You’ve got a designer…now what?

Last week we discussed getting a graphic designer to set up the art files for your CD or DVD project.  If you are paying for this service, it would be best to prepare as much as you can before meeting with the artist.  The more you plan out your ideas in detail, the quicker you’ll get the design you envisioned.  It will cost you less money if it takes your designer less time to complete your artwork.

Here’s an overview on what you should bring to that first meeting with a designer:

COPYCATS Media Price Quote

It’s best to select your packaging and print options first so your designer can work with the correct template.  This is also wise because you’ll get a clearer look at the final cost of your project.  It would be a bad situation to pay your designer to draw up a 6 panel digipak and then realize that you don’t have enough money to get them printed.  You can get a quote from COPYCATS Media for a few different packaging options to see what one fits your budget. 

Photos

 If you have a specific picture that you want included in your artwork, then it is best to provide us with a high resolution (300+ DPI) picture file.  While digital photo files are prefferred, we can scan a physical print if that is all you have.  If you don’t have a picture but have an idea for one, give us a description and we can search through some stock photography databases. 

Logos

If you have a logo, then it would be best to provide it in a high resolution image file.  We can recreate it from scratch if you don’t have it in a high resolution file.  However, this would take a little bit more time and money.

Text copy

This is one thing we cannot do for you.  You could give us the freedom to design your entire project as we see fit, but we would still need you to provide a copy of all the text in an electronic file, such as .doc or .txt.  The text typically includes the artist’s name, album title, lyrics, credits, track listing, thank yous, etc.

The reason why we request it in an electronic text file is because we can cut and paste the text.  If you just scribble it onto a sheet of paper, then we’ll have to manually retype it.  This can often lead to more typos that have to be corrected later.

Details

The more detail, the better.  If you have a clear idea as to exactly what you want, then say it (or better yet, write it out).  Typically a designer puts together a first draft and will send you a proof.  After you review that proof, you’ll alert the designer of any changes that need to be made.  Once those changes are made, then a second proof is sent.  This process will keep repeating until you give your approval to print. 

This is why it’s important to give very specific details and review the first proof closely so you note everything you want to change.  It will cost you less money if you keep the proofing and editing processes to a minimum.

Jewels vs. Digipaks vs. Sleeves: What option is right for your project?

The headline gives 3 standard packaging options for CDs.  If you are duplicating or replicating a music album, you’ll probably end up choosing one of these options.  But how do you know which is the best for you?  Let’s take a look at some of the benefits and drawbacks of each:

Jewel Cases

Pros

• This has been the industry standard for years.  It’ll make your album appear very official and legit. 
• The packaging is very inexpensive and gives you a lot of flexibility with your design.  You can do a basic design with just the 2 panel insert and traycard, or you can add more graphics and text to fill up an entire 8 page booklet (or more). 
• You also have the option of getting a black or clear tray.  With a clear tray, you can print more on the inside of the traycard to display even more graphics or text.  For an added fee, you can also get a colored plastic tray.

Cons

• The jewel case is the bulkiest of the three packaging options.  This will require more storage space.  Depending on your living arrangements, this could be an issue. 
• The plastic jewel cases are also brittle.  When dropped, they can crack or shatter.

Digipaks

Pros

• They give a unique, softer look than the regular jewel cases. 
• There is less plastic used in this packaging, creating a more eco-friendly case. 
• They are lighter and slightly thinner than a jewel case, but still have a spine.  This helps when storing and organizing your CD collection.

Cons

• They cost a bit more than jewel cases, and they also take slightly longer to manufacture with all of the printing, folding, and gluing. 
• Since the print is directly on the cardboard, there’s nothing to really protect the printed artwork.  If a jewel case gets damaged, you can just transplant the print materials and CD to a new case.  If your digipak gets damaged, then it’s finished.

Printed Sleeves

Pros

• These are very inexpensive and the lightest/thinnest packaging option. 
• They are easy to distribute and store. 
• Many music listeners store their CDs in a folder, so only minimal packaging is necessary.

Cons

• Because this packaging option is often associated with CD singles, demos, or EPs, there is perception of lesser value with printed sleeves.  If you release a full length album and package it in printed sleeves, consumers may be hesitant to pay a full $10-$15 for it.
• With no spine, they are not good for organization. 

Finding yourself a designer

Whether you are getting just a simple text imprint on some bulk discs or getting a fully packaged CD in a jewel case with a 16 page booklet, you’re going to need some graphic design files ready for your duplication or replication project.  You can’t just drop off a few pictures and say, “Put these on the cover.”  You can, but it will still cost you money to have our graphic designers lay out your files for you. 

So what if you don’t have any graphic design software (Illustrator, Quark, or InDesign) or experience?  Those “Easy CD Creator” software programs that came with your CD-RW drive won’t cut it.  You’ll need to have files set up correctly with professional software to be sent to our printer. 

Here are a few things that you can do to get a professional design layout:

COPYCATS Media In-House Design

Obviously, we’re going to encourage you to get your design done by us.  It makes things convenient for you if you’re already getting your CD/DVD project done here.  Our designers can do work as simple as laying out some of your pictures and text, or they can take a concept that you envision and make it come to life.  We charge a very reasonable hourly rate and won’t go to print until you are satisfied with your layout.

Hire a professional graphic artist

You can find a professional graphic designer through various means: yellow pages, classified ads, or networking through friends and peers.  If you go to our page on MySpace and sift through our friend list, you will find a number of talented graphic designers who have done art for our clients in the past.  You can check out some of their previous work and see if their style fits your project.  Their rates will vary, depending on experience and demand.

Hire an amateur graphic artist

By amateur graphic artist, I mean somebody who knows how to use professional graphics software but may have limited experience.  You could try posting bulletins at a local art school or set up an ad on Craigslist.  You could also try networking through Facebook or MySpace to find somebody, too.  You may stumble across a talented and eager graphic artist who is looking to build up their portfolio.  This may save you money as they may be less likely to charge you much to do your project.

As Rich mentioned last week, make sure you spend some time and effort in getting your design done right.  It doesn’t have to be overly innovative or edgy, but you do want it to look clean and professional.  If you have any questions about graphic design for your project, please feel free to contact us and speak with somebody in our art department.

Getting the most bang for your buck

You may notice that when you receive price quotes from COPYCATS Media, you’ll get better per-unit prices when you order larger quantities.  This usually doesn’t come as a surprise to most people.  You see this everywhere from ordering custom manufactured CDs to buying toilet paper at your local supermarket.  The higher quantity you buy, the better value you receive.

In our business, we have price break points.  These are set quantities where the price changes.  They can vary from product to product, but the price breaks often come at these quantities: 100, 250, 500, 1000, 2500, 5000, and so on. 

This can cause some unique situations to arise.  For example, let’s look at the price breaks at 500 and 1000 units.  As mentioned in an earlier post, CD replication requires a minimum order of 1000 units.  Ordering 500 would typically require you to get duplicated CDRs.

Let’s assign some rough unit prices to these quantities.  Let’s say that 1000 bulk replicated CDs cost $0.50 per unit and 500 bulk duplicated CDRs cost $0.70 per unit.  This would end up costing $500 total for the CD replication project and $350 for the CDR duplication project. 

But what if you wanted 750 CDs?  We would still use the $0.70 per unit price.  When you take 750 times $0.70, you get a total price of $525.  That costs more than ordering 1000 replicated CDs!  Because of the jump from duplication to replication and other set minimums when ordering paper print materials, this pricing phenomena usually only occurs between 500 and 1000 units.

In this situation, your sales rep would typically recommend ordering 1000 replicated CDs instead of 750 duplicated CDRs.  It’s not because they’re trying to up-sell, it’s because they want to get you the best value for your dollar.  You would be getting a higher quantity and higher quality for less money.

The prices I used in this post are just examples.  For an accurate price quote from COPYCATS Media, click here.

Show Us Your Shows! 12/19

It’s Friday, and that means it’s time to do a quick listing of our customers’ shows and events.  As always, if you are playing a show this weekend, let us know!  Post it in the comments section.

The Hopefuls and Chris Koza at the First Avenue Saturday, December 20, 6:00 PM

This is the CD release show for The Hopefuls’ long awaited sophomore album, Now Playing at the One-Seat Theater.  These guys are a very talented group of musicians and always put on a high energy show (be on the lookout for Rupert).

Be sure to get there early to check out Chris Koza, who will be opening.

Here’s a short list of other COPYCATS Media customers who will be playing this weekend:

Friday 12/19

The Melismatics at the First Avenue (w/ Soul Asylum)

The Rockford Mules at the 7th Street Entry

Root City Band and 8 Switch Assembly at the Fine Line Music Cafe

Love In October, Western Fifth, and Spirit of ‘76 at the Uptown Bar

Saturday 12/20

Cwn Annwn at Station 4

Sunday 12/21

Gingerjake and 3 Pill Morning at the 7th Street Entry

Thursday Profilin’: Rich Horton

We thought we’d have a weekly feature to give our customers a little background about some of our employees, partners, and clients.  Check back every Thursday to get to know the COPYCATS Media family a little better.

What’s your name?  Rich Horton

So, what is it that you do here?  I work in the prepress/graphics department; checking out art files and setting them up.

How long have you worked here?  I actually have worked here twice, so about 3 years total.  I also do Rift Magazine.

Describe the biggest single project you’ve done at COPYCATS Media:  I don’t really think of any project as big or small.  Every project I work on is big to somebody no matter who the artist is.

Top 5 favorite albums of all time (or just this week):  I never have a top five.  I have about 30 albums I always  go back to.  

Favorite album by an artist who’s also a client of COPYCATS Media:  I really enjoy Jeremy Messersmith’s new album, The Silver City.

Best tip to give a first time customer about getting a project done at COPYCATS Media: Always plan your release party a few months after having your CD finished. Get it out to press, generate a buzz and then celebrate it.

Also think about using a graphic artist to work on your artwork for your CD project if you have never have done it yourself. I love the DIY ethic, but I also think you should be concerned about how your product will look. Those free and low priced graphics programs don’t translate well to high quality printing.

Favorite concert venue in the Twin Cities:  The 7th St. Entry – great sound and small and intimate.

Glossary of Terms

There’s a lot of technical jargon that we spit out around here in the office of COPYCATS Media.  Our sales department will do their best to familiarize you with some of these terms, but I’ve also written up a small glossary for your reference.  I tried to explain each term the best I could in a few short phrases.  There are also links to the corresponding page from our website on select terms.  I hope to update this post in the near future with some pictures. 

If there are any other questions about these terms, feel free to contact us.

Glossary of Terms at COPYCATS MEDIA

4/0 – Referring to the color of scheme of a paper printed item; full color (4) on one side and no print (0) on the other side

4/1 – Referring to the color of scheme of a paper printed item; full color (4) on one side and black and white (1) on the other side

4/4 – Referring to the color of scheme of a paper printed item; full color (4) on both sides

Amaray Case – Standard rectangular case that DVD movies are usually packaged in

Amaray Insert- Printed card that is inserted on the inside of an amaray case; in the case of movie DVDs, they typically display the chapter listing

Amaray Wrap- Printed cover for amaray cases that wraps around the spine and displays on both the front and back of the case

Booklet- Printed inserts that are cut and stapled together; available in sizes for jewel cases or amaray cases

Business cards – A rectangular shaped mini disc that can be played on tray loading drive.  However, these can damage front load disc drives that are common in car stereos or Mac computers.

Cardboard sleeve – Cardboard packaging option that can be custom printed

CD duplication – the process of duplicating CDs by using blank CDRs and a CD-RW drive

CD replication – the process of replicating CDs by molding them from a glass master

CDR – Recordable compact disc that is duplicated by using a laser to write information

Clamshell – A soft plastic case that is round shaped and has a small hinge on one side to open just like a clam

CMYK – The four primary colors of printing: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black

Digipak - A folding cardboard case that contains a plastic tray to hold the disc

DVD duplication – the process of duplicating DVDs by using blank DVDRs and a DVD-RW drive

DVD replication – the process of replicating CDs by molding them from a glass master

DVDR – Blank, recordable DVD disc that is duplicated by using a laser to write the information

Folder – Printed material that displays itself on the front of the jewel case; can range from a single card (2 panel) or a 3 fold (8 panel) or even larger

Glass master- A glass plate that has microscopic grooves etched on with a laser.  These grooves are the information that is on your disc.  A metal mold is made of that glass master into a stamper that presses the etched information onto replicated CDs

Imprint – Text, colors, and pictures printed on the disc face

IPR Form- Form required to declare you own the content you are duplicating or that you have the proper licensing to duplicate; IPR stands for intellectual property rights

Jewel Case – Standard music CD packaging; a hinged, hard plastic, square case with a tray to hold the disc

Mini-round – Small, round 3″ CD or DVD

Offset- Full color imprint on disc face that mixes CMYK colors to create photo quality images

Panel – An area of printable material that is the size of the case that holds it; for example, a jewel case cover insert that doesn’t have any folds is referred to as a 2 panel insert because we count a panel on each side of that insert

Pantone Color – A color that is assigned a number and uses a specific mix of inks to get the exact same hue every time; see also: Spot Color

Paper sleeve – Disc-sized square envelope with a clear cellophane window to display disc; often comes with a flap to help secure the disc

Plastic sleeve – Clear sleeve often with a flap to hold the disc in place

Screen print – Type of imprint that pushes single colors through a screen to create design on disc.  Multiple screens can be layered to add more colors to design

Slimline jewel case- Similar to the jewel case, only half the thickness; slimlines also do not have a place to display a traycard

Spot Color – A solid color that uses a specific mix of inks to get the exact same hue every time; see also: Pantone Color

Thermal- Type of imprint used for small runs of CDRs and DVDRs; available in full color or black

Traycard - Printed item that is inserted underneath the disc tray and displays on the backside of a jewel case

Wallet - A folding cardboard case that can be custom printed; similar to the digipak but it has no plastic tray

How do we make CDs and DVDs?

I recently stumbled upon some classic Sesame Street clips where they show how things are made:

Peanut Butter

Crayons

Bottles

I thought it would be great to make a video like that at COPYCATS Media to show how the CD replication process works.  I unfortunately don’t have time right now to put together such an elaborate production.

Instead, I thought I’d give an overview as to what happens with your CD or DVD project after you send us your materials.

Glass Mastering

If you are getting CD or DVD replication services, your master disc is made into a glass master (also referred to as a “stamper”).  We handle this process in-house so we can get your discs manufactured faster.

If you are getting duplicated CDRs or DVDRs, then this step is skipped.

Prepress

Your art files are sent to our professional graphic designers.  They open your files and check to make sure the files are set up correctly and ready to go to press.  If there is an issue with the files (low resolution, missing fonts, etc.), we will contact you to fix the problem.

Sign-Off

Once the prepress stage is completed, you will be sent a low resolution PDF file of your design files.  This is for you to review one last time before it goes to press.  Once we have your final approval, it’s off to the printers.

Printing

This is were any paper materials associated with your project are printed, cut, folded, stapled, and/or glued.  When all is completed they send these print items to the packaging area.

Replication

Once the glass master is complete, we are ready to replicate your discs.  The glass master molds your disc information into a poly-carbonate material, then a reflective metal layer is applied, and finally it is all sealed with a coat of lacquer.

Duplication

The process is different for DVD and CD duplication services.  We simply take the master disc you supplied us and insert it into the disc drive of a duplicator.  That drive then copies your disc information onto a hard drive.  The disc drive then uses a laser to copy that exact disc information onto the blank, recordable media.

Imprinting

After the discs are done replicating/duplicating, they are then imprinted with a design on the disc face.  You can use multiple solid colors for your design using our screen printing process, or you can do a full color, photo quality design using our offset printing process.  For smaller amounts of discs, a thermal printing method is used instead of screen printing.

Packaging

This is the final step.  Once we have all of your discs and print materials, we can begin to assemble them into cases.  Once they are put together, they are usually sealed with a shrink-wrap or poly-wrap.  They are then boxed up and ready to ship to you.

That’s it.

Of course, there are a lot of big, cool machines that are used to help complete all of this.  That’s why I wish I could make my own little Sesame Street educational music and video montage.  You’ll just have to try and use your imagination.

Why no significant price drop for blank, imprinted CDRs/DVDRs?

I mentioned last week that you could get recordable CDRs or DVDRs with your own custom imprint at COPYCATS Media.  I don’t have the exact prices (contact our sales department to request a quote), but I do know that the price is going to be very close to the amount you would normally pay if you were getting bulk CDs or bulk DVDs recorded and imprinted.

So why do blank imprinted discs cost nearly the same as recorded imprinted discs?  You would think that with one less step in production, these CDRs/DVDRs would cost a whole lot less. 

This is somewhat true.  When there is no data to record on these discs, it takes a little less time and labor to complete.  However, recording the data onto these discs is the least costly and least labor intensive part of the process.  Most people have put a CDR in their own computer and burned data onto it.  That’s all we are really doing here during the duplication process.  The only difference is that we have a lot more discs to burn. 

That’s OK though, because we have the equipment to do it.  Some machines just require us to insert a master disc, drop in a spindle of blank CDRs/DVDRs, and press a button.  A robotic arm picks up the blank discs, inserts them into the writing drive, and then removes them when they are done.  An hour later, we have hundreds of copies ready to go.

The real cost is involved with purchasing the blank media itself and imprinting the design onto the disc face.  Imprinting a design onto a disc requires a few steps: prepressing art files, ordering film, shooting screens, mixing ink, color matches, etc.  These steps take the most time and labor when duplicating CDRs/DVDRs.

I hope this gives you a better feel as to how these products are priced.  Again, if you need an exact quote, just give us a call.

Weekend Update 12/12

Greetings and happy Friday!  Things are going swimmingly here in the world of CD and DVD replication.  Here’s another list of weekend events involving some of our customers and friends here at COPYCATS Media.  Of course, this is just a small sampling.  Got a show or event this weekend?  Let us know!  Leave us a message in the comments section, or post something on our pages at MySpace and Facebook.

In Defence at the Triple Rock Social Club Friday, December 12, 5:00 PM

Twin Cities hardcore group In Defence will be opening for Dillinger Four.  It’s an all ages show, so it’ll be starting early.  Head on over for happy hour and get your weekend started.  After that, go on out and check out these other shows:

Friday 12/12

The Glad Version at the 400 Bar

Orange Blank at Stasiu’s Place

Saturday 12/13

Heiruspecs and Big Quarters at the First Avenue

Kanser at the 7th Street Entry

Honeydogs at the 400 Bar

Sleep Is The Enemy at the Fine Line Music Cafe

Murzik at the Kitty Kat Club