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Thousands, if not millions, of CD’s and DVD’s are purchased and used everyday. Whether to be popped into the DVD player for a relaxing movie, played on a game system, or listened to in a vehicle, their importance can rank pretty high in people’s lives. Of course, things would get very confusing if there were no way to distinguish a disc that had lost its case. That’s why the offset printing process is so important in the professional world of CD and DVD replication.
One may not be familiar with what offset printing is, but we encounter it on almost a daily basis. Every time you see a smooth photograph, design or text on a disc that has been replicated on a large-quantity basis, it’s most likely the work of the offset printing process. If this process can be used for Hollywood manufactured discs, then it can certainly be used for any company that has any kind of optical disc printing needs.
CD and DVD replication are only the beginning when you have many of them to distribute. Having an on-disc surface design using offset printing is a pretty simple, and interesting process. Similar to an actual printing press, the offset process takes good care of each disc so that no distortion of replicated data within occurs. First, the internal computer system separates the color values of the image to a degree within the four-color plate values, CMYK. This represents Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black; the same colors of the cartridges that would be inserted into your regular printer at home. Replicated discs then get a layer of silk-screened white first, to create a smooth finished product. The disc is then run over the other color discs and the correct amount of color is transferred in the resolution area. The term “offset” comes from the idea of transference.
The offset printing process is able to offer 175 lines per inch resolution. This is resolution is very fine, and the finished product will look as if a smooth photograph was just glued onto the surface individually. Wouldn’t that be time consuming?
CD and DVD’s often have very complex and original graphics that are on the surface. These stand out to users and leave a lasting mark in their mind. The more creative and original the graphic, the longer the mark will be. Offset works very well with such complex ideas because of that high-resolution ability, and prevents any flaws from rising to the surface, while still being scratch resistant. Of course, the visual doesn’t have to be complex to turn out well. A variety of image types can be printed using offset, such as, photographs, standard patterns, Raster images (bitmap images, i.e., .jpg, .bmp, .gif), higher resolution DPI (Dots Per Inch), and vector text.
With such available variety and popular use, CD and DVD replication shouldn’t become even more costly just to create a look of professionalism that they deserve, which is why offset printing is actually very cost-effective for corporations of every size. The world of disc printing is an immense, competitive one, where every manufacturer is looking out for themselves. Offset printing is just another way to stay ahead of the game.
Aeron Nersoya
Abet Disc |
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