If many copies of a CD are required bulk replication is going to be the preferable choice. This CD replication process is best suited for order of 300 and above discs. Due to the method of manufacture quantities of 300 and above can be replicated more cost effectively than using short run duplication.

The great thing about choosing bulk CD replication is that costs are kept to a minimum and the customer has their own flexibility over packaging options. If you are working to tight budgets then purchasing CD’s bulk on spindles and packing yourself can save valuable pounds. Our factory replicated discs are usually supplied shrink wrapped in spindles of 100 units.

Bulk replication of CD or DVD also reduces leadtimes as there is no print or packaging to consider. The discs can come straight off the production lines and be shipped same day. Bulk packed discs are usually turned around in 6-7 working days whereas full packaged products with print take at least 10 days.

There are many media companies on line who offer amazing deals on cheap disc packaging. The cheapest packaging is usually the plastic wallet with flap. Our bulk CDs can be easily hand packed into these plastic wallets. Another great solution is the clear clam shell which provides more rigid packaging and is often useful for mailouts. This self pack approach saves both time and money for the customer.

More happy customers that have used Testa-Rossa for their CD duplication and replication projects:

Hi Andy,

Took delivery of our albums this afternoon, they look and sound great, we are very Happy Cats!

Thank you for your very professional service and your guidance throughout the manufacturing process.

It has been a pleasure dealing with yourself and Testa-Rossa Studios, we would definilty recommend Testa-Rossa Studios to our colleague’s here in Newcastle upon Tyne and we will certainly be knocking on your door again for any of our future albums.

Kind Regards,
Marty Craggs.

Hey Andy,

Just to let you know I received the CDs yesterday, I’m chuffed to bits, they look fantastic! I look forward to working with you again, when I manage to shift a thousand CDs… (might be a little while yet)

cheers,

Sam

Massive news for all Roses fans, the original line up are to re-form for a world tour and possible new CD Album. The band have already announced gigs at Heaton Park, Manchester on June 29th and June 30th.
When asked if a new album is possible frontman Ian Brown hinted “who knows?, we will write till the wheels fall off”….again.

Testa-Rossa Studios are very proud to see the Stone Roses reunite. As a Manchester based Recording Studio from the 90′s Testa-Rossa never experienced any direct bookings with the band but were involved in the official Stone Roses Remix CD album. The album featured the 808 State remix of “Made Of Stone” and studio owner Andy Drelincourt was credited as mix engineer.

Testa-Rossa would like to wish the Stone Roses every success with the new tour and any possible future album. Great to see the original line up of Brown, Squire, Mani and Reni. It has always been said that if the band were to re-form it was essential to re-kindle the Mani/Renni tight rhythm section of funky bass and drums.

The original self titled album “The Stone Roses” is iconically the best debut album of all time. The legendary production of the CD album by John Leckie saw the Roses break new ground in the world of indie and the Roses were considered pioneers of the Manchester music scene. Will Leckie return to produce a new album, I certainly hope so!

Companies looking for the most cost efficient disc pressing solutions would usually consider CD ROM replication. This manufacturing method for optical discs yields very high quality CD’s at very reasonable costs. Pressing of discs can take between 1 and 2 weeks, usually dependant on size of order and any special packaging requirements.

The CD replication solution is usually preferable over duplication when orders are quite large, greater than around 350 discs. The end product of replication pressing is a CD-ROM that contains the data or audio embedded or “pressed” into the polycarbonate. This pressing ensures the information is permanently contained within the disc, unlike duplication where the information can deteriorate over the years.

Many media and print companies look to these replication solutions for mass production and copying of digital information. Despite advances in internet transfer of large data files the CD and DVD is still a preferred delivery format. Although these physical discs need to be distributed by normal transport methods the advantage is that the disc will enable a physical archive of its information.

The replicated CD-ROM is still used by most software companies for the distribution and retail of their products. We all know that it only takes a computer virus to result in the loss of digitally downloaded software. With a physical disc it always make re-install of important valuable software a lot smoother.

The majority of CD album manufacturers use the replication technique to create a retail ready product. This CD manufacturing process takes place in a factory known as a pressing plant. The term pressing plant is used due to the disc information being “pressed” into the plastic by metal stampers.

These disc manufacturing companies can usually handle the replication of CD, DVD and now blu-ray.
The process for each of these products is quite similar and starts with a master disc being burnt in the appropriate format. This master is usually prepared by a separate mastering company or by the customer themselves.

Once a master has been produced it can be forwarded to the CD or DVD manufacturer together with artwork for disc print and possible packaging. Some manufacturers have their own pressing plants and some will sub contract the final replication out to pressing plants.

The UK was once home to many of these CD and DVD pressing plants but over the last few years many have closed or re-located overseas. A large percentage of UK disc manufacture is now contracted out to overseas plants. These overseas pressing plants usually have reduced manufacturing costs and as a bonus a lot of these plants contain much more modern print equipment and production lines.

Album launch parties and events seem to be a big part of an independent record labels release schedule.
CD replication is the preferred choice of manufacture for such album launches as this method produces the highest quality retail standard CD album. Whether it be a limited release of 500 albums or a huge release of 50,000 expected sales of an album the replication method is the most appropriate solution.

When embarking on replication services it is always wise to leave more than adequate time for manufacture if launch deadlines are to be achieved. It is not just the manufacture leadtime to consider but also the possibility of hold ups in order processing due to unsuitable artwork specifications or masters containing errors.

Surprisingly we still get customers and record labels supplying parts exactly 10 days before an important launch or gig, expecting to get the CD’s back in time. This is very high risk strategy and more often than not results in the gig or event having to be cancelled and the customer trying to blame the manufacturer for not meeting their deadline.

Due to the complex nature of glass mastering, stamper production and disc pressing there are many uncontrollable factors that can lead to extended leadtimes. Read errors on a supplied master are the most common and customers find it hard to understand that even if the master played back fine on their home stereo that the master can still contain unacceptable errors for the glass mastering process.

Even though CD album manufacture can be achieved in 10 working days as a rule of thumb we always recommend that a customer supplies production parts 30 days before any important deadline. This 30 day period then provides contingency for any unexpected delays during processing, manufacture or delivery.

There are many CD manufacturing companies based in the UK who offer replication or pressing of discs. Replication is usually referred to as manufacturing because the discs are produced from raw materials. During this manufacture the discs are pressed with your data, audio or video pre-embedded into the CD or DVD.

On the other hand CD duplication is usually considered a copying or burning process rather than manufacture. This is because the CD-R or DVD-R used in the duplication process has already been manufactured. The duplication involves burning the digital information to these pre-manufactured recordable discs. This process is often used when up to 500 copies of a CD or DVD are required.

For larger quantities of CD music albums or DVD movies the replication or disc manufacturing process is the method used. On these quantities of 500 and above it is far more cost effective to produce a glass master and stamper, then to press the discs. All large manufacturers of CD and DVD use this replication process to produce retail quality entertainment releases.

Whether you choose the duplication or replication process for your discs the quality of the embedded data is exactly the same. The only difference is that potentially a replicated or manufactured disc will have a longer life expectancy than a burnt or duplicated disc.

Well it’s that time of year again, everyone wants their latest album manufactured in time for Christmas but they are late supplying production parts. At present our DVD and CD replication leadtimes are still running at around 7 working days for bulk supply of discs only and around 10 working days for fully packaged products with printed parts. Therefore as long as customers can supply suitable production parts by 2nd week of December then delivery of CD replication orders in time for Christmas should be achievable.

If you are already behind schedule with production of masters and artwork then please ensure you check that all specifications are correct when you supply these production parts. Christmas CD replication leadtimes are critically based on us receiving suitable artwork and CD masters to required specifications. If we need to refer artwork or masters back to a customer then there will be a good chance that Christmas deadlines may not be achieved.

For artwork please make sure that files are supplied in correct CMYK colour mode and not in RGB. Please ensure all artwork has 3mm bleed where required and that dimensions are exact to specifications on our templates. Also make sure that resolution is at least 300 pixel per inch and that text is supplied in vector format where possible. These are really simple essential requirements but we are always surprised by how many customers supply unsuitable artwork for CD and DVD replication.

CD and DVD masters must be error free, the replication process will not allow for any master disc errors whatsoever. The most obvious advice is to always use as high quality media as possible and burn masters at low speeds. Also take extreme care not to damage or scratch the underside of the disc as this can easily lead to read errors and the master being rejected.

Over the last 25 years CD pressing and replication has become an enormous worldwide industry. The humble CD began life as just a media format for music album releases but has grown into the biggest and most successful method of physical data distribution. Other formats such as DVD and blu-ray disc have also developed from the original optical disc technology.

Despite progress of on-line distribution of music, video and data the CD and DVD is still the first choice by media companies. Pressing of CD and DVD is still a relatively cheap process and pressing plants can be found throughout the world. At Testa-Rossa, even though we are a Manchester based company we work with many of these worldwide pressing plants to ensure we offer our customers the best prices and highest quality replication services. With today’s express freight and courier companies we can often source fastest turnaround CD replication from the other side of the globe than here in the UK.

Some of the most modern CD replication and pressing plants are situated in the Far East and especially Taiwan. Just a few years ago many UK based customers would regard products from Taiwan as cheap or inferior products. Today that is certainly not the case and in our experience the Taiwan plants are more modern with brand new production lines and a level of service unrivalled by UK plants. So rest assured when you order your CD or DVD replication through Testa-Rossa you will be receiving the highest quality discs available in the current market.

The most frequent questions we are asked during a CD replication telephone enquiry are “what is the turnaround time?” and “can the turnaround time be reduced?”

In most cases the answer will be 7 working days production for bulk supply CD replication and 10 working days production for replication with printed parts and packaging. This production time is governed by the time that it physically takes to manufacture or press the discs and by our print suppliers. It is extremely hard to reduce this time at all and the answer to the 2nd question is usually no.

However, for the following products we can reduce the production times by a couple of days on orders of 500 or 1000 units:

• CD album replication in jewel case with full colour 4 page booklet and inlay
• CD replication in full colour printed card wallet
• DVD replication in DVD case with full colour DVD inlay

Upgrades for 500 units are available for an extra £70+vat and for 1000 units an extra £90+vat.

The production time is reduced due to:

• “Jump the queue” during glass mastering
• Same day delivery of print from our print suppliers
• Hand pack of order rather than machine auto-pack

Due the express service being hand packed unfortunately cellophane overwrap is not available with these upgrades.

So if you are desperate for a slightly reduced leadtime these upgrade packages may just be suitable and get you out of a sticky situation!