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CD & DVD Printing &
Finishing
This includes label printing and BCA for DVDs. |
Printing and finishing options for CDs and DVDs differ, but all discs
can be printed using the same technologies. It is also
possible to add serialisation or other information to a DVD disc using the Burst Cutting Area.
Screen Printing
 The upper surface of a finished disc is
usually printed with up to six colours by a flat silk
screen process. Each colour requires a different screen created from label films produced
as colour separations from the artwork. Each colour is printed using a squeegee which
pushes the ink through the mesh of the screen on to the disc surface. The inks are then
cured using UV light to produce a durable surface.
For picture discs five colours are needed. These
are white for the base, plus cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK). Very high quality
printing can be achieved using modern printing machines, which are capable of speeds of 70
discs per minute or faster. A sixth, spot colour can be used where required.
Automatic checks are carried out during this stage to
ensure that all discs being printed carry the correct catalogue number which is placed on
the disc hub during mastering.
In addition cameras can be used to monitor print quality and stop the
printing machine if print quality is not maintained.
CD Label Printing
CDs can be printed on the upper surface of the disc as shown
below. The two options are for standard (where the stacking
ring area is n ot printed) and fully metallised
discs.
DVD Label
Printing
Printing options for DVD discs depend on the format as shown in
the table below:
| Printing options |
DVD-5 |
DVD-9 |
DVD-10 |
| Normal printing on upper surface of disc (like CDs) |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Printing on inside surface of blank substrate to give
smooth 'glossy' effect |
Yes |
No |
No |
| Pit Art where a holograph like image is
moulded into the blank substrate |
Yes |
No |
No |
| Printing on both sides but only within hub area |
- |
- |
Yes |
In the diagram below, the printable areas for
DVD-5, DVD-10 and DVD-9 discs are shown in blue. The print area for
a DVD-5 or DVD-9 is normally from 38 mm diameter to 117 mm diameter, but
in special cases can extend from 21 mm to 117 mm. For a DVD-10 the inner
and outer diameters are 38 mm and 43.8 mm.
Burst Cutting Area
The Burst Cutting Area (BCA) is an annular
area within the disc hub where a bar code can be written for additional information such
as serial numbers. The BCA can be written during mastering and will be
common for all discs from that master or, more usually, will be
written using a YAG laser to 'cut' the barcode into the aluminium
reflective layer of the finished disc. The data stored in the BCA
can be from 12 bytes to 188 bytes in steps of 16 bytes.
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