CD Artwork Specifications
When designing your artwork, be sure to include the necessary BLEEDS
and QUIET ZONEs. Not including these may set back your delivery date. So what is a 'Bleed' and a 'Quiet Zone'? Read on ... its simple really.
The Bleed is the extra image (usually the background image) that extends past the edge of a printed page. We like this to be 3mm on all sides of your paper parts so that if there is any shift when trimming to size, there will be no unwanted white space around the edges.
The file you send us should be 3mm larger than the cut down 'trim' size on each side to accommodate a 'bleed' - so that's 6mm exta on each axis.
See the images below for the artwork you're designing. If you use Adobe Photoshop, click here to download the required templates.
If you're designing a double page booklet for example, set your page size to 248mm wide x 126mm high. We will trim this down to 242mm wide x 120mm high.
It's also good practice to leave a quiet zone of 4mm from the trim edge too (that's 7mm from the page edge). This will make your job look more professional and won't look like objects are about to fall of the edges. Best not to put any important objects, such as text or logos closer than 4mm from the trim edge, or from any fold or score.
The resolution of all your artwork, including the CD on-body design, should not be less than 300 DPI. And please make sure the colour mode is set to CMYK as opposed to RGB.
The Bleed is the extra image (usually the background image) that extends past the edge of a printed page. We like this to be 3mm on all sides of your paper parts so that if there is any shift when trimming to size, there will be no unwanted white space around the edges.
The file you send us should be 3mm larger than the cut down 'trim' size on each side to accommodate a 'bleed' - so that's 6mm exta on each axis.
See the images below for the artwork you're designing. If you use Adobe Photoshop, click here to download the required templates.
If you're designing a double page booklet for example, set your page size to 248mm wide x 126mm high. We will trim this down to 242mm wide x 120mm high.
It's also good practice to leave a quiet zone of 4mm from the trim edge too (that's 7mm from the page edge). This will make your job look more professional and won't look like objects are about to fall of the edges. Best not to put any important objects, such as text or logos closer than 4mm from the trim edge, or from any fold or score.
The resolution of all your artwork, including the CD on-body design, should not be less than 300 DPI. And please make sure the colour mode is set to CMYK as opposed to RGB.
CD Double Page Booklet
CD Front Insert
CD Rear Inlay
The CD rear inlay needs a bit more care with respect to the left and right spine text. Since
this is only 6.5mm wide and the trimming tolerance is 3mm, then there is a chance of your spine
text shifting off the edge if it's not properly centred, too big or both. Because of this,
please ensure that your text is no larger than 4mm in height. Oh, and make sure your spine
text runs in a clockwise direction.
CD On-Body
The CD on-body design does not require any bleeds for obvious reasons, but there are two types of
specifications to adhere to with respect to whether the cd is replicated (greater than 500) or duplicated (less than 500).
For Replicated discs please make certain your design lies within the following limits: 20mm - 118mm diameter
For Duplicated discs please make certain your design lies within the following limits: 26mm - 117mm diameter
Please note that for Duplicated discs (less than 500), we use direct on-cd inkjet printers. As such, we advise against using large amounts of strong coloured tones (e.g, black) which cover more than 75% of the printable surface area of the disc as the disc itself can become saturated with ink.
For Replicated discs please make certain your design lies within the following limits: 20mm - 118mm diameter
For Duplicated discs please make certain your design lies within the following limits: 26mm - 117mm diameter
Please note that for Duplicated discs (less than 500), we use direct on-cd inkjet printers. As such, we advise against using large amounts of strong coloured tones (e.g, black) which cover more than 75% of the printable surface area of the disc as the disc itself can become saturated with ink.