CD Printing : Deciding on the right Prints Tactic for Building your shed

This method of DVD printing utilises pre-manufactured printable DVDRs. The discs will either have a bright or a silver printable surface which can be receptive to an inkjet printer. Printable DVDRs are widely available in high street stores or online and even high quality discs are inexpensive.

A Digital DVD printer works on a single principle as a desktop inkjet printer. The cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink cartridges are loaded to the printer and a printer head makes a series of passes on the printable disc surface depositing the ink according to the artwork file. It is possible to print extremely detailed high resolution images applying this printing method but it does have a couple of drawbacks:

The digital DVD printing process is slow compared to other printing processes – Commercial digital DVD printers are merely capable of printing as much as 200 DVDs unattended and each print usually takes up to minute depending upon the complexity of the artwork.

Each disc needs to be finished with a layer of clear lacquer – this really is to guard the printed surface from potential moisture damage when handled. 卡片設計 This adds more delay to the process.
However, this DVD printing process does not have any fixed setup cost which makes it ideal for brief runs of less than 100 DVDs which is a service that is greatly in demand with the advance of the digital download.

DVD Screen Printing

Screen printing is really a tried and tested printing method that has been used in the industry printing industry for decades. DVD screen printing is a variation of this technique, modified allowing printing onto a disc. This process is great for printing areas of solid colour using vibrantly coloured inks mixed from various proportions of base cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink. There’s also fluorescent and metallic inks available for use with this specific process.

A screen printing machine includes a large rotating platform. The platform is split into 5 printing stations with a UV lamp between each station and the next. DVDs with a foundation coat of any colour may be printed on, allowing for no more than 6 different colours in the artwork design.

The printing screen, where the method gets its name, is really a very fine mesh screen which can be initially covered with a thermally reactive emulsion. Another screen is needed for all the colours featured in the ultimate artwork and a celluloid film can also be made for each colour. The film is black in the areas where in actuality the colour is needed on the disc, and clear where it is not required. The film is attached on top of a screen and placed into an exposure unit. A warm, bright light is then briefly switched on on the top of the film. Where in actuality the light and heat go through the clear portions of the film to the screen beneath, the thermal emulsion on the screen is hardened. Where in actuality the film is black, the heat and light don’t go through the film and so the emulsion remains unchanged.

The screen is then used in a spray booth where it is sprayed with a fine water jet. The water washes away the emulsion that has not hardened leaving a screen where ink can go through the mesh only using areas where that colour is needed according to the design. The screen is then fitted to its station on the DVD screen printing machine. Another 4 screens are prepared in the exact same way and the machine is then willing to print.

The DVDs are loaded onto the printing machine automatically. They’re presented on spindles and each disc is lifted by a robotic arm with soft rubber vacuum cups. The DVD is positioned into a metal jig which holds the disc securely to avoid any movement whilst it will be printed. The metal jigs are lined up around the machine and the DVDs are loaded, printed and then removed once printing is complete. A DVD that has been printed and then removed is replaced at another machine rotation with a new unprinted disc. This process continues until the production run is complete.

At each station an alternative coloured ink is applied to the disc when a rubber squeegee blade passes on the screen. The screen is pressed down onto the disc surface and the ink is forced through the mesh by the blade. After the ink has been applied the blade returns to its starting position ready for another disc. The device platen rotates one position and the freshly printed disc passes under a UV lamp. The UV light from the lamp cures the ink instantly and the disc moves to the next station where another coloured ink may be applied without any likelihood of smearing of the previously applied ink. The printing and curing process is very fast and a contemporary DVD screen printer is capable of printing more than 3,500 DVDs in an hour.

The requirement for screens and films for every single different ink colour in the style to be printed onto the DVD, means that there are fixed costs associated with this specific process. These costs may be minimised by limiting the number of colours mixed up in DVD print design. It is perfectly possible to create a stylish disc using only a single colour print onto a printable silver DVD. The fixed cost, however, does ensure it is a less viable process for really small orders of less than 100 DVDs.

Lithographic DVD Printing (Offset printing)

This process, just like DVD screen printing, is a popular printing method for producing high resolution images on paper or card stock and has been adapted to match DVDs. Lithographic printing is the best process for producing DVDs with a photographic print or artwork involving a subtle colour gradient but is not great for printing artwork that has large areas of solid colour because of potential coverage issues that might cause a “patchy” print.

The lithographic DVD printing process involves making a metal printing plate which can be curved around a roller. The basic principle at assist this technique is that printing ink and water don’t mix. The printing plate surface is treated in some areas such that it attracts ink, the rest of the areas are treated to attract water and not ink. The result is a publishing plate which can be introduced to ink which only adheres to it where required. The ink on the printing plate is transferred or “offset” to another roller that includes a rubber blanket wrapped around it. The rubber blanket roller applies the ink to the DVD which can be held firmly in devote a steel jig on the machine bed.

This process is quite as fast because the screen printing process and so many tens of thousands of DVDs may be printed every hour that the machine is running. Once more, there are fixed setup costs involved here and so the price to print orders of less than 100 DVDs is high.

DVD Printing Process Summary

In summary, if your project is limited to a small run of discs then digital DVD printing is the way to go. There is obviously no print quality compromise with digital printing over one other 2 processes and although it may be the slowest process, this is not really relevant if you’re only having 50 discs printed. There are many companies specialising in 24 to 48 hour turnarounds on short runs of discs who make use of this printing method exclusively and own it down seriously to a fine art.

For projects where the total amount of discs required is more than 100 and the artwork features bold, solid colours, then your DVD printing process of choice has to be screen printing. The metallic and fluorescent inks available for this technique make for many truly eye-catching and distinctive designs. If the artwork for the discs is really a photographic image or has a subtle colour gradient, then your printing process best suitable for this sort of artwork would be Lithographic printing. For screen and lithographic printing, the more units ordered, the cheaper the system cost becomes

This method of DVD printing utilises pre-manufactured printable DVDRs. The discs will either have a bright or a silver printable surface which can be receptive to an inkjet printer. Printable DVDRs are widely available in high street stores or online and even high quality discs are inexpensive. A Digital DVD printer works on a single…

This method of DVD printing utilises pre-manufactured printable DVDRs. The discs will either have a bright or a silver printable surface which can be receptive to an inkjet printer. Printable DVDRs are widely available in high street stores or online and even high quality discs are inexpensive. A Digital DVD printer works on a single…