CD short-run printing: disc printing and packaging

CD printing for a short run CD printing project

There are 3 main methods that can be used to print a short run CD. If you’re doing them in-house, you’ll most likely be limited to the first option, which is digital (inkjet) printing. A professional printing company will usually offer screen printing and lithographic printing services as well. Each CD printing process has its strengths and weaknesses and we will go into more detail here:

digitally printed CDs

A digital CD printing machine uses a printing method similar to your standard desktop inkjet printer. In fact, many modern home printers come with a CD tray that allows you to load an inkjet printable CD and run it through the same print heads that would normally print on paper. A professional digital CD printer is more of a dedicated machine that is set up to print to CDs only and has an automated loading and unloading system for the discs. This system means that the machine can print up to 200 CDs unattended, and as printing with these machines is usually quite slow, they can be left printing while other aspects of the project are attended to.

This CD printing process is only suitable for small quantities of CDs as it is by far the slowest of the 3 main methods. The speed of the process is not helped by the fact that after printing is complete, there is still a need to apply a clear lacquer coating to protect the printed surface from moisture when handling. There are inkjet printable CDs on the market that claim to have a waterproof finish when printed, but still aren’t as effective and don’t look as good as a lacquered disc. On the plus side, this process can be used to print very high resolution images and the finished item can look fantastic when done correctly. There are also no fixed setup costs with digital CD printing, which is great if you only need 50 discs.

screen printing

CD screen printing is a very popular and widely used process for printing CDs. The process is an adaptation of the screen printing process used for many years to print on paper products, and in fact has been adapted to allow printing on all types of surfaces to produce branded items such as mugs, T-shirts and USB sticks. . As the name suggests, the process involves manufacturing printing screens, each used to print a different color on the disc. A CD screen printer has 5 printing stations and using a disc that has been previously printed with one base color, it is possible to produce a print with 6 different colors involved. The machine is basically a turntable, and as each color is applied at each station, the disc is passed under an ultraviolet light that cures the ink before the next color is applied.

This process can only be used to print areas of solid color and is not ideal for printing photographic images or subtle color gradients. However, when artwork has been specifically designed to use this printing technique, the results can be truly outstanding, especially with the availability of UV-sensitive fluorescent and metallic inks. The use of super fine mesh screens means the print is sharp, crisp and has amazing texture. Once set, the ink is very robust and waterproof and is not easily damaged by rough handling of the disc.

When it comes to short run CD printing and the use of screen printing technique, there are fixed costs involved, namely the screens and the films used to make the screens. Therefore, it is not the ideal process for less than 100 discs if cost is an issue with the project. However, the more discs that are screen printed, the lower the unit cost, plus there is the added benefit that once the screens are made they can be reused for reprints.

Lithographic printing (offset) –

This is another very popular method for short run CD printing projects. A lithographic printing machine does not have a turntable like the screen printer; instead, it has rotating cylinders. The cylinder that applies the ink to the CD is wrapped in a rubber blanket that rolls over the CD and transfers the ink to the surface of the disc. The lithographic printing method is perfect for printing complex photographic images on a disc and also for printing images that have subtle color gradients, but it is not ideal for printing images with large areas of solid color, as attempts are made to maintain a consistent solid color. in a large number of colors. may result in an uneven appearance in the finished print.

As with screen printing, there are fixed costs associated with lithographic printing, as printing plates must be prepared for each set of artwork used. Jobs that require less than 100 discs may cost more per unit than if the digital printing process were used instead. But again, as the number of jobs increases, the unit cost goes down, and if a reprint of the job is required, the printing plates can be kept and reused.

Printing of the paper parts

When it comes to printing the paper parts for a short run CD printing project, if you take your time and do it carefully, it is possible to produce very professional looking prints. Print quality from a relatively inexpensive desktop inkjet printer is usually excellent.

CD Case Paper Parts Printing

You can buy templates of the correct size online to make pieces of paper to put into CD cases, or you can just buy high quality A4 size semi-gloss photo paper or inkjet printable tissue paper about 150gsm. The benefit of buying back tray card templates is that the edges of the spine will be scored to make them easier to fold, but this is something you can do yourself if you’re careful. The front booklet can be a folded sheet printed on both sides to make 4 pages and more pages can be added if necessary and stapled along the spine. As long as you take your time with the cutting (using a guillotine and not scissors) and are careful with stapling, then there’s no reason you couldn’t find something very attractive.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind when printing pieces of paper for a CD case, such as:

• The front booklet can be 2 pages long if you print on both sides of a single 120mm square panel, and 4 pages long if you print on both sides of a 240mm x 120mm double panel that is then folded. After this the booklet should consist of multiples of 4 pages due to the way they are constructed. Take a look at a CD jewel case booklet from your CD collection where there are more than 4 pages and you’ll see why. A 240mm x 120mm sheet of booklet folded in half makes 4 pages, but to add another sheet where the spine is stapled you need to add another 4 pages. Content is usually designed with this requirement in mind.

• The back tray card can be printed on both sides, but then you’ll need a clear CD tray in your case to be able to see the print inside. Also, the folded spine strips are very thin and it can be difficult to get a good quality folded edge without carefully scoring the inside first. Any text printed along the spine should be small enough to fit and placed in the center for the best quality appearance.

CD card wallet printing

Again, you can buy templates to make your own CD card wallets that can be printed and then “pulled” out of the template as the edges are partially pre-cut for you. You can also print your own A4 size semi-gloss or silk 250 – 300 gsm card. The tabs can be scored, folded, and glued on with a strong glue to produce perfectly good results.

This is all well and good if you don’t have a tight deadline for the project, but printing, cutting, folding and gluing can take a while and if you don’t have time to do a good job, get the professionals. to do it instead. They will have automated processes to produce high-quality packaging consistently and quickly.