There are several ways of making sure your DVDs remain useable. Some we already know such as, handling the disc by the edges. Always keep it dust free by putting it back in its case or sleeve. The data side always needs to be kept away from any oil based substances, fingerprints or anything that can leave a residue. Most importantly, keep DVDs away from constant sunlight, heat and anything that could scratch them. However, unlike the old VHS cassettes, magnetic signals and strong electrical fields can not affect discs. These do affect videotapes, credit cards or floppy discs.
DVDs will get worn/dirty after time and there are products to clean discs. There are plenty of cleaning kits you can find online. However, soap and water can do the trick or rubbing in alcohol. Remember, anything acidic or corrosive should not be used. You should use a lint-free cloth and very gently wipe the data side of the DVD. A light brushing motion starting from the hub/centre of the disc, rubbing outwards.
As with CDs, it’s not the data on the DVD that gets scratched from use or neglect but the plastic outer coating that protects the data. Therefore, the scratch dissects the path, which the laser must travel in order to be read. To repair these scratches on the plastic, you can fill the scratches or rub them down with optical material. As mentioned earlier, there are plenty of cleaning/repairing kits online that one can use for this. Or even your regular toothpaste will sort it out!
There are several different file formats/programs you can supply your artwork for CD/DVD printing and packaging/cover designs. I would like to just touch on a few most commonly used. Nearly all printers accept high resolution PDFs. You can use Adobe Acrobat to create a PDF file from your artwork. Remember to embed the fonts too!
The most commonly acceptable native file formats accepted are:
Quark Express
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Coreldraw
If you have photos or images to print then the following formats best suit these:
TIFF (.tif)
Adobe Photoshop (.psd)
Illustrator EPS (.eps)
Windows Bitmaps (.bmp)
Corel Photo-Paint (.cpt)
JPEG (.jpg)
It is strongly recommend that artwork should not be solely created in Photoshop. This program is ideal for altering photos and adding effects to images. Publisher and Word are also programs to avoid creating artwork in. If you do supply artwork in these formats, prepare to be charged for converting them into print-ready artwork. Establishments will charge for time spent. Therefore, do it yourself!
Your files should also be created in CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black) and at 300dpi resolution - as quality is important! Anything less than 300dpi will result in poor quality print. Remember that printers/presses can only print from artwork supplied.
Most print companies will have templates or guidelines to adhere to when designing specific artwork. These range from simple flyers, postcards, and posters to more complex manuals, DVD booklets, CD inlays & covers as well as information for printing onto CD/DVD’s or creating labels. I will go into more detail about these at a later stage.
Also, other tips to look out for when supplying artwork for print are insufficient bleeds or safety margins. Bleed is extending any colour, image, photo or design past the cut line. Bleed also helps printers with a margin of error when trimming. Normally, it’s acceptable to add 2mm of bleed to your designs/layouts. The opposite of bleeds is safety margin. Placing an important header/title or image/photo right next to this crop line, then you risk it being slightly cut off. The recommendation is that you allow for 3mm inside the crop marks.