How should I prepare my Disc design for printing?

Our color disc printing uses a CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) process that combines these four primary colors to create the colors that print on your disc. This process is different than how we print your inserts (or how your ink-jet printer at home works), and following the simple guidelines below will achieve the best results.

Note: Upload a "square" image using our UD109 template as we do print to center! Do not leave a white ring around the center of the hub.



DO:

  • Fill the entire surface of the disc with your design.
  • Use BOLD and LARGE text
  • If you have any background imagery underneath the title and text on your disc, use subtle, grainy textures.
  • Use BOLD , rich colors


DON'T

  • Avoid large areas of a solid color. Since we combine four primary colors (CMYK) to print on the disc, the results may not be as smooth and consistent as you had envisioned.
  • Do not use thin, small text. This can be difficult to read when printed on the disc label and may not be as crisp as the art was when displayed on your computer monitor. We recommend that you keep all text 9 points or larger.
  • Avoid using drop shadows or other effects on your text. The subtle nature of a drop shadow or other effect commonly used on text does not translate well when printing on the disc surface.
  • Try not to leave large portions of your design blank or white. There will be some color shift near the center hub of the disc, and if this area is left unprinted that effect is more noticeable.
  • Avoid using close up pictures of people on the disc surface. It is difficult to make the photo look as good as it does on your monitor when printing on the disc.