CD Glossary

A variety of paper grades manufactured especially for offset lithography printing. Standard art paper is either gloss or matt coated, and then can have either a gloss or matt finish applied after printing, to protect the inks.

BIEM is the international organisation representing mechanical rights societies. Mechanical rights societies exist in most countries. In the UK for example your organisations would be MCPS/PRS/PPL. They license the reproduction of songs (including musical, literary and dramatic works). Their members are composers, authors and publishers and their clients are record companies and other users of recorded music. Every time a CD, audio cassette or vinyl record containing protected musical works is made, the producers require a license from the owner of the works and they must pay royalties for each copy they manufacture and sell.

The bleed area is a designated section that will be trimmed away to leave the final product with a continuous print right up to the edge of the product. The background colour or image of your artwork should be extended past the trim lines, all the way to the outer bleed line which is shown as a red line on our templates. This is necessary as it allows our print team a small amount of space to account for movement of paper, printing plates or any slight movement during the cutting/folding stage. This is all part of the print tolerances.

Catalogue numbers are used as standard within the music industry to track and identify orders. CD and record manufacturers, labels, retailers and distributors use them to give every release a unique identifying code. Generally speaking catalogue numbers use a combination of standard unicode characters. If you're pressing for the first time or starting up a new project, please feel free to get creative with your catalogue number. Our account managers will happily assign you with something sensible if not.

CD duplication is the process of recording the CD content into a reflective layer on a CD-R, using a laser drive. This service provides a great quality and cost effective solution to the demand for small CD runs and/or a fast turnaround.

CD replication is a lengthier process than CD duplication and involves physically creating discs by injecting polycarbonate granules into a mould cavity that is compacted with a metal stamper containing a negative image of the disc data. CD Replication is the way to go for orders over 500 units.

CD-Text allows for storage of additional information (album name, song name, and performer etc.) on standard audio CDs. This information is embedded into the lead-in area of the CD itself.

This is exclusively for the LCD display window of a CD player, such as a car stereo or hifi unit. This is not to be confused with the recognition of tracks on internet enabled devices such as a computer.

iTunes, Windows Media Player etc. do not read the CD text information stored on the actual CD's but use online databases such as Gracenote (CDDB). To ensure that iTunes, Windows Media Player etc. displays information similar to CD text you need to insert the disc and add the details yourself to the online databases that these media players use.

We would be happy to embed CD-Text onto your master should you require that services.

Cellophane wrap is a stretchable plastic film that holds a package tightly together when wrapped. Also see shrink-wrap.

CMYK is a traditional printing method that combines four separate colour plates - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black – this is a professional industry standard method and colour model for full colour offset printing. CMYK printing is also referred to as four colour process printing.

This relates to the number of colour plates required to print to each side of the stock. For example, 4/1 would print full colour CMYK; Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (Black), on the front with Black only (K) on the rear, where 4/4 would be full colour on both sides of the stock.

Disc Description Protocol (DDP) is a format for specifying the content of optical discs, including CDs and DVDs. Essentially it is a digital image of a physical disc and is widely supplied as a master disc for duplication and replication services.

The DDP image file set should contain at least the following components;

• Audio image (.DAT file)

• DDP Identifier (DDPID)

• DDP Stream descriptor (DDPMS)

• Subcode descriptor (PQ DESCR)

• MD5 Checksum

Digital audio mastering is the final step of audio post-production, balancing the sonic elements of the stereo mix and optimising playback across all systems and media formats. Mastering was traditionally an analogue process requiring specific studio equipment, nowadays there are also many digital solutions available. We offer full CD and vinyl mastering services.

Digital printing is the method of printing from a digital-based image directly to a variety of media using laser or inkjet printers, allowing for short turnaround times and printing of variable data sets. We do not utilise digital printing methods for vinyl production, opting for more traditional and high end processes like screen and litho printing.

Our promotional products are constructed from single ply card. The main difference with products such as digifiles is that they are generally printed single sided on a piece of card twice the size, so that when folded and glued down the card is twice as thick which add rigidity and weight to the packaging. Our digipacks are the same as the digifiles with the added addition of having a hard plastic tray to hold the disc.

Embossing and debossing are two techniques used to raise ink from or stamp ink to the print surface respectively.

In embossing, a metal die is created from your design. This is used to apply pressure on the reverse of the board which then raises the surface, adding a new dimension to the object (so the embossed area stands proud of the printed surface). It can either be incorporated as a part of the printed design, or as a standalone addition to your product.

Debossing is the reverse of this, so the surface of the board is depressed and the area (that you have designed) sits below the printed surface.

Simply; estimated shipping date. This is when your CD order will leave the plant. We will be in touch at this point to provide a firm delivery date.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) are sites used to transfer large files and sets of data such as music and artwork files from one computer to another. These were commonly used by those with the know-how and correct software, but thankfully today there are many reliable, advert free FTP sites available for the general public to use. Many of these sites offer free to use options as well as premium accounts with lots of extra features such as security, editing and long-term hosting. DMS recommend but are not endorsed or affiliated with WeTransfer.com, Dropbox.com, Hightail.com or filemail.com.

A glass master, also referred to as a 'stamper' is used to punch all of the data pits into a CD or DVD during the process of replication. The reason it's called a glass master is because the information is copied onto a special chemical coating on a circular block of glass.

A thin polypropylene film is heat-fused to the printed surface forming a layer of protective coating while also improving its sturdiness and water resistance. Gloss lamination is more reflective than a gloss varnish, making it particularly perfect for bringing out the vibrancy of colours.

Gloss UV is an eco-friendly option. Ultraviolet-cured coatings are applied over the printed surface and dried by exposure to UV light. Due to the normally high solids content of UV coating, the surface of the cured film can be extremely reflective and glossy, deepening and enriching the ink colours.

Graphic design is the process of visual communication and problem-solving using typography, photography and illustration. Graphic designers create and combine symbols, images and text to form visual representations of ideas and messages to appeal to certain tastes or trends. DMS have an in-house team of designers who process and check all artwork before your order enters production. Should you wish to utilise their design skills for your release, please check out our Graphic Design section.

An acronym for grams per square metre. An industry standardised measurement of paper and card quality. The higher the GSM number, the heavier the stock.

This a black colour that is made from one or more of the printing plates so it contains a percentage of cyan, magenta and or yellow as well black, at different levels which result in the final appearance of the colour black. A standard heavy rich black which is commonly used has the following colour values; Cyan 75, Magenta 68, Yellow 67, Black (K) 90. There are different black colours that you can achieve by varying the levels of each colour (e.g. a warm black with 40% M and 100% K, a cold black 40% C and 100% K etc.). Please contact our design team for further information if required.

Hot-foiling is the process in which metallic foil is bonded to the print surface using heat and pressure, often with striking results. Gold and silver are the most popular foils, but there are many other shades and effects too, including glitter, pearlescent, and iridescent.

This relates to the underside of replicated CDs and has unique identifiers to recognise aspects of the CDs production. This is also an area where you can include a personalised message, website, logo and or catalogue number.

This is the physical action of packing one part of a product to another. This is mostly done by hand by the packing teams at the plant, and thus often carries a small charge per unit.

The International Standard Recording Code system is the international system for the identification of recorded music and music videos. Each ISRC is a unique identifier that can be permanently encoded into a recording or music video.

Encoded ISRCs can provide the means to automatically identify recordings, to ensure that you get paid any royalty payments due. PPL is the appointed sole agency for ISRC in the UK, please contact them to assign codes to your tracks. DMS are unable to generate ISRCs for you, but once you have them we are able to add to your masters. For more information please visit the PPL website.

Once you have received your ISRCs from PPL, we would be happy to embed them onto your master.

Knockout is the .opposite of overprinting, whereby the top element literally knocks out (deletes) any artwork underneath. This helps to ensure it stays true to its colour by printing directly to the surface of the material being applied to. For example, using blue text on a yellow background, you would want it to knock out so it prints to the white of the paper, otherwise the yellow might cause the blue to turn green.

Also known as turnaround times, lead times are simply the amount of time between the initiation and completion of the production process. Lead times can vary as production demand fluctuates, so serve only as a rough guide. For current lead times please give us a call or drop us an email.

Low contrast refers to adjacent colours within a design, where the colour values are very similar to the background colour. For example, this could be a dark grey pattern with ink levels that are just a few percent lower than that of the background such as a rich black. When viewed on screen there is a subtle but visible difference. However, print often appears darker than it does on screen, so that subtle difference could be lost. It occurs most often with darker colours. We recommend at least 20% difference between total ink levels to help avoid the risk.

The minimum recommended colour values to ensure the print registers the colours is 5% for cyan, magenta and black, and 10% for yellow. Any parts for the design which fall below these levels may not register and is something to consider when setting up your artwork/deciding on colours. If the colour does not register/print then the card stock may be visible.

A thin polypropylene film is heat-fused to the printed surface forming a layer of protective coating while also improving its sturdiness and water resistance. Matt lamination also improves the tactile feel of the printed surface, lending it a smooth finish.

This is our standard matt varnish and the most cost effective. A matt varnish gives the printed surfaces a non-glossy, smooth look. Darker colours can look more subdued in comparison to a gloss varnish due to the reduced amount of reflected light, but used correctly matt finishes can really hone that subtle, classy look.

Another eco-friendly option, ultraviolet-cured coatings are applied over the printed surface and dried by exposure to UV light. Matt printing enhances artwork contrast and provides a more subdued colour set.

Compact Disc (CD) metadata refers to all the additional information that is contained within a CD other than the audio data itself. This can be the metadata of individual tracks contained on the CD, or the disc as a whole. Metadata includes ISRC, MCN and CD-Text (Artist Name, Album Title, Song Title, composer etc.) which is stored in the lead-in area of the Red Book master.

Polycarbonate discs are completely transparent after the moulding process. In order for the microscopic pits to be read, a mirrored aluminium layer is ionised to the active surface of the disc. Silver is the standard for all replicated discs, but it is also possible to use gold metallisation or even have coloured poly-carbonate discs. Please contact us for more information.

Offset printing is a method of mass-production printing in which the images on metal plates are transferred (offset) to rubber blankets or rollers and then to the print media.

Overprinting is opting to print one colour on top of another. For example, if you have a shape or text that is a black on a background that does not contain any black (k) such as a pale yellow, then we would recommend setting the black to (k only) to overprint that black shape on top of the yellow.

This refers to the booklet pages being arranged in an order so that once the printed sheets are folded, bound and trimmed, the pages will appear in the correct order. The correct pagination is listed on our multi page booklet templates here or if you have any further questions please contact us.

There is a general rule you can apply, with both page numbers added up being 1 more than the total number of pages and the even number always on the left, odd pages on the right. For example, an 8-page stapled booklet will be 8-1, 2-1. 6-3 and 4-5.

Pantone Matching System (PMS) is a standardised colour reproduction system, recognised globally as an industry printing standard for accurate colour reproduction. Pantone colours are printed as a single solid layer, as opposite to multiple CMYK plates, thus providing a more exact colour match and a more crisp and accurate edge.

A group of thermoplastic polymers used in the manufacture of compact discs due to their durable and optically transparent qualities.

A PQ sheet is a report containing information about a CD master. This includes track lengths, timings, gaps and any metadata such as CD text, IRSC and details of the disc.

Rainbow book standards refer to a series of specifications for the various types of CD formats.

• Red Book: CD-DA (Digital Audio), CD-Text, CD-MIDI, CD+G (plus Graphics), CD+EG / CD+XG (plus Extended Graphics)

• Green Book: CD-i (Interactive)

• Yellow Book: CD-ROM (Read-Only Memory), CD-ROM XA (eXtended Architecture)

• Orange Book: This is a mix of red and yellow book standards such as CD-MO (Magneto-Optical), CD-R (Recordable) alias CD-WO (Write Once) alias CD-WORM (Write Once, Read Man).

Other books include Beige, White, Blue, Scarlet and Purple.

Raster graphics, also called bitmap graphics, a type of digital image that uses rectangular pixels arranged in a grid formation to represent an image. Because the format can support a wide range of colours and depict subtle graduated tones, it is well-suited for displaying continuous-tone images such as photographs or shaded drawings, along with other detailed images. Raster graphics typically have larger file sizes than their vector counterparts.

The standard for compact disc masters is referred to as a Red Book master, which is an International Standard that complies to specific physical parameters and properties of the CD. For Red Book masters, audio should not exceed 74 minutes, and all digital audio should have a sample rate of 44.1Khz with a BIT rate of 16. The number of tracks should not exceed 99/99, the maximum number of index points. The minimum track duration is 4 seconds, including 2 second pre-gap. All tracks should have ISRC encoding as standard.

Printing to the reverse (uncoated) side of the board. The texture of the card fibre often lends a raw and rustic feel. Due to its uncoated nature, colours in general are more muted as more ink is absorbed into the printable media.

The safety area is shown as a blue zone on the template. This is a 3mm area inside of any trim or fold line that we advise you keep free of important information such as text or logos. This is recommended to allow for any slight movement during the cutting/folding stage. This allowance is referred to as print tolerances. Anything important that is left within the safety area could be at risk of trimming or being on a fold line.

This is the process of pressing ink through a stencilled mesh screen to create a printed design according to your artwork.

All our discs are screen or litho printed giving the best possible finish and quality, this is the industry standard method used and ensures your discs have that professional touch.

For replicated CD orders, your discs can be printed up to full colour as standard.

For duplicated CD orders, our standard specs include 1 colour screen print only. We can offer up to 6 colour screen print designs and the option for full colour litho printed discs for an additional fee. Please contact us to discuss your requirements and pricing.

Shrink-wrapping is applied loosely around a product and shrinks tightly when heat is applied. We always recommend shrink-wrap or overbags to reduce the risk of split spines and damages in transit to your end customers.

Sometimes a varnish isn't applied to the entire surface but only used to make certain elements stand out. This is called a spot gloss UV varnish.

A guide detailing the dimensions, fold and cut lines required for each printed part. We have downloadable templates for all of our most common vinyl packaging configurations.

Trapping is the technique used to compensate for registration/misalignment issues of successive/adjacent colours by adding a small overlap. It ensures that there are no ugly gaps, white hairlines where the paper shows through or overlaps in the final printed result. We recommend trapping of 0.05mm.

Uncoated paper stocks are variety of paper grades manufactured especially for offset lithography printing with a rough textured feel, similar to copy paper.

Vector-based images are comprised of paths, which are defined by a start and end point, along with other points, curves, and angles along the way. These paths are essentially mathematical shapes that can be scaled to a larger size and not lose any image quality. This makes vector graphics ideal for logos and text, which can be small enough to appear on a business card or increased to billboard size without pixelation.

Vector graphics are best suited to solid areas of colours and for use in screen printing.

We would recommend keeping all of your text as ‘live text’ (not flattening the layer or rasterizing it) so that it retains its vector quality and prints clearly with sharp corners/edges.

Our smallest recommended text size is 6pt Arial or the equivalent.