CD Manufacturing Costs

Above you will find links to our CD manufacturing prices, we have split the prices into 3 package prices sections to simplify finding the product you require. The sections are CD printing disc only and with PVC / Plastic wallets, CD packaging in album / jewel cases with printed CD booklets and inlays and CD card packaging. Of course we can supply a huge array of other types of CD pressing packaging and larger quantities. If you cant find what you’re looking for we would ask you to contact us for a competitive quote.

All CD manufacturing

takes place in one of the largest CD pressing factory’s in Europe, with a monthly output of 20 million discs. The CD’s are replicated on large pressing machines, using stampers made from the glass mastering process. This is the type of disc you would buy from HMV and not to be confused with CD duplication.

Because of the complexity in creating a stamper using the glass mastering process, and the time involved in setting up large CD pressing and CD printing machines it is not economical to manufacture CD runs of less than 500 units. For orders below 500 units you will require CD duplication, however this is a service we do not provide as CD-R’s are not universally compatible with all players, unlike the professionally pressed CD’s that we supply.

Many of our clients are new to the CD manufacturing process, so below you will find answers to frequently asked questions. You will also find more detailed information on the individual types of CD packaging on the associated product page.

CD Manufacturing & CD Pressing FAQ’s

Below you will find answers to frequently asked questions. You will also find more detailed information on the individual types of CD packaging on the associated product page. If you can not find the information you need on our website, feel free to contact us with any questions you have, this is what we are here for.

Once we receive your CD master and artwork to our specifications, please allow approximately 14 – 16 days for delivery of your CD pressing. These are real calendar days and not working days. If you plan on placing an order around bank holidays, Christmas, or the during the summer period lead times may increase depending on demand.

It is important to note that day 1 does not start until we have received all artwork and masters, we are unable to place jobs into production until all parts have been received and checked.

If we have to do any editing to your artwork, such as adding bleeds or barcodes, we will need to send you PDF proofs for approval. Until these proofs have been approved we can not commence with the CD manufacturing.

The same principle applies to CD masters, if you require any editing or the addition of CD Text or CD ISRC codes, we will supply you with a reference disc or download to check. We will require approval before we can commence with CD manufacturing.

In the individual CD package rates sections you will find a link to download the specifications and CD templates for the supply of artwork, these are the grey boxes to the right of the prices. We prefer to receive high resolution PDF artwork files, but can accept artwork in most formats. We advise that you check with us before sending in non PDF file types to make sure we can accept your files.

If we need to make minor adjustments to artwork for bleed, positioning or adding barcodes, we will normally make these changes free of cost. If a large amount of editing is required to make the artwork fit the specification this may incur additional artwork charges. We will advise you of the cost of any artwork charges before we proceed with CD production.

If we edit your artwork we will provide a full set of PDF proofs for approval. We need approval of these proofs before we can start CD manufacturing.

If you require colour accurate / contract proofs we can provide these at additional cost. Each proof costs £ 20.00 + VAT per A4 page and £ 30.00 + VAT per A3 page, plus £ 5.00 postage. Once you have received the proofs, and you are happy with them, they must be signed and returned to us so they can be used to calibrate the CD printing press.

You will need to allow additional time for us to create the proofs, send them to you, and for you to return them to us. We would normally recommend adding 4 days to the the CD Manufacturing turnaround if you require contract proofs.

As all of our CD printing is produced on large printing presses, it is not economical to set the machines up to produce a one-off copy of the printed parts.

We can accept CD masters in a wide range of formats. The most popular being as audio CD-R or as a DDP image file.

CD-R masters

If you are supplying the master on a CD-R, please use a good brand of disc, write the master “disc at once” at a low speed and make sure the disc is free of scratches, dust or fingerprints. Once the master has been written, please listen to the disc all the way through to make sure it is correct. Once the disc has been checked we advise packing it into either a CD album case or DVD box to protect the disc.

Your CD master will go through an inspection and testing process prior to glass mastering. This process will check that the disc is free from errors due to a writing fault, physical damage or if a disc is not Red Book Standard. If you have added CD Text or ISRC codes to the disc, let us know, and we will check that the information is present on the master.

This inspection will not detect any glitches, skips or distortions that are on the original audio files used to write the master. This is why it is important to check the master all the way through before submitting for CD manufacturing .

DDP masters for CD Manufacturing.

The DDP image has quickly become the preferred format for supplying CD masters by professional mastering engineers. We can accept DDP master delivery over the internet by FTP upload or on disc / USB memory stick. We will require an MD5 checksum file for all DDP Masters, until we have the MD5 we will not be able to glass master your project.

Creating CD masters from your data files.

If you do not have the equipment and software or do not feel confident creating your CD master, we can create a master from your data files. We do make a small charge for this service, this will be between £ 20.00 – £ 50.00 + VAT depending on the number of tracks and if you need CD Text and ISRC codes embedded.

Once we have created your CD master we will provide you with a CD-R reference disc or files to download so you can check that you are happy with the master. If we are creating your CD master please add 2 – 4 days to the standard turnaround time.

Please note that we do not adjust the EQ or dynamics when creating your master. If you require “creative mastering” with audio enhancements we can recommend various professional mastering studios that we work closely with.

Enhanced CD Manufacturing.

We can manufacture Enhanced CD’s (Audio + Data) at no extra cost, you are paying for the disc and not the content. We can accept Enhanced CD masters as either CD-R or DDP master.

If you are unable to provide a Enhanced CD master, we can create this for you at additional cost, please contact us for prices.

Other master formats for CD Manufacturing.

We can also accept audio masters on Exabyte and 1630 U-matic tape. For CD ROM we can accept masters as ISO on disc, memory stick or by FTP transfer.

All of our products are delivered by courier, this can be any time between 9:00AM – 4:30PM, unfortunately we are unable to give an exact time time of delivery as this will depend on what other deliveries the couriers have in your area that day. In most cases the couriers will contact you by phone 24 hours prior to delivery to make sure someone will be available to receive the goods.

The only exception to this is smaller items such as CD’s disc only, in PVC or card wallets, these may be delivered by UPS. Items delivered by UPS to residential addresses can be delivered up to 7:30PM, and UPS do not telephone you prior to delivery, we will advise you if your order is to be delivered by UPS.

If no one is available to accept the items on the day of delivery, the courier may charge for re-deliveries. If you need to change the delivery address of your order, we will require the new address 4 days prior to delivery. Once the goods are in transit it may be possible to change the delivery address, however this may be subject to an additional charge. We can not change the delivery address for items sent by UPS once they have been despatched.

We can accept payment by bank transfer, cheque (allow 5 days for clearance), debit card, credit card (subject to 3% credit card processing fee) or Paypal (subject to a 3% Paypal processing fee).

Once we have checked that your artwork and master are to our specifications we place the job into production and send you an invoice. Please note that we can not despatch your order until we have received full payment.

For orders from Councils, universities, schools and other public organisations, all we need is a purchase order to get your order into production.

If you have any more specific questions regarding CD Manufacturing & CD Pressing, get in touch and we would be happy to answer any questions that you have.