• What is CMYK printing?
    When your artwork is printed, it is “gang-run“, which means it will be printed with several other CD projects on one large sheet at the printers. This allows us to keep your costs much lower than what many other industries spend on custom printing. CMYK or “process” printing is used to create that full colour look, so that each project on the sheet will be accurate and match the PDF proofs that you approved during the pre-press stage. Please note that while PDF proofing is not THE most accurate proofing mechanism in the print industry, (hard copy proofing can result in truer colour), it is the overwhelming favourite in our industry, and results in your project being retail ready a few days sooner. Please ask about hard copy proofing, if you have concerns about your design, or need to match to existing assets. back to top
  • What is the difference between pressed and burned discs?
    A CDR, or blank CD is manufactured with a layer die layer that can be alterd by ’burning’ information (music or data) with laser onto the disc. A pressed disc is molded from liquid polycarbonate plastic and your content is stamped right into the disc. That thin silver layer you see inside the disc is aluminum, and reflects the CD players laser so that the information can be processed. If you need less than 200 discs, it may be less expensive to burn (duplicate), depending on what type of packaging and label art you need, but for runs of 250 or more, pressing (replicating) is the most cost efficient way to go. back to top
  • What are ISRC codes?
    ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is a worldwide tracking system for sound recordings and music video. Each ISRC is a unique and permanent identifier for a specific recording which can be permanently encoded into a product as its digital fingerprint. Encoded ISRC provide the means to automatically identify recordings for royalty payments. ISRC codes must be embedded in the digital master BEFORE any audio CD's are pressed. back to top
  • What is CD text, and can I add it to my disc?
    CD text is actually an update to REDBOOK audio CD standards. In the old days, following vinyl and cassettes, digital storage of music was groundbreaking but there were no computers in the loop. Today, everything has changed.
    Many CD burners will allow you to add CD text to your CDR master. However some problems are associated with this. There are two possible locations on the disc where these codes could reside and not all music players can read that information.
    Another way to add text is to log onto     www.gracenote.com (formerly cddb) or use the ADVANCED MENU on iTunes (submit track names) or Winamp. Gracenote will compute the number of tracks and the exact length of each song and create a distinct 'fingerprint' from this information. In the future, when people play your music on a media player, that player goes online automatically and brings the information to your desktop: track titles, artist names and the album name. back to top
  • I've seen CD’s advertised for a LOT less. How is that possible?
    Not to be too sceptical, but you get what you pay for, and in this case, you may not be paying the royalties to the inventors of all this great technology. Phillips, Sony and several other companies own the patent rights to every CD player and disc on the planet, and they get a few pennies every time a cd or dvd is pressed. If you’re being offered ‘too good to be true’ pricing - beware. Your manufacturer may be shut down - with your assets locked inside. back to top
  • Is it possible to get a 'sample' of my CD before they are all printed?
    The CD pressing process is a very involved process and it takes several hours in glass mastering and production time before your disc is ready to press and silkscreen. This is not the stage in your product development where you want to ‘discover’ errors or problems. The RED BOOK audio standard, which all CD technology companies follow, ensures that your disc will play properly. back to top
  • What do you mean by 'COMPLETE ARTWORK'?
    In order for Sonrise to use your artwork for insert printing, your design files must be complete and formatted correctly to allow for CMYK colour separations. Not all page layout programs are capable of this (see below). Make sure that any linked images and fonts are included with your files. We're happy to update text or nudge a graphic element to keep your artwork safely with the templates, but our pre-press charges do not include the time it takes to re-build your work from incomplete or substandard files.

    It is also imperative that you proofread your content - again and again. And again. Any corrections that need to be made after we process your files may result in additional charges, and more importantly a delay in the date of completion. We do check your supplied files for technical errors to make sure they are ready for print production and if there are any significant problems, we will contact you to make the necessary changes. Our objective is to help you get the best possible final product and sometimes that means questioning the quality of the files we receive. back to top
  • Preferred Software?
    We love:

    • Indesign
    • Illustrator 
    • QuarkXpress

    We get nervous when we see

    • Photoshop

    We're not big fans of:

    • Adobe PageMaker
    • CorelDRAW (see below)

    We get ill when you present us with:

    • Microsoft Publisher
    • Easy CD creator
    • Nero
    • Discus
    • Sure Thing

    Acceptable image file types: TIFF (.tif), EPS (.eps) - with 8-bit TIFF preview and text saved as outlines, PDF We discourage the use of the following formats for image files: GIF (.gif) - great for the web, but not recommended for print output and JPEG (.jpg) - ditto. Now this doesn't mean that amazing cover shot you took with your digital camera can't be used. Here's the trick: save the original image as a TIFF. that way, whenever you are working in your image software, the quality can be maintained. And don't forget to set your camera to the highest possible resolution BEFORE you take the picture! this is album art – who care's if it's too big for your mom's hotmail account. you can always downsize later. But keep that TIFF secure. back to top
  • Web graphics and CD art?
    Graphics created for the web should not be used for print work, unless your goal is to make your artwork look really bad on purpose.     For commercial printing, images should be scanned at 300 dpi and remain uncompressed, in CMYK color. A CD cover, for example, might be 10 MB in size or larger.  For the Web, you want your images as small as possible for quick downloading: 72 dpi, compressed, in RGB color. Often, these files are under 100k. If you try to incorporate one of these tiny Web images in your printed work, the images will be suffer a serious case of "jaggies", and the color quality will be poor. If you're taking your own photographs, set your camera to it's highest resolution. (camera phones are perfect – for conversing, but less than stellar as a professional graphics tool). back to top
  • What is the difference between a Raster image and a Vector image
    An Image usually exists in one of two states. It will either be a raster image, that is, an image made up of a finite number of tiny pixels that have been assigned a colour value, or it will be what is known as vector art. Vector graphics are displayed on the screen as your computer interprets geometric information such as radius, x-y coordinates etc. Photographs are examples of Rastor images, while corporate logos are typically designed as vector art. 

    A circle, for instance can be stored as a raster image (TIFF, JPEG) and will contain a certain number of dots that show on your screen. If you increase the size of the image, the dots become easier to see and the circle gets a serious case of the “jaggies”. In contrast, a circle created as vector art in a program such as Adobe Illustrator has an actual radius (inches or mm) and instructions built into the graphic that help draw the shape, correctly. And in any colour you choose. If you zoom in (way in) on a vector image, the edges will remain sharp. Try creating a circle – first in Photoshop, and then Illustrator and you'll see the difference right away. 

    It's important to know the difference between vector and rastor art when deciding how to incorporate the various images, logos and text elements into your design. Refer to your software manuals for more detailed information. back to top
  • What is DVD authoring?
    DVD offers certain functionality such as skipping to various places on the disc via elaborate menus, selecting the desired soundtrack or subtitles, playing back the director's cut or the edited version, or looking at out takes and trailers for the movie. In the authoring process, all the various audio and video elements, still pictures, menus and subtitles must be assembled along with navigation commands to create the finished disc image that ends up on the actual DVD itself. Depending on the complexity of the title, this process can take from hours to days, even weeks to complete and test. back to top
  • What are DVD region codes and country codes?
    Motion picture studios want to control the home release of movies in different countries because theater releases aren't simultaneous (a movie may come out on video in the U.S. when it's just hitting screens in Europe). Also, studios sell distribution rights to different foreign distributors and would like to guarantee an exclusive market. Therefore they have required that the DVD standard include codes that can be used to prevent playback of certain discs in certain geographical regions. Each player is given a code for the region in which it's sold. The player will refuse to play discs that are not allowed in that region. This means that discs bought in one country may not play on players bought in another country. Regional codes are entirely optional for the maker of a disc. Discs without codes will play on any player in any country. It's not an encryption system, it's just one byte of information on the disc that the player checks. Some studios originally announced that only their new releases will have regional codes, but so far almost all releases play in only one region. Region codes are a permanent part of the disc, they won't "unlock" after a period of time. There are 8 regions (also called "locales"). Players and discs are identified by the region number superimposed on a world globe. If a disc plays in more than one region it will have more than one number on the globe.

    1: Canada, U.S., U.S. Territories
    2: Japan, Europe, South Africa, Middle East (including Egypt)
    3: Southeast Asia, East Asia (including Hong Kong)
    4: Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, Caribbean
    5: Former Soviet Union, Indian Subcontinent, Africa (also North Korea, Mongolia)
    6: China
    7: Reserved
    8: Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)

    Some players can be modified to play discs regardless of their regional codes. This usually voids the warranty. Some discs, such as those from Buena Vista/Touchstone/Miramax, MGM/Universal, and Polygram contain program code that checks for the proper region. These "smart discs" won't play on code-free players that have their region set to 0, but they can be played on code-switchable players that allow you to change the region using the remote control. They may also not work on "auto-switching" players that recognize and match the disc region. Regional codes also apply to DVD-ROM systems, but are allowed for use only with DVD-Video discs, not DVD-ROM discs containing computer software. Computer playback systems check for regional codes before playing movies from a DVD-Video. Newer "RPC2" DVD-ROM drives let you change the region code several times. Once a drive has reached the limit (usually 5 changes) it can't be changed again unless the vendor or manufacturer resets it. Information and software for circumventing DVD-ROM region restrictions are available from various Internet sites. Regional codes do not apply to DVD-Audio. back to top