Like with every other area of putting together a CD, preparing for the duplication process is one that is just as important. You want to make sure to pay attention to the details and ensure that you don’t have to back track or re-print any of your CDs. Preparing the correct way and knowing what you need in the beginning will allow you to save time and money when beginning the process of duplication.
Make sure your Master disc is flawless. All the songs should have the same volume and should have the same length of breaks in between. CD manufacturing companies will check and ensure that you have a good master but if they find flaws, they might ask you to correct the errors or they might do the tweaking and charge you for it.
Know how many CDs you want to manufacture. Do you want 500 or 20,000 CDs? You have to have a good estimate of the number of CDs you want to produce. If only 30 people show up on your gigs, then just manufacture 500 CDs first, just to be safe. Anyway you can request some more if you run out of copies. The cost per piece may be higher but it’s wiser than making thousands of CDs which will remain untouched.
Copyright. For protection, make sure you get your CD copyrighted before you hand it to anyone. When your music is copyrighted, no one can claim your music and if anyone does, you can press charges. Here’s how you can copyright music in 6 easy steps.
Double-check the artwork. Before giving a go signal to the printer, you better make sure that the colors and the design look good in print. This is all the more important if you have a custom CD packaging since you have to make sure that the colors and the design are compatible to the special materials that you’ve chosen for your CD packaging.
Know what type of Packaging you want. Do you want to package your CD in a digipack, in a standard jewel case, or in a tin can? Some bands go to the CD manufacturing company with an artwork but they do not even know where they want to print it on. You have to know this beforehand so you would know the specific requirements of each packaging and you would know the limitations of your artwork.
Know what you want to include. Do you want to include your lyrics, your band bio, your calendar of events? Know which ones to include and which ones to omit so the CD manufacturing company can better advise you on what type of packaging is best for your project.
Correct Formatting. There are many types of format depending on the type of CD packaging you choose. You can have a one-page or ten-page insert (for jewel cases), a booklet (for special packaging), etc. Whatever case you choose, make sure you religiously follow the format to avoid errors.
Make sure you credit everybody. Check your “thank you” list? Are you sure you didn’t miss out anybody? Recall every person who has helped you in any way while you’re making the album.
After you got everything set, test one copy just to make sure everything looks good before manufacturing hundreds. Ask for people’s opinion about the look and sound of your CD. Make sure you ask opinions from different sets of people so you’ll get varied response.
Once your satisfied, you can give a go signal to your CD duplication company and they will copy everything to perfection.
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