There are a number of CD-R printing and DVD-R printing methods available. If you are unsure which one best suits your project; please call our expert team for more advice on 01256 799 000.

Direct Thermal CD & DVD Printing

A thermal printer uses heat pressure to fix your image to the print surface of the CD-R or DVD-R. Only discs with a thermal coated print surface can be used in this process. Direct thermal printers typically used for this are: Rimage Prism and Prism Plus, Copypro / Powerpro and Primera Inscripta.

• best suited to simple text and basic logo designs
• quick and cost effective for short runs
• not suited for complex colour or photographic reproduction due to low resolution

Inkjet CD & DVD Printing

Inkjet printing for CDs or DVDs is similar to inkjet printing on paper with your desktop printer. Only discs with an inkjet optimised print surface can be used for this process.

• best suited for partial and full colour reproduction of images including photos
• quick and cost effective for short runs
• can be difficult to colour match, especially Pantones
• can become expensive for longer production runs
• not ideal for full coverage of solid colours
• not ideal if the disc is to be frequently handled as smudging can occur

Thermal Re-Transfer CD & DVD Printing

The thermal re-transfer printer uses heat pressure to transfer your image to a transfer ribbon that coats the disc reproducing colours, text and graphic images at an amazing 173 lines per inch (lpi). Only discs with special re-transfer coating on the print surface can be used during this process.

• best suited for full colour photographic high-gloss designs
• ideal for high quality short run professional finish
• print is scratch proof and waterproof, therefore ideal for retail applications
• print quality is of a higher standard than traditional on-body screen printing

Silk-Screen CD & DVD Printing

For silk-screen printing colour separated films are produced from your artwork and used to create screens through which ink is passed onto the disc at 90-150 lines per inch (lpi). Most discs on the market can be used for this process.

• best suited to high production quantities
• produces a professional colour finish, including Pantone
• not suited to small text or fine detail due to slightly low resolution
• expensive set-up costs for short runs

Off-set printing uses plates rather than screens to transfer your image onto your disc face. Each plate carries a different colour - CMKY (cyan, magenta, yellow and black). The ink is transferred from the plates onto your CD or DVD one colour at a time, and thus produces print at 150-175 lpi.

An off-set print is superior to screen print because smaller text and complex graphics are rendered superbly.

• high quality rendering
• smoother finish than screen print
• better results for printing graphics and photographs