get his/her music heard. After all, they exist in a huge sea of other musicians and performers who are also striving to be seen and heard.  Through the creative use of QR Codes, you can drive people directly to you and your music. The Codes can be used on all of your promotional materials.

I love the idea of printing up t-shirts with a big Code on the front and the back with a slogan saying, “Listen to this!”. Hand the t-shirts out to friends, and as they walk around at school, or shopping, or at an event, they are going to capture a fair bit of interest. Of course people don’t know what it is the Code will lead them to, and that’s the point. It could be anything, and you want their curiosity to get the better of them!

For a lot of independent musicians, getting their CDs into retail stores (at least reasonably big stores) is pretty much a thing of the past, so wanting a barcode to be added during the CD duplication process has become outdated for most independents. There is still a prevailing sense that having a traditional barcode will make the package look more professional but, again, what’s the point in adding it if it’s not going to be used?

It makes far more sense to start using a QR Code on everything from posters, to t-shirts to CD duplication packaging and deliver content to existing fans and prospective new fans alike.


CDwest.ca provides factory-direct CD manufacturing and CD duplication services with a wide range of popular eco-friendly print and packaging solutions. From our office and facility in Surrey (a suburb of Vancouver) in the province of Britsh Columbia, we ship daily to clients throughout Canada.
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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Three VIP Specials for October

What's better than a great VIP Special offer?  How about THREE great VIP Special offers?

That's right, for October 2011 we've got not one… not two… but three offers. Even better than that, you don't have to pick and choose between them - you can pick all three if you so desire!

Questions or curious about anything you see or read here? Don't hesitate to contact us!

#1 October CD/DVD Special Offer:

The holiday season is coming up fast, and we've way for you to beat the 'holiday rush':

*Order 300 packaged CDs… but receive 500… and what the heck, we’ll throw in 100 free promotional posters and 100 free stickers too!

*Conditions: CD/DVD: Limited to discs packaged in standard Cases, Eco-Sleeves or Digipak as provided on our website quote system. Can not be combined with other CD/DVD offer. Posters: 11” x 17” printed CMYK (4/0), bleed to edge. Stickers: 2” x 2” stickers printed CMYK (4/0), bleed to edge, not intended for outdoor use. Full payment and all artwork must be submitted at time of order. No rush orders.

#2 October External Computer Hard Drive Special:

Speed and massive storage capacity are typically cited as the chief benefits of RAID storage management. Real-time redundant backup of data and fault tolerance make RAID a critical part of any enterprise, regardless of size. Commercial enterprises that fail to employ (or use) RAID or disk mirroring can face large costs in the event of single disc back-up failure.

  • Rocstor “ArcticRoc 2T” Pro Tower RAID System with 6tb capacity: $549.95 (plus tax and shipping)
  • Rocstor “ArcticRoc 4T” Pro Tower RAID System with 12tb capacity: $1,079.95 (plus tax and shipping)
#3 October Commercial Printing Special:

Even in this electronic age of e-mails, texting, widgets and apps, people still like to receive a more personal marketing 'touch'. Postcards are great because they are slim, economical, practical and can be personalized through variable printing.

Get 20% off custom printed promotional postcards from our commercial printing website: www.PrecisionPrinting.ca . Create a free account and place your order using coupon code: VIP20

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CDwest.ca provides factory-direct DVD CD manufacturing along with a full range of eco-friendly print and packaging solutions. From our offices and replication plant in Surrey, BC (a suburb of beautiful Vancouver) we ship daily to clients throughout Canada.
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