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Will the designer listen to my CD before he or she starts the design?
It may seem strange, but we don’t listen to the music before we design. Music is subjective, and our goal is to design a package that conveys your message. If you still feel that hearing your music is important, you may send in a CD-R for the designer to listen to before he or she starts designing.
Can I talk or meet with a designer before they start working on my CD?
We have found that it’s most efficient for all client questions to be run through the Project Manager, who will be your main contact once your job is underway for both the audio and package design. Every Project Manager goes through training to understand the procedures and capabilities of The Design Studio™ and they can handle most client questions or requests. If contact with The Design Studio™ is a priority for you, one of our art directors can speak with you.
How long until I see my first design proof?
Design proofs generally take 3-4 business days to create once all job parts have been received. Larger booklets, complex or custom work may require 5 days or more to create.
What kind of proofs will I receive?
Our primary color proof is a Dupont CromaPro, which is printed on a glossy stock. This is the same proof our pressmen use as a color reference when printing your materials; You will use this proof to check your color, text, layout and overall appearance of your project. While these proofs have been calibrated to match our typical press conditions, some variation on your final product is to be expected due to the normal variables of the offset printing process. Please note that due to resolution differences between this proof and the press, some text may appear slightly thicker than it will actually print.
Are my proofs close to what the final print will look like?
The process used to print your packaging and the one used to create proofs are not identical, therefore some variation is to be expected. Rest assured that Disc Makers’ quality standards are among the highest in the industry, and your final print will look terrific.
Can I get email proofs?
Yes you can. For a first proof we recommend a hard copy, but for proofing corrections or if color is not an issue we can send PDF proofs. You will receive an email containing two links for each of your proofs: one for a high-resolution, print-ready PDF, and one for a high-resolution jpeg. We make our printing plates from the PDF file. They can be quite large (10MB+) and therefore may take a while to download depending on your connection speed. If you have any questions about the quality of your proofs you should download the PDF. The jpeg is a smaller file, and will download much faster. It is good enough quality for proofreading on-screen or printing from a home or office printer. However, computer monitors and home printers vary greatly, so emailed proofs cannot be used as a final color reference.
What kind of stock photos do you have available?
We have thousands of images in our stock photo library. We have a wide variety of images: Mountains, clouds, sunsets, city skylines, flowers, crowds, instruments, children playing, beautiful women, computer circuitry, old maps and many, many more. Ask your Product Specialist to find out if we have a specific image that you have in mind, and we’ll search our library for you. A good rule of thumb is that we have a lot of general themes, but not many specific concepts. For example, we have children laughing, but we don’t have a redheaded boy whispering a secret into a blonde-haired girl’s ear.
Can I see the fonts you have available?
We have hundreds of fonts - too many to list. You are welcome to let us know what kind of font you’re looking for (simple, funky, thick, elegant, handwritten, etc.) or supply a sample of a font that you like. We may not have the exact font, but we’ll have something close.
Can I put my picture on the disc itself?
Yes. Keep in mind that discs are printed using a different process than your inserts (silkscreened vs. offset printed), use different inks (PMS vs. CMYK), and are printed on a different surface (a silver reflective surface vs. paper), so we will not be able to provide you with an exact match between your cover and disc.
I’ve got a digital camera. How should I supply my digital photos?
You should take your photos on your camera’s highest quality setting. Consult your camera’s manual for instructions on how to set the resolution, quality and compression on your specific camera. You shouldn’t assume that the default factory settings are correct for professional print needs. You’ll need to transfer your photos from your camera to a CD-R or upload them to our FTP site.
I’ve got photos on my website. Can you download them from there?
We could, but we don’t recommend it. The images on your website are compressed to be as small as possible, so they load quickly in a web browser. Images need to have a lot more information for quality commercial print than they do for the web. Your web images will appear blurry, pixellated, and generally poor-quality if used in your print work. You should provide us with the original images before they were compressed for the web.
See also:
Image Resolution and Color Mode sections at left
What kinds of paper can I choose from?
All jewel cases use a high-quality, coated paper, similar to what you’d find in a major-label release, that has a smooth, slightly glossy feel. The standard for board products (such as minijackets, wallets and digipaks) is a high-gloss, durable finish called a UV coating. Or if you prefer a non-glossy look, you can choose the matte varnish. Keep in mind that selecting the matte varnish will add a few days to your turnaround time. For a free sample of both coatings, ask your Product Specialist.
Who owns the copyright to my finished design?
Upon completion and final payment of your project, you own all rights to any work created by The Design Studio™.
Someone from Disc Makers has contacted me about possibly using my project for your promotional materials. What does this mean?
We are constantly looking for great designs created by The Design Studio™ to feature on our website, in our catalog, or in an advertisement. We are also continually looking for inspiring designs to send to design competitions. In order to use your design, we need your permission. If you are contacted, we would greatly appreciate it if you allow us to use your design. It’s a win-win situation—we win a contest and you gain exposure by getting your design featured in an international publication; or we feature your design in an ad, our website or catalog and thousands of people will see your project and get to know your name. It’s like free advertising. By signing the paperwork that we fax or mail to you, you are NOT signing over the rights of your project to us, you are merely giving us permission to use it as a visual for the aforementioned materials. It will also allow the designer to showcase your design in their portfolio as an example of the outstanding work they create.
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High quality design demands high resolution images. It’s as simple as that. Look at the examples below and check out our get started page for more information on supplying your images. |
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High Resolution images should be 300 ppi (pixels per inch) for greyscale and CMYK images, 1200 ppi for line art. |
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Low Resolution images include 72 ppi graphics captured from the internet, or images taken on cameras not set to highest quality. They will look fuzzy and pixellated. NOTE: Enlarging small images reduces overall print qualiy.
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The color mode used to create color on a computer monitor is completely different than the color mode used to print color on a press. Check out the samples and explanations below, and then trust that we’ve got your colors well under control!
RGB (Red Green Blue)
The RGB color mode, used by computer monitors, is made by combining three luminous, or glowing colors. The RGB color mode is capable of producing many more colors on screen than the Process (CMYK) color mode. This can pose a problem because many of the bright RGB images you may see on your computer simply can’t be reproduced on a press. When we receive RGB images, we convert them to CMYK for our use. Please be aware that color shifts may occur. |
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CMYK (Cyan Magenta Yellow Black)
CMYK is the color mode that is used for all of our print graphics. When screens of the four CMYK “process” colors are combined in a dot pattern on paper, the human eye merges them into one color. |
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When looking at your proofs, take notice of the markings that we use on our templates. These show how the piece will be cut in the print shop. |
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Bleed is extending any color, photo, or design elements past the cut line. Bleed gives the print shop a margin of error when trimming, so that if the cut is a little off, the white of the paper won’t show along the edge.
Crop marks show the print shop where to trim the pieces.
Safety margin shows the outermost edge of where we can place important elements. If you put important information such as a song title or an important part of a photo right up against the crop line, some of it may get cut off. For that reason we keep type and other important elements within the safety, 1/8” inside the crop marks.
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