Label Printing Tips Screen printing on a CD, with its reflective silvery surface, is different from printing on paper and the results can vary slightly from your proof. We have collected all the printing tips that we’ve learned from years of experience and present them here to help ensure your finished product has the professional appearance you desire and meets or exceeds your expectations. We’ve also included a glossary of problem categories for film failure. Knowing and understanding these categories will help your film to pass inspection the first time. Following the print specifications will insure that your film passes inspection when received at the manufacturing facility, and will prevent your order being delivered due to your film failing inspection. Tips and Recommendations Please read and follow these printing specifications. These specs can be obtained here on the web site. Staying within the specifications will insure that all aspects of your artwork design are reproduced accurately. Use the electronic templates available here on the web site. Using these electronic templates will insure that your design is within physical printing specifications. Include a color proof of what your final design should look like. This provides an example for comparison while printing your order. A CD has several different types of surfaces and the printing results on each type varies slightly. Knowing in advance the affects (results) of printing on these different surfaces can eliminate problems. The different types of CD surfaces and the possible effects of printing on them are listed below: Clear plastic: Ink becomes transparent and tends to have a flat finish. Color of ink loses its intensity. Metalized Data: When printing halftones, the reflection of the metal produces a shiny, metallic look. When printing with a solid ink, a color change may occur in some inks. Metalized Mirror Band: Some color change may occur. Printing a white base, (flood or donut) will eliminate some of the visual differences of printing on the variable disc surfaces. A white base gives the ink a more opaque look and keeps the color closer to what is specified. Avoid gradual fades. Gradual fading of halftones is not recommended because dot gain and tonal jump can occur. Dot gain is when dots of ink print larger than they should appear and begin to blend together causing darker tones and stronger colors. The appearance of very pronounced rows of dots when trying to fade from light to heavy is the result of tonal jump. When sending in artwork electronically, please be sure to include to following: All TIFF, EPS, and or Placed Images All fonts used in the design A copy of the printer extensions (Mac files only) Find out more: • CD Audio Overview • CD-Rom Overview • Basic Film Requirements • Film Inspection Glossary • Print Specification and Layout Guideline Templates	Home DVD CD-Rom CD Audio Audio Cassette VHS Posters FAQ Order/Quote
	Digital Disc Manufacturing, Inc. • P.O. Box 714, Kenilworth, NJ 07033 Phone: 908-591-7686 • eFax: 501-629-3800 • Toll-Free: 888-219-4456 • Email: ddm@digitaldisc.com Copyright ©2001, Digital Disc Manufacturing Inc. Developed by Net Ink Designs