FAQ, Questions and answers about CDs, DVDs and cassettes by Audio Sphere

Read Me Please
Guarantee
Submitting Graphic Design
Proofing Procedures
Barcodes
Hidden Costs
Reference Disc
Test Cassette
Master Formats
CD vs. CDR
Financial

READ THIS PLEASE

It's business as usual to disregard 'Read Me's' in today's over-information age, so if nothing else, read the two FAQ sections titled Submitting Graphic Design and Proofing Procedures.

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Guarantee

Audio Sphere guarantees that your replication or duplication product will be a direct reflection of your submitted master. If there is a problem on the finished product that does not exist on your submitted Master or Log Sheet, the job will be re-done at no expense to you.

Audio Sphere guarantees that your printed inserts will be free of blobs or scratches, and that the color will reflect, within a 5% range, what you turned in as art files. Inserts will be reprinted if any problem occurs while on the press or during bindery (that did not exist in the PDF position proof we will send for your approval).

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Submitting Graphic Design

Whoever designs your inserts is responsible for the information contained in the Templates & Specs section of this website.

Reality Check: preparing a design files is a very exacting task. Probably 80% of all jobs that we receive require some type of adjustment prior to printing. Sometimes these adjustments can be made at little or no cost, sometimes this is not the case. Always the customer will be notified and given an opportunity to choose between resubmitting or paying us (if applicable) to make the changes.

If you ask us for our advice on anything in particular that you're not sure of in regards to your design choices, we will be happy to address that issue with you and make recommendations. It is important to understand, however, that we are not in the business of teaching people how to use their graphic design software, nor are we able to read minds and discover who has what incorrect assumption about how something may end up looking on the finished printing. Therefore, it must be agreed that by bypassing our graphic design services, we cannot be held liable for the outcome of any unfortunate artistic choices made by you or your designer. We do pre-flight your submitted design files, and will contact you regarding any issues with templates, bleed, or text-trim proximity issues, and while we do try to keep a lookout for potential problems related to design choices, we may not catch them all (font size, color contrast, reverse text usage).

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Proofing Procedures

The printing process has changed dramatically in the last 3 to 5 years. It used to be that every customer received a color match made from films, which was 100% representative of what the design files contained. This was a wonderful safety net that is no longer a part of the process. Nowadays CD industry printers plate directly from design files, which means no more match prints. So it's of paramount importance for the graphic designer to understand the illusions and limitations of a computer screen, how the screen image will translate to the limitations of the print medium (ink and water on paper), and finally, that their computer screen be color calibrated.

Most jobs run without any incident at all, but there are certain customers who will benefit from opting to spend a little extra money and see a color proof that is computer-generated by the printer -- specially calibrated within the printer's system to accurately represent the press's response to your design files. So, if your project MUST end up looking a certain way to guarantee your satisfaction, AND if your budget and schedule allow for the additional dollars and days (4) this proof step will incur, please elect this option when you're filling out the Customer Order Form.

After we receive and pre-flight your files for press, we will email you with 2 separate PDFs (one for the inserts or cardboard packaging, and one for the discface. These are POSITION PROOFS, not color proofs. Position proofs are a check that nothing moved, or disappeared when we ripped the files to the plating device.

TIPS on looking at your PDFs: It's helpful for the customer, prior to submitting the CD order, to print out the most current version of the design files to use as a reference when proofing the PDFs. You'll want to check every detail on the PDF to be sure it matches the hardcopies. Count paragraphs, sentences in each paragraph, look at the last word in each sentence to be sure nothing re-flowed, count graphic images, check their position relative to other elements of the design, look at all images and background colors/patterns to be sure there are no unusual pixel drop outs.

Once you've approved the PDF, your inserts will be printed -- ALL OF THEM. After they are finished being cut, folded, perforated or glued, we will FedEx you a handful to preview before we allow the final, assembly and wrap phase. Sadly, this is the time when many customers discover something they overlooked during their graphic design phase, or even the PDF proofing phase. The printer will reprint at their cost ONLY if something happened during press time (a blob, a scratch, crooked cut or perf... ). Theh only way to "fix" whatever you find that is wrong at this point will be for you to pay for a reprint (from corrected files)..

The discface PDF is the only thing you'll see of the CD itself prior to receiving your finished product. Be aware that ink colors shift slightly per the surface onto which they are printed. So it's wise to assign colors that can work within a tolerance range, rather than assigning a color that, if it's not exact, will negatively impact the "look" or specific match you had in mind. CMYK discfaces are subject to shift for color mix reasons so it's best to submit a true color proof (or a laser print that you're happy with) that can be used for reference during the silkscreening process.

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Barcodes

Audio Sphere will assign your CD, DVD or Cassette project it's own unique barcode number, generate the graphic and place it in your design file prior to printing. This is a free service for anyone purchasing a package from Audio Sphere (bulk orders do not qualify). If your graphic designer wishes to alter the graphic prior to placement, let us know and we will email them an .eps file. For more information on barcodes and how they work, please see barcode info page .

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Any Hidden Costs

Package prices on this website are Sub Totals and do not include shipping, or possible sales tax (Florida residents only). Discface films are included in all the Packaged CD prices, but are NOT included in the Bulk CD, Packaged DVD, Silkscreened Blank Media, or the Shaped CD/Biz Card CD price grids (and are noted as such). Always call or use our Quote Request online form to get a price complete with shipping prior to submitting your order.

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Reference Discs

For CD or DVD orders under 75,000 pieces, your submitted Master IS your reference. What you turn in is what you will get back, or the job gets redone at no cost to you.

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Test Cassettes

You will receive a test cassette prior to duplication, and you are encouraged to listen very carefully to both sides (even if you have the same material on both sides) preferably under headphones. Keep the Test Copy until you receive your order and are satisfied with the finished product.

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Master Formats

The CD master can be a CD, CDR, or Exabyte.
The DVD master can be a DVD-R, DVD+R or DLT.
The Cassette master can be a CD or CDR.
Important: Remember, the Master you turn in must be ready-to-run, in terms of the content and arrangement of content. Please see the Master Formatting Specification sheet in the Order Forms section of this Website.
CLICK HERE

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CD vs. CDR

CD stands, of course, for Compact Disc. CDR stands for Compact Disc Recordable.

A CD is made from a custom mold (Glass Master/Stamper) that is created from the audio or data files that you provide. You cannot "write" onto a CD -- a CD does not exist as a "blank" disc.

A CDR IS a blank disc, that you CAN "write" onto, or "burn," or "duplicate" via the CD Burner on your computer, or a stand-alone CD Burner unit.

CDRs and CDs, although they playback using the same technology, CDs will always be more reliable during playback than CDRs (relatively speaking). This has to do with how that information is put on the disc in the first place. However, the setup for CD replication is very costly which is why there are minimum orders of (effectively) 1000 pieces. CDR technology grew out of the need for small orders. No expensive equipment, just the purchase of blank discs, and a CD Burner drive or unit. Per piece, CDRs are still much more expensive than CDs, but up to a point they are the perfect solution.

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Financial Options

1. Cashier's Check or Money Order: 65% with order and balance prior to ship.
2. Personal or Business Check: 100% with order
3. MasterCard or Visa
4. PayPal payment made to cd

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Be sure to check out our CD Manufacturing,
CD Duplication, CD Replication, DVD Replication,
and Cassette Duplication services.