For more information, please contact us at 1-800-860-2376

The specifications on this page are for OFFSET PRINTING ONLY. If you are doing silk screen printing, please follow this link to the silk screen specifications page.

Overview
Offset printing is a very different process than traditional silk-screening. Offset-printed discs are printed at a much higher resolution (150-175 lines per inch) than silk screening (85-100 lines per inch), thereby allowing your disc image to contain smaller fonts and much more detailed images. Truly photographic quality. In addition, CD discs pressed on our offset press do not have the indented "stacking ring" that most silk-screened CDs do, so your disc image can cover completely from the outer disc diameter of 117mm to an inner diameter of 23mm, if you desire. There is no traditional "knock-out" ring that silk-screened discs have.

If providing your own print films:

1. Films must be output to 175 lines per inch (lpi).
2. Films must be emulsion side down, right reading, NEGATIVES – all dots must be round.
3. Films must be output in CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black). The number of actual films required for a particular disc image will vary, depending upon the number of colors in your artwork. Examples:
· Black text on white requires a black film only (and a white "donut" or "flood" which we provide)
· One color PMS on white may require some combination of either C, M, Y, or K and a white "donut" film (2 to 5 films)
· 4-color process on white requires all 4 CMYK films (and a white "donut" or "flood" which we provide)
· 4-color process on silver requires all 4 CMYK films only
4. Angles for color separations:
· Cyan - 15 degrees
· Magenta - 75 degrees
· Yellow - 0 degrees
· Black - 45 degrees
5. Most layout programs will provide standard registration marks when the film is output. Most likely, these registration marks will not work. The registration marks must be positioned exactly as shown on the templates - 115mm apart, at 45, 135, 225, and 315 degrees, with your artwork centered to them. Please refer to the templates for an example. If you cannot provide this, you must send your digital files to us for correct film output. There is a charge for this service.
6. All disc image printing is also available without first printing a white "donut". This process will give your image a more translucent and "metallic" look. Please be sure to specify if you want a white flood or not.
7. Important - if your films arrive out of specifications, your project will be delayed until correct films have either been output by us or provided by you. If you are not positive that your provided films are 100% correct, please provide the electronic image files along with your films so we can output corrected films without delay, if necessary.

If providing digital files for us to output film (preferred):

We can output your films with the correct registration marks and color separations to avoid any delays caused by incorrect films. (Ask your CD Solutions rep. for current pricing for these services.) All files must be laid out in accordance with the above specifications and per the templates. You must include all screen and printer fonts, graphic files, and actual artwork file (i.e. Pagemaker file, Photoshop file, etc.). Also, a jpeg or laser proof of your artwork must be included for reference. You also must indicate whether your on-disc image is to be printed over a white donut or applied directly over the CD disc (to create the "metallic" look).

IMPORTANT:

Registration marks MUST be located as illustrated on the templates (at 45, 135, 215, and305 degrees, NOT at 90, 180, 270, and 360), and must be EXACTLY 115mm apart, with the CD image centered to them. In addition, the color designation for each film MUST be present on each film (each next to one registration mark as illustrated below). Unlike silk screen prints, CD’s manufacturedon our offset pressdo NOT have a pronounced indent at the "stacking ring" on the print surface. Therefore, you do NOT need to have a "knock-out" for the stacking ring on your image so your disc image can (and should) be printed from 23mm to 117mm without interruption.

DO NOT PRINT THE DOTTED LINES OR "HOLD DOWN" LINES ON YOUR FILMS THESE ARE SHOWN FOR REFERENCE ONLY

A color-proof is required for every CD printing job. A chromalin or color-key match print is preferred, however, a color laser print is acceptable if precise color matching is not required. If no color proof is received for a particular job, we will not proceed until a signed waiver of responsibility has been received.

These templates are for OFFSET PRINTING ONLY. For silk-screen printing follow this link.

CDLabel Templates
Adobe Illustrator 7.0
Photoshop 5.0
Quark 3.3
Quark 4.0

Insert Print Templates
Adobe Illustrator 8.0.1
Adobe Photoshop 6.0
Pagemaker 6.5
Acrobat 4.0
QuarkXpress 4.1

Tray Card Templates
Adobe Illustrator 8.0.1
Adobe Photoshop 6.0
Pagemaker 6.5
Acrobat 4.0
QuarkXpress 4.1