Tips For Creating a CD Master Disc For
Duplication or Replication
By Kevin Gabrik
May 12th, 2009
Successful CD duplication or CD replication starts with a good master disc. Follow the below tips and you will be well on your way to getting top-of-the-line CDs for your next duplication project.
Only use a A grade CD-r disc for your master. Taiyo Yuden manufactured CD-r media is the best available in terms of low block error rate, error correction, and playback compatibility. Don't mess around with other brands that are a few cents cheaper, they simply are not as good. Also, make sure to only use CD-recordable media, not CD-rewritable. Keep the total file size of your CD master to 695 megabytes or less and under 79 minutes for audio CDs.
When using your preferred CD burning software (Roxio, Nero, Toast, etc) set your project default preferences to "mode 1" and "disc at once closed." This insures that you will get a clean master CD disk that is the same format as a CD-ROM that can't be changed or edited. Also, slow your burn speed down to 16x.
Maybe the most important tip I can give you is to test your master on as many different drives and players as possible. Depending on your content try out your master on multiple PCs, MACs, laptops, car stereos, etc. Test, test, test. Make sure to test your master CD on the type of equipment that your target audience will be using.
You will have a successful outcome on your next CD duplication or replication project by following these simple tips when creating your master CD disc. Good luck!
About the Author
After over 19 years of providing CD and DVD Printing and Duplication Service and CD Printer and Duplicator equipment sales and consulting, Kevin Gabrik has amassed a wealth of information on what works best in many different CD / DVD production scenarios. This article may be freely distributed electronically or in print as long as you leave the article title, author name, body and resource box in tact (meaning NO changes) and the links must be active.
