Printing on Compact Disc

Sound Design: How Commercial CDs Get Their Pictures

Have you ever wondered about exactly how they put images on compact discs? Designers use desktop publishing to create the disc layout, as well as CD and DVD packaging. The actual printing techniques for the bulk of the package can include traditional offset lithography as well as die cuts and embossing. However, it is screen printing that puts the picture on the surface of the CD.

As with other types of design, to design for CD or DVD you need to start at the end. Understanding the type of printing involved and its limitations will help you design a better product.

Screen Printing
Familiar applications for screen printing (also referred to as silkscreen) include t-shirts and other textiles. It is also the technique used for printing on compact discs. It involves a thick layer of ink poured onto a stencil with the excess scraped off, forcing the remaining ink through the holes in the stencil to create the image on the surface of the disc.

The idiosyncracies of screen printing and the surface of the CD that can affect your designs include:

• The standard line screen for images on disc is a low 85 lpi, the same as for newspaper printing, up to about 100 lpi resulting in a possible loss of image detail.

• The thick applications of ink required for screen printing can make fine lines and detail disappear (including very small type and serifs).

• Spot color rather than CMYK printing is the norm. Although CMYK printing is possible, it can cost more and produce less than ideal results.

• Because the disc surface is metallic silver, not white, you may need to add an additional color to your design (for spot or CMYK colors) if you want to design for a white background.

• Rarely can you precisely match the spot color inks on the face of the CD or DVD to the CMYK colors you may use on printed inserts.

• The same color of ink appears differently on the clear inner hub, the mirror hub, and the main silver surface of the disc.

• Designs with gradual fades from one color to another may reproduce poorly due to dot gain and tonal jump that make colors darker and produce pronounced dots in the image.

Designing for Disc
In spite of these limitations, it is possible to achieve great on-disc designs. These sets of tutorials or tips can help ensure your designs meet screen printing specifications:

• Dissecting a CD for Design Sake - Eric Fritz of cddesign.com, writing for this site, looks at the physical parts of a compact disc and how they affect design and printing.

• Disc Design Strategies at Marvin's Corner - some of the best tutorials for printing on CD.

• CD and DVD Design and Packaging Tips and Tutorials - resources from across the Web.