CD Technical Data
Maximum Running Time For Pressed CD Audio:
77 minutes, but this can be stretched to 79 mins 40 secs by arrangement.
Audio Master Formats for Pressed CD:
Red-Book CD-R or Exabyte DDP 8mm format.
Our prices assume that you are supplying a master ready for glass-mastering in one of these formats. If your music is on another format, or mixture of formats (such as WAV files, DAT, MiniDisc, reel to reel, etc.) our expert CD Mastering service is here to compile your tracks and help you get the best possible sound and signal level on the pressed CDs. We work with mastering engineer, Henry Smithson.
Maximum Amount Of Data For CD-ROM:
700 megabytes.
Data CD Master Format:
CD-R recorded exactly as the required finished product. Make sure it is fully tested and works in the way you require. Other formats may be acceptable subject to extra charges. Please phone for a quote.
Glass Mastering:
Glass Mastering has to be carried out on every new CD job. In this process, a glass disc is laser-etched with the information from the CD master. From this disc the metal stamper is made from which the CDs are pressed. The Glass Master is actually destroyed during this process and it is the stamper that is stored for future use.
Artwork Formats For Packaging:
Our prices assume that you are supplying press-ready PDF/X-1a files. These must conform to our dimensions and specifications and must be supplied on our templates. These are available from our office - or click here to download. We have a fully comprehensive artwork and repro department, so we can design your packaging from scratch, or prepare press-ready CTP files from artwork that you may have on disc already. Click here for further details of our graphics services.
Notes on Providing Masters for CD Duplication
- Masters must be provided as a CD disc exactly as you want the finished product to be. So if you want CD Audio, the master has to be written as CD Audio, i.e. Red Book (disc-at-once) format - a collection of wav files on a disc is NOT a CD Audio master! Likewise, a CD-ROM master must be supplied fully tested, exactly as you want the finished product to be. (See note on "Autorun" below)
- Please provide masters for duplication on write-once CD-R media (not rewritable).
- For Credit Card and Mini CDs, the master can be provided on a standard CD, but be sure the content size does not exceed the capacity limitations of the target media.
- Please make sure that the disc's playing surface is free from scratches, finger marks or any other damage
- Adaptec's Easy CD Creator package unfortunately includes a personal archiving utility "Direct CD". Likewise, Nero includes a similar package called "InCD". Do NOT use these or any similar packages to create production masters as the format is not recognisable by duplication systems.
- Whatever software you use, please make sure you set it to close the session and fix up the disc.
- Please Note: In order for a CD-ROM to "Autorun" it must contain an Autorun file. If you don't include this on your master then the copies will not Autorun. However, you can ask us to add an Autorun file onto your master, subject to an extra Authoring charge
