It’s all about turn times in the eMedia industry! The speed with which your vendor can get your CD or DVD project completed is vital to many customers. However, responsibility for these projects meeting their completion dates starts with the customer and ends with the vendor. It’s a partnership that shares the responsibility. Just follow the 6 easy steps below:
1) Complete Credit Reference
- When submitting a credit application, be sure to fill out all sections.
- Contact your references and advise them to complete the required form that will be faxed to them by your CD/DVD vendor. Also, remind them to return the paperwork to your vendor as soon as possible.
2) Communicate All Details of the Project to Your Sales or Customer Service Representative
- Provide all shipping details to your sales or customer service representatives (changes in shipping information must be communicated as soon as possible).
- Provide the information that you would like on the mirror band of CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs.
3) Protect Yourself
- Fill out, sign and return the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) form to make sure content ownership is properly handled. A completed and signed IPR form usually must be provided with every order prior to your job being scheduled for production.
4) Submit a High Quality Master Disc
- Always use high quality media.
- Avoid burning from a network source.
- Avoid burning on a laptop computer running on battery power.
- ALWAYS “finalize” your disc.
- Don’t use packet-writing method to burn the master disc.
- Avoid impact or movement of the drive during burn.
- Use the “burn-proof” feature if available.
- Avoid having multiple applications open when burning, especially those that access the internet or network.
- If possible submit two copies of the master disc.
5) Complete Your Screen Print Artwork
- Follow the artwork specifications.
- Send physical copy of artwork or send file to the vendor’s FTP site. Inform your sales or customer service representative when sending a file to their FTP site.
- Supply color and specification information along with a hard copy of your artwork or e-mail a PDF of the artwork to your sales or customer service representative. Be sure to include all fonts that are a part of your project.
- Include e-mail address where PDF proof should be sent.
- Approve verifications quickly, while still being thorough.
6) Send the Vendor Your Materials
- Customer-supplied printed materials should arrive at least three days prior to projected ship date. Some vendors require 15 percent overage of all printed materials.
- A packing slip should accompany all customer-supplied materials. A purchase order number or job number must appear on the packing slip.
CD/DVD Master Preparation Tips
“CD/DVD Master” is the disc you provide to your CD/DVD vendor for replication or duplication of that media. Here are some helpful tips for creating a high quality master:
Don’t use markers to label CDs and DVDs
Many people use markers to write on the surface of their CDs and DVDs when labeling their media. What most people do not know is that using markers, such as Sharpies, ballpoint pens, or any other sharp object can be very damaging to the media. Most markers contain chemicals that create oxidation, which can deteriorate the CD or DVD. The oxidation can ruin the aluminum, which covers the surface of the media and ultimately can destroy the data on the disc. Additionally, these types of markers can damage the physical structure of the disc.
