Graphic Design Tutorial – CD and DVD Silkscreen Printing
This is number three is a series of graphic design tutorials for Silkscreen printing CD and DVD discs. This tutorial relates to designing your CD or DVD print without a white flood (aka: white backprint).
Other graphic design tutorials that we recommend for your review include creating colour separations and using less than 100% solid colour for your Silkscreen Print design, as well learning the issues relating to colour correctness.
It’s possible to use the shiny aluminum/silver disc surface colour in your design. Doing so can be very effective but it’s important to understand how much room you actually have to work with.
Regardless of whether you are creating a design with ‘positive’ print (solid lettering and/or graphics printing on the silver background) or a ‘negative’ print (printing a solid colour that utilizes the disc’s surface as the colour for your lettering and/or graphics) be aware that there are actually three different parts of the disc that can be printed onto:
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The largest area is the aluminum/silver coloured area that holds the disc data/content.
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Closer to the middle there is the “mirror band” which is a very shiny/reflect silver colour.
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Surrounding the center hole there is an area which will either be clear plastic (as is generally the case with a CD disc) or additional shiny/reflective silver (which is generally the case with a DVD disc).
Avoiding The “Danger Area” In Your Disc Design – As noted above, there are actually three different parts of the CD or DVD that can be printed onto. If you’d like to utilize the aluminum/silver colour of the disc’s surface in your design but avoid the hazards of any unsightly overlaps onto the mirror band and/or center section of the disc, the ‘danger area’ is within a 36mm diameter (18mm radius) of the center of the disc.
Read this entire graphic design tutorial complete with illustrations.
