| After you have decided whether you should use | | | | plastic coating that adheres directly to the disc. The |
| duplication or replication for your CD or DVD project, | | | | result is a smudge proof, scratch proof print. Thermal |
| the next step is to choose a printing process. For | | | | printing also provides high quality jobs that are an |
| duplication projects (less than 1000 discs) it is most | | | | excellent substitution for the more expensive silk |
| economical to use inkjet printing or thermal printing. | | | | screening or offset printing options. With this type of |
| Inkjet Printing: | | | | printing, the cost per piece is the same whether you |
| With inkjet CD printers the ink is sprayed from nozzles | | | | are printing a small amount of text or a full color |
| onto the CD-R surface. The discs are then sprayed | | | | graphic, although the dub house may offer black-only |
| with lacquer to help protect the disc. These produce | | | | prints at a discount. |
| high resolution print jobs so they are good for printing | | | | As with all printing methods there are negative |
| artwork with fine detail. Although inkjet printers produce | | | | aspects to thermal printing. One of these is that small |
| high quality print jobs, they also have drawbacks. | | | | text (10pt. or smaller) is sometimes fuzzy or pixilated. In |
| Some of these include smudging and lack of ability to | | | | addition, price per unit of the discs tends to be slightly |
| produce Pantone colors. In addition, the cost per disc | | | | more expensive than inkjet. |
| varies based on the amount of coverage. The more | | | | So, if you are looking for a professional way to bring |
| artwork or text you have to print onto the disc, the | | | | your CD or DVD project to the market but do not |
| more it costs. | | | | need the large volume required for replication, most |
| Thermal Printing: | | | | consumers find that thermal printing is a much better |
| Thermal printers use a thin film ribbon inside the printer | | | | solution to your printing needs. It is slightly more costly, |
| that applies each color separately onto the re-transfer | | | | but the result is a high-quality, durable print job that you |
| ribbon. The re-transfer ribbon is then heated, and the | | | | can be proud to present. |
| entire image is transferred to the disc's surface via a | | | | |