Precision Disc Blog

We’re kicking off February with a big bang and the reappearance of a very popular VIP Special Offer: Order 300 units but get 500!

That’s right… order 300 CDs or DVDs in any of our standard Eco-Sleeves or Digipaks and we’ll provide you with 500 units. Orders must be in before the end of the businesss day (4:30 pm Pacific Standard Time) on February 10, 2012.

Want to take advantage of this special offer but won’t have your production assets ready in time? No problem! Place your order and payment before the deadline and we’ll hold the offer open for you so you can supply your order assets when they are ready.

As with all of our CD manufacturing and DVD manufacturing packages, orders of 300 and greater are supplied with:

• Replicated discs (not duplicated)
• Full colour on-disc print
• Durable 15pt eco-friendly boardstock, printed full colour (CMYK 4/0)
• All set-ups, film, assembly and wrap
• Pre-press and one round of PDF proofs.

Questions, comments? Please contact us and we’ll be happy to help!

Happy New Year to all of our friends and clients – we hope that 2012 will be a happy, health and prosperous year for all!

Once again we’ve got three… count ‘em… three… VIP Specials to offer this month, so without further ado here they are:

We are very pleased to announce that we have recently added Blu-ray and DVD encoding and authoring services here at Precision Disc.

We have put into place a really talented production team with loads of experience – they have literally hundreds of encoding and authoring titles under their belts.

Naturally, as a CD DVD manufacturing company it does make absolute sense for us to widen the range of our product/service offerings which relate directly to, and compliment, our duplication and replication work.

And while our new team specializes in DVD encoding and authoring work, our complete range of authoring services goes quite a bit further:

• DVD Encoding and Authoring
• Blu-ray Encoding and Authoring
• Interactive CD-ROM and DVD-ROM Authoring
• Encoding for the Web and Multimedia
• Video and format transfers

If you’re not really familiar with what Blu-ray and DVD encoding and authoring is all about, here’s a pretty basic explanation:

Encoding: This step ensures that the client’s edited video content is going to physically fit onto a DVD and is in the appropriate format for its intended end use.

Authoring: Through the use of specialized authoring software, a range of interesting interactive features can be included on the finished DVD. Examples include menus, transitions, chapter points, closed captioning, etc.

If you have any questions about, or interest in, our new Blu-ray and DVD encoding and authoring services please don’t hesitate to contact us – we hope that we can be of assistance on your next project!

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Precision Disc Manufacturing Corp. provides full service CD DVD manufacturing services along with a wide range of related products and services. From our offices and replication plant located in Surrey, British Columbia in Canada, we ship daily to clients throughout Canada and the United States.

At Precision Disc Manufacturing Corp. we provide two options for printing your replicated discs: Offset Printing (with CMYK ink) and Silkscreen Printing (with Spot Colour ink).

These two printing processes are very different and have very different strengths and weaknesses. Due to this, as a designer it is always in your best interest to steer your design towards the strengths of the print method or printing equipment and away from the weaknesses. By doing this you will get the best printed result.

Designing for Offset Printing is more intuitive than designing for Silkscreen Printing – especially for inexperienced designers – so we see quite a few designs that are set-up for Offset Printing that would have been much better suited for Silkscreen. Before you begin designing your CD or DVD, review this list of strengths and weaknesses and decide which printing method would be best for the design you have in mind:

• Offset Printing:
  Strength: Photographic images
  Strength: Unlimited colours
  Strength: Higher resolution
  Weakness: Large areas of solid colour (other than the white flood)
  Weakness: Ink is not glossy.
• Silkscreen Printing
  Strength: Spot colour printing
  Strength: Large areas of solid colour
  Strength: Bold designs
  Strength: Gloss ink
  Weakness: CMYK printing
  Weakness: Rasterized text and images
  Weakness: Small/fine text and images
  Weakness: Subtle design elements
  Weakness: Maximim of six colours (including white flood)

Example 1 : This ‘Stevens Pass’ mini DVD is a good example of a design that is best suited for CMYK Offset Print: Photographic imagery, well balanced text and graphics, no large areas of solid colour.

Example 2 : This ‘Image Engine’ disc is a good example of a design that is best suited for Silkscreen Print: Three colour design (black, white and grey/blue), it’s a bold design that isn’t trying to be subtle, it uses large areas of solid colour, created completely in line-art (including the logo at the bottom).

Specifying Colours for Silkscreen Printing

When designing for Silkscreen Print the spot colour values must be specified using the Pantone Matching System (aka: PMS) Solid Coated colour palette. This particular colour palette is referenced by the letter “C”. For example: PMS 185 C

[ READ MORE and VIEW MORE EXAMPLES ]

Precision Disc Manufacturing Corp. provides factory direct DVD CD manufacturing services along with the best eco-friendly print and packaging solutions in the market. From our office and replication plant in Surrey, BC (a suburb of Vancouver) we ship to clients throughout Canada and the United States daily.

Many clients are feeling empowered enough to make their own CD Audio Master discs these days… and that’s absolutely fine… but one increasingly common problem is the creation of off-spec CD Audio Master files being created (especially on Mac computers) using iTunes. It seems that Mac computers and iTunes default to settings that do not comply to the CD replication Red Book Standard.

So to confirm, the Philips “Red Book Standard” for CD Audio replication is as follows:

Sample Rate: 44.1 khz
Sample Size: 16 bit
Channels: Stereo
Maximum Duration: 74 minutes

Based on the version of iTunes I have on my computer, here are the steps for creating an on-spec CD Audio files using iTunes.

1. In the Menu Bar…. Click on “Edit” then click on “Preferences”
2. Under the “General” tab there’s a title that reads “When You Insert A CD”. Select “Ask to Import CD” from the menu.
3. Next to the menu you just selected from there’s a button that reads “Import Settings”. Click on the button and a new window pops up.
4. Where it reads “Import Using” … select either “AIFF encoder” or “WAV encoder”
5. Where it reads “Setting” … select “Custom” and a new window pops up.
6. Where it reads “Sample Rate” … select “44.1”
7. Where it reads “Sample Size” … select “16 bit”
8. Where it reads “Channels” … select “Stereo”

Click “OK” on each window to get back to the main iTunes window – now you will be ready to create Red Book Standard audio files for replication.

[ READ MORE ]

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Precision Disc Manufacturing Corp. provides factory-direct DVD CD manufacturing with a wide range of the most popular eco-print and packaging solutions available. With offices and replication facility located in Surrey, British Columbia (a suburb of Vancouver), Precision Disc ships to clients throughout Canada and the United States daily.

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The widespread destruction of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami had ripple effects for people and businesses that have been felt across the globe.

For example, in the entertainment industry, the Sony facility in Sendai Japan that produces the pro media tapes most commonly used in television production was knocked out. Not only did this cause television production companies to scramble for tape stock and rapidly drive up the price of what dwindling stock there was, it caused a number of productions to delay their start-up for fear of having no stable supply of stock.

Thankfully, for this industry, it has just been reported this month that the Sendai plant will be resuming full production capacities very soon after extensive repairs.

Production of Sony’s HDCAM SR and HDCAM media began again in July 2011 with shipments to market beginning at the end of August 2011 for  the HDCAM SR stock and in early September 2011 for the HDCAM stock. Production volumes will apparently increase on a month by month basis.

It is also reported that the production of DVCAM/Digital Master and Professional Disc formats began again in May, Sony’s Digital Betacam production resumed at the end of September, and that Sony’s MPEG IMX and Betacam SP are expected to resume production later this month.

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Precision Disc Manufacturing Corp. provides factory-direct DVD CD manufacturing, commercial printing, external computer hard drives, blank media and packaging supplies and much more!  From our offices and manufacturing facility in Surrey, BC (a suburb of Vancouver) we ship to clients in Canada and the United States daily.

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Our VIP Member Special in October features not one… not two… but three offers. Even better – you’re not limited to picking just one of our VIP Specials – you can pick all three if you choose to!

October CD/DVD Special Offer:

Get a jump on the Christmas rush by ordering now… and here’s a deal to give you plenty of incentive: *Order 300 units… but receive 500… and we’ll throw in 100 free promotional posters and 100 free stickers too!

*Conditions: CD/DVD: Limited to discs packaged in standard Cases, Eco-Sleeves or Digipak as provided on our website quote system. Can not be combined with other CD/DVD offer.  Posters: 11” x 17” printed CMYK (4/0), bleed to edge. Stickers: 2” x 2” stickers printed CMYK (4/0), bleed to edge, not intended for outdoor use. Full payment and all artwork must be submitted at time of order. No rush orders.

October External Hard Drive Special:

Speed and massive storage capacity are typically cited as the chief benefits of RAID storage management. Real-time redundant backup of data and fault tolerance make RAID a critical part of any enterprise, regardless of size. Commercial enterprises that fail to employ (or use) RAID or disk mirroring can face large costs in the event of single disc back-up failure.

• Rocstor “ArcticRoc 2T” Pro Tower RAID System with 6tb capacity: $549.95 (plus tax and shipping)
• Rocstor “ArcticRoc 4T” Pro Tower RAID System with 12tb capacity: $1,079.95 (plus tax and shipping)

October Commercial Printing Special:

Even in this electronic age of e-mails, texting, widgets and apps, people still like to receive a more personal marketing ‘touch’. Postcards are great because they are slim, economical, practical and can be personalized through variable printing.

Get 20% off custom printed promotional postcards from our commercial printing website:  www.PrecisionPrinting.ca. Create a free account and place your order using coupon code: VIP20

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Choose Precision Disc Manufacturing Corp. for factory-direct DVD CD manufacturing, commercial printing, external computer hard drives, blank media and packaging supplies and much more!  From our offices and manufacturing facility in Surrey, BC (a suburb of Vancouver) we ship to clients in Canada and the United States daily.

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Rocstor - Rocpro 850

Precision Disc Manufacturing Corp. is pleased to announce that we are offering a new product line – professional grade External Computer Hard Drive and Storage Devices.

These are professional grade FireWire, USB and eSATA storage solutions especially suited for those in the audio and video production industry. Our selection of external computer hard drive and storage devices provide performance, reliability and the latest connectivity options.

The most popular item so far has been the Rocstor “Rocpro 850″ – a new generation of Rocpro external SATA Hard Drives that delivers extraordinary performance and reliability for both Mac and PC users. Specifically designed for demanding audio/video professionals; the new Rocpro 850 contains a fast SATA high capacity 3.5″ drive mechanism in a stylish and unique aluminum case that can be stacked or mounted vertically. With its built-in power supply, fan-less and quite operation the Rocpro 850 can be easily moved from one desktop environment to another using the provided carrying case.

For information or any questions about the Rcopro 850 or any other of our external computer hard drive and storage devices please contact our Customer Service Specialist:

Murray Scorpio
Phone 604.530.0770 (ext 224)
Call Toll Free 1.866.530.0770 (ext 224)
Email: murrays@predisc.com

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From our offices and replication facility in Surrey, BC (a suburb of Vancouver), Precision Disc Manufacturing Corp. provides factory-direct CD DVD manufacturing with eco-friendly print and packaging serices along with other related professional media products and services.

The management team at Precision Disc Manufacturing Corp. is very pleased to introduce Murray Scorpio as a new and valued member of the company in the role of Product/Services Development and Media Sales.

Murray brings over twenty years of industry related experience to Precision Disc, as well as a broad base of knowledge and skills which include Media Sales, Optical Discs and Packaging, and External Computer Hard Drives for the Film industry.

“Murray is a very welcome addition to our team at Precision Disc because he’s a go-getter with great people skills.” states company General Manager Mike Arnold, “His knowledge and experience in Media Sales is going to be a great asset, and he’ll also be spear-heading a new product line for us with external computer hard-drives.”

Murray’s accomplishments and credits also include:

• Computer programming/repair.
• Information Technology consultant.
• Product and Service Development
• Administration and Purchasing.

Precision Disc Manufacturing Corp. provides factory-direct CD DVD replication services with eco-friendly print and packaging solutions. Located in Surrey, B.C. Canada, and celebrating their 10th year in business, Precision Disc continues to evolve and grow, providing a range of complimentary media products and services to their CD DVD manufacturing product line.

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Precision Disc Manufacturing Corp. is pleased to announce the hiring of Colin Logan as a valued member of our DVD Product/Services Development Team and Customer Service Specialist.

With a wealth of knowledge and ability in the video/film and DVD manufacturing side of the industry, Colin has over 20 years of directly-related experience in Sales, Customer Service, Production and Post-Production.

In addition, having personally researched, applied and tested many techniques and workflows for creating DVD/Blu Ray compression and authoring that are on par with Hollywood’s stringent standards, he is heading up the new DVD and Blu Ray authoring services department for the company.

Colin’s list of credits include:

• DVD Production Manager on two Bryan Adams DVDs and the Fischerspooner DVD.
• Numerous ‘Extreme Sports’ DVDs and Blu Rays.
• Over 500 DVD, 200 CD and 10 Blu Ray projects.

“We’re very happy to have Colin on-board with Precision Disc.” explains General Manager Mike Arnold, “He has a proven skill-set and provides our clientele with a customer service specialist that speaks from years of hands-on experience. The fact that he also treats each project as if it was his very own blood, sweat and funds says a lot about him as a person.”

Precision Disc Manufacturing Corp. provides factory-direct CD DVD manuafcturing services with eco-friendly print and packaging solutions. Located in Surrey, B.C. Canada, and celebrating their 10th year in business, Precision Disc continues to evolve and grow, providing a range of complimentary media products and services to their CD DVD manufacturing product line.