High-quality on-disc printing for CDs, DVDs & Blu-rays

Duplication is an affordable option for customers looking to make a small run of discs. During the duplication process, a recordable disc (CD-R, DVD-R or BD-R) is “burned” with your content directly onto our top-quality blank media. Duplicated discs will function in nearly all playback devices, but some players may experience playback or incompatibility issues with this type of disc. Duplicated discs have a slightly shorter lifespan compared to replicated discs due to differences in the duplication process.

CD and DVD projects with a quantity of 100-299 discs will include duplicated discs. Blu-ray projects with a quantity of less than 1000 will include duplicated discs.

Disc replication is the industry-standard manufacturing process. Replicated discs (CDs) are manufactured from scratch and your data is physically pressed into the surface of the discs. Replicated discs will function in all players and, when properly stored, can last several decades due to the high-quality manufacturing process. Replication includes the creation of a glass master, a nickel stamper created from that glass master, and the injection molding of clear optical-grade polycarbonate substrates from the nickel stamper. The process also involves the metallizing and lacquering of those polycarbonate substrates to produce a perfect copy — an exact replication of your content.

Our minimum quantity for replicated CDs and DVDs is 300. Replication is not available for 1-day rush turns. For Blu-ray projects, our minimum quantity for replicated discs is 1000.

Most on-disc printing includes a white flood coat, covering the silver surface of the disc entirely. This gives the discs a more consistent printing surface and allows the ink to adhere to the disc surface properly.

For some on-disc printing options, your artwork can be printed using a technique that allows for certain areas of the design to be left unprinted to allow for the silver surface of the disc to show through. In the attached sample images, the white areas of the design "knockout” to silver. On the finished discs, these areas of the artwork will be silver. Our minimum quantity for silver knockout is 300. Some design restrictions apply.

• White discs are used for the printing process. We do not print onto the silver surface of the disc.
• Avoid using large areas of solid color. Solid backgrounds are not recommended.
• Fine or soft details within an image may be lost due to the nature of the printing style.
• Avoid drop shadows and transparency effects. These elements may not print properly.
• Small or thin text below a size of 10pt should be avoided, as this can become illegible when printed.
• Coverage: 2mm silver ring around the outside edge.
• Available for both duplication and replication projects, with quantities between 100 and 499.

• White discs are used for the printing process. The silver color of the disc is not exposed.
• Ideal for high-resolution, photorealistic images.
• Large, solid colors and backgrounds will have a smooth, consistent finish.
• Avoid drop shadows and transparency effects. These elements may not print properly.
• Small or thin text below a size of 8pt should be avoided, as this can become illegible when printed.
• Coverage: Edge-to-edge disc printing.
• Available for duplication projects only, with quantities between 100 and 299.

• Silver discs are used for the printing process. Black ink is printed directly onto the silver surface of the disc.
• Ideal for designs that include black text only. We are not able to accept images or full-color artwork for this style.
• Fine or soft details within some styles of fonts may be lost due to the nature of the printing style.
• Avoid drop shadows and transparency effects. These elements may not print properly.
• Small or thin text below a size of 10pt should be avoided, as this can become illegible when printed.
• Coverage: 2mm silver ring around the outside edge.
• Available for both duplication and replication projects, with quantities above 100.

• Great for large areas of solid colors.
• Allows elements of your design to remain unprinted to let the silver color of the disc show through.
• We can usually acommodate any specific PMS color requests.
  • Up to 3 colors + white flood - quantities below 399
  • Up to 4 colors + white flood - quantities below 499
  • Up to 5 colors + white flood - quantities of 500 or greater
• The disc surface changes slightly near the clear center of the disc, and color made fade as a result.
• Silver discs are used for the printing process. The silver surface of the disc is exposed.
• Small line art or thin text below 8pt should be avoided.
• Coverage: 2mm silver ring around the outside edge.
• Available for replication projects, with quantities of 300 or greater.

• Great for full-color photographs, illustrations, and images.
• Allows elements of your design to remain unprinted to let the silver of the disc show through.
• The disc surface changes slightly near the clear center of the disc, and color made fade as a result.
• Silver discs are used for the printing process. The silver surface of the disc is exposed.
• Small line art or thin text below 8pt should be avoided.
• Coverage: 2mm silver ring around the outside edge.
• Available for replication projects only, with quantities of 500 or greater.

• Artwork must be designed using our "Vinyl Look" template (VCD200).
• Great for simple designs with large areas of solid colors.
• Black and white inks are required for this printing process. The silver surface of the disc is not exposed.
• We can usually acommodate specific PMS color requests, in addition to the required black and white inks.
  • 1 additional color - quantities below 399
  • 2 additional colors - quantities below 499
  • 3 additional colors - quantities of 500 or greater
• Small line art or thin text below 8pt should be avoided.
• Coverage: 2mm silver ring around the outside edge.
• Available for replication projects, with quantities of 300 or greater.

When you need a smaller quantity of discs, they don't go through the replication process — they get duplicated.

Short run CD duplication is a better choice when you only need a small quantity, around less than 300 discs. You might be familiar with the term “burning CDs” — which is essentially what we're doing in this process. Our automated duplicators can burn multiple discs at once, and we'll print your discs using either an industrial inkjet printer or silkscreen printing.

CD replication, or CD pressing, is the most common form of disc manufacturing. Replicating discs means molding them from plastic pellets, starting by creating a metal stamper that essentially contains your music content that will go on the disc. This stamper is mounted in the injection mold cavity, so that the discs being molded already contain your content. This process is very efficient, with content molded onto a disc every 3-4 seconds! Because of all the setup that's required for this process, replicated discs are typically preferred for larger quantities. Disc Makers is the only company that will replicate discs in quantities starting as low as 300 units.