CD Printing - Choosing the proper Printing Means for Any project1761

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The technique of больше информации you decide on is governed by some important aspects. These are the next:

How many CDs do you want printed? What is the intended technique end product? Could be the budget tight to the project? What kind of artwork was created for that discs? Photographic images or block colours? Once these 4 elements are already considered, you can make a conclusion about which CD printing process is most appropriate for the particular project.

Consider a look at every one of the processes consequently as well as their advantages and disadvantages.


This CD printing method utilises a printer utilizing the same process being an inkjet printer that many home users will likely be informed about. The truth is, many home printers can be built with a CD printing tray for usage with pre-manufactured CDRs with a printable surface. A firm printing CDs professionally probably will be utilising an printer's which is specifically for the printing of CDs. These printers offer an auto-loading mechanism enabling the unattended printing of up to 200 CDs. The printer automatically loads unprinted discs and unloads the finished discs onto separate spindles.

Digital CD printing using one of those printers is slow but there aren't any fixed set up costs involved. This is fine when the order quantity of discs is less than 100, or 200 if you have no fixed, imminent deadline for the order.

This technique of printing can perform producing highly professional CDs as a possible printing device can print at extremely high resolutions. The printed surface does need protection though and a layer of clear lacquer has to be applied to the discs in order to avoid moisture being received by contact with some of it through handling or experience damp environments. This necessity adds significantly to the overall project time. Printable discs are available which have a specially formulated surface that becomes water resistant after printing however they are higher priced than regular printable discs therefore a decision needs to be made dependant on the urgency in the project; extra expense for water-resistant discs or an extension cord for your using a layer of clear lacquer?

CD Screen printing is great for artwork designs that involve solid parts of colour. Screen printing is conducted using a machine using a rotating bed which has 5 separate stations in which a different hue of ink does apply. The CDs could have a base colour applied first within the whole disc area meaning that a screen printed CD design can include a total of 6 different colours maximum.

The ink found in the CD screen printing process is UV sensitive and as each colour is applied in a station, the disc moves with a UV lamp as it rotates round to another location station. The UV lamp cures some of it and this only requires a moment of exposure.

Because the process name suggests the screen printing is applied by making use of very fine mesh screens. You will find there's separate screen for each colour in the artwork design. To produce a screen, a film is made which has the areas where ink is just not to become used on the disc, blacked out. The modern screen is initially coated using a thermal emulsion. The video along with the screen are aligned along with the other using guide marks and they are put in an exposure unit. Once the screen is subjected to a hot, bright light, the spot of thermal emulsion not protected by the dark area for the film is cured. The screen will be washed using a water spray and the parts of uncured emulsion wash away to reveal the mesh.

The screen will be fixed at its station. Once all the screens have already been prepared in this manner, the printing can start. The CDs are loaded on the machine by an automatic robotic arm system. They're placed into a platen which supports the disc firmly available. Each and every station, ink is added over the mesh screen plus a rubber squeegee blade passes extraordinary pressing the mesh down onto the disc surface and forcing a lot of it over the to be able to holes and on the surface of the disc. A lot of it application stroke takes of a second and every station applies ink into a disc simultaneously right after the first 5 discs have been fed in the system. This speed signifies that a screen printing machine can print a lot more than 3500 discs in an hour so large orders can be completed quickly.

There are, however, significant fixed create costs due to the dependence on screens and films. These may be reduced by limiting the artwork to fewer colours, with a single colour print onto a silver disc being the most cost effective print. The fixed costs do signify this CD printing process is merely really viable for orders of more than 100 discs.

The CD screen printing process is capable of doing to become a truly amazing CD print at the very high resolution as a result of usage of extremely to be able to screens. It's not at all ideal, though, for printing photographic images because of the presence of subtle colour gradients of these images. The thing that makes the screen printing process fantastic is the accessibility to fluorescent and metallic inks which may really give a WOW step to your CD print.