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.

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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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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].

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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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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.

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!

Your CD Duplication Project – Image Is Important

You’ve just put your heart, soul, time, money, blood, sweat and tears into recording your music. Now… how will your graphic design measure up? Will it do your music justice?

As a designer and someone who makes a living in the CD duplication industry it’s really astounding to see how much excellent music is dressed down by poor graphic design.

If you’re serious about your career and you care about professionalism, hiring the brother of the girlfriend of your bass player to design your CD duplication packaging isn’t in your best interest just because you can save some money… unless (of course) he’s really talented with a great portfolio of work.

While the old adage “don’t judge a book by its cover” has a lot of merit and truth to it, reality actually dictates that your entire CD duplication project may get judged on its ‘look’ long before the music is ever heard. That is… if the music does get heard.

I know what you’re thinking, “What do you mean, if the music does get heard?” Sometimes reality truly sucks, but there are situations where the ‘look’ of your CD package may determine whether or not your music ever gets listened to. The most obvious example of this is when you send your CD to a reviewer or promoter.

Reviewers and promoters receive more CDs than they can possibly give individual attention to. According to many of them, they’ve found that the ‘look’ of the CD packaging generally reflects the quality of the music contained within. So if a CD package passes the visual ‘test’ it goes into the “A” pile for review, but if it doesn’t pass the visual test it goes into the “B” pile. And where does the “B” pile end up? It either gets thrown into the garbage or it’s handed to someone further down on the food-chain.

Now let’s haul out another old adage that can be applied to this topic: “You’ve got 15 seconds to make a good first impression.” While this adage is more commonly used in conjunction with job interviews, the notion of equating quality of ‘image’ with the quality of ‘content’ is human nature, so it would be advantageous for you to adopt the ‘quality image’ way of thinking when it comes to your CD duplication project.

There’s certainly no way it could hurt.

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CDwest.ca is your source for factory-direct CD manufacturing, CD duplication, and eco-friendly print and packaging in Canada.

Join our VIP Program (it's free) for discounts, special offers, prizes and more! Be a VIP fan on Facebook.
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CD Manufacturing - Is There A Risk Uploading Content?

Uploading your master content for CD manufacturing is very convenient when you compare it to sending a copy of your master disc via postal mail or courier… but are there any potential risks or pit-falls? The answer to that question will depend on who you ask.

From the client’s standpoint there is an expectation that, after uploading the master content, the results of the CD manufacturing will be absolutely identical to the original files. While this expectation has more likelihood of being correct than false, there is the possibility that an error or corruption could occur somewhere along the line.

Here’s an example based on a true story:

1. A client reviews his audio files on his CD player, is happy with the quality of the playback, and determines that it is ready for duplication.

2. The client rips the content from the master disc and uploads the files electronically to the CD manufacturing company.

3. The manufacturing company receives the files, burns the files to a CDR, and then uses the disc as the production source for the client’s CD duplication order.

4. Upon receiving his discs the client finds that there is a problem with the playback of his audio.

Where did the ‘error’ occur?

If you ask the client he will feel the error occurred with the manufacturer - because the audio sounded fine when he reviewed it on his player.

If you ask the CD manufacturing company, they will point out the error could have been generated in a number of different steps along the way: (a) when the client ripped his master content, or (b) during the upload/download process, or (c) when the files were burned to make the CDR master disc, or (d) during the duplication production process.

Ultimately, due to the number of variables at play it will be hard (if not impossible) to determine where the error occurred, and the CD manufacturing company won’t want to accept responsibility for anything they have no control over as noted in items “a” and “b” above.

What is the resolution?

Based on the scenario show here, the benefits of uploading are countered by the possibility of errors that cannot be readily determined, so the process itself is not perfect by any means. In order to work around the imperfection in the process the manufacturer has three options:

(1) To have the client review and sign-off on the CDR master disc that was created by the manufacturer.

While this is the proper “proofing” method for creative content it defeats the practicality of digitally uploading content. As previously mentioned, the client has an expectation that the digital upload will be error-free so, in the clients mind, the remaining responsibility for the master content is with the manufacturer.

(2) Have the client sign a ‘waiver’ which states that, if the client does not wish to review and sign-off on the master disc created by the manufacturer, the manufacturer is not responsible for any potential errors that may occur during the digital transfer of files and duplication process.

This is expedient for the client and removes liability for the manufacturer, but if there is any corruption or error that shows up on the finished product, the client is on the hook. Granted, the chances of such errors are low but they do exist none-the-less.

(3) Request the client send a hard-copy master disc to the manufacturer.

Ultimately this is the best solution for both client and CD manufacturer as long as the client has thoroughly reviewed the content on the master disc and confirms the master disc is ready for production without requirement for any modifications.

Despite the inconvenience of having to send a hard-copy master disc to the manufacturer, the client’s master disc acts as a “hard-copy proof” to measure the performance of the manufactured discs against. Should there be any discrepancy between the source and the manufactured product the defect is clearly the responsibility of the manufacturer, because the only chance for corruption or error comes from the transfer of data, and the only data transfer being done is by the manufacturer. As long as the manufacturer has a warranty that deals with manufacturing defects (and you wouldn’t want to do business with anyone who doesn’t have such a warranty) the client is protected.

Supplying Your CD Dupliation Master

On our website we try to make it very clear that the client is responsible for the content they provide to us on their CD duplication or replication master disc copy. In return, we warranty that the disc replication or duplication will be “exact clones of the Master”. To quote the website, it says:

• We do not review the Master copies you provide to us. This is because your Master copies are deemed to have been supplied to us in final form, which means you have reviewed them and confirm that they are ready to manufacture as supplied without the requirement for any modifications.
   
• It is very important that you review to your CD duplication Master copies from beginning to end - all the way through - to ensure they perform EXACTLY as intended with no errors, skips, pops, fade-outs, etc.
   
• Remember: The CDs you are getting manufactured will be exact clones of the Master copies you provide to us, so whatever is on your Master disc copies will be on the finished product.
   
• Be sure to test your Master disc and copies on different play-back units, both old and new, just to make sure your files are formatted properly for the widest possible compatibility.

Sometimes our clients ask the question “Why?”

The main reason is this quite simple: Only the client knows how their master is supposed to perform. For us to decide if aspects of a master are intentional or in error would take a considerable amount of time and, at best, be nothing more that a guess.

Guessing isn’t an acceptable option at any time, especially when you take into consideration that the majority of masters are being produced by people who would have to be considered “do-it-yourselfers” as opposed to professionals... so the only way to be sure that the CD duplication master is exactly right is to leave the responsibility in the clients hands.

In addition, due to the volume of orders placed each day it wouldn’t be possible to review every master supplied to us from beginning to end without it affecting bottom-line costs. If we did provide the personnel to make such an undertaking possible, the cost would have to be added to the selling price of the product.