There tends to be a
lot of confusion between the two types of technologies used in
the CD production industry. There is CD replication, and
then there is CD duplication - this article will explain the
difference between the two processes.
But First... CD Duplication
Explained
People
tend to be more familiar with the phrase CD duplication
because it's the process that you are able to perform on your
own home computer.
In short, you use a
program on your computer to automatically copy your selected
content onto a pre-manufactured CDR (the 'R' stands for
'recordable'). This is very simple and convenient to do when you
only require a small number of discs.
The Benefits of
CD Duplication
Does not require
specialized equipment or training - can be done on a personal
computer.
Cost-effective for
small quantities of discs.
Can produce small
quantities of discs relatively quickly.
CD Replication
Explained
Phase 1: Glass
Master and Stamper
The first step in
the replication process is creation of the 'stamper'. While this
process is highly specialized and technical, the following
explanation is intended to be very basic:
A piece of highly
polished glass is laser-etched with the digital data from the
client's content master. Note: The data from the client's
content master is not altered or changed in any way, it's
strictly a transfer of data.
The laser-etching
creates pits and lands in the glass in a tightly grouped spiral
pattern emanating from the center and progressing outwards.
The Glass Master is
then metalized, but it is far too fragile to be used to
replicate discs so the data must now be transferred to another
material that is resilient enough to handle the replication
process.
The metalized Glass
Master is electroformed with nickel to produce a "father" master
which is a 'negative' image as it has bumps instead of pits.
The father master is
then electroformed with nickel to produce "mother" masters which
are used as 'stampers' in the injection molding process.
Phase 2: Injection
Molding
Now that the 'stamper'
has been made the replication of the CDs or DVDs can begin. Again,
the process is highly specialized and technical, so the following
explanation is intended to be basic.
Optical grade clear
polycarbonate pellets are fed into an injection-molder which
creates a clear CD/DVD disc in its finished size and shape.
During the creation
of the clear disc, the injection-mold forces the molten
polycarbonate up against the 'stamper' which embeds the pits and
lands into the clear plastic.
An automated process
using robotic arms with vacuum suction cups transfer the clear
discs onto a conveyor line where they cool.
Phase 3: Metalizing
and Lacquering
The conveyor line
carries the clear discs to be 'metalized' with a very thin layer
of reflective aluminum (the laser light from your CD/DVD player
reflects off the aluminum layer to read the pits and lands that
were embedded into the plastic in the injection-molding
process).
For CD replication,
after being metalized the disc is placed in a spin-coater which
spreads a UV curable clear lacquer evenly across the newly
metalized layer.
Not only does the
lacquer protect the metalized layer but it also provides a good
surface for the printing of the disc graphics by either
Silkscreen printing or CMYK Offset printing.
For DVD5
replication, instead of having a clear lacquer coat, an
additional clear DVD disc is adhered on top of the metalized
layer with a bonding agent. This additional clear disc provides
the surface for the printing of the disc graphics.
To cure the lacquer
(or bonding agent) the disc is automatically placed under a high
intensity Xenon lamp.
After the lacquer
(or bonding agent) has passed through the curing station the
discs are automatically unloaded from the replication line and
stacked on spindles with a count of 150 discs per spindle.
From there the discs
are taken to the CD DVD disc printing department.
The Benefits of
CD Replication
Very cost-effective
for medium and large quantities of discs - at CDwest.ca our
minimum order for CD replication is just 300 units.
No compatibility or
playback issues.
More durable than
CDR.
Higher perceived
value than CDR.
More packaging
options for medium and large quantities of discs.
CDwest.ca provides
factory-direct CD manufacturing,
CD replication and CD duplication services with a full line of environmentally friendly print and
packaging solutions.
With offices and manufacturing plant located in Surrey, British Columbia (BC) we
ship daily to clients throughout Western Canada including Vancouver,
Victoria, Kamloops,
Kelowna, and Prince George in BC; Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer in
Alberta (AB);
Saskatoon, Regina and Moose Jaw in Saskatchewan
(SK); Winnipeg, Brandon and Thompson
in Manitoba (MB); and Whitehorse and Dawson City in the
Yukon (YK).
