HDC Media Group, Glossary

These terms are used to describe how many colours are printed on a piece of paper. A 4/1 piece is printed in four colours on one side (ie full colour), and one colour on the back (usually black). 4/4 means full colour on both sides. 4/0 means full colour on one side, and no printing on the back. 1/1 means one colour (again, usually black) on both sides.

The standard cases holds one disc and has a clear outer wrap which holds a printed sleeve. Inside the case there are plastic clips which hold a booklet, with the disc being held in place by a push button hub.

We are able to supply Amaray branded cases but stock an unbranded equivalent.

The DVD cases are available in a variety of colours such as black, white, red, green and blue and more.

A slim-line and multi disc variants which can hold up to 8 discs using a hinged mechanism are also available.

The DVD case can also house a variety of print inserts, such as the outer printed sheet on the exterior of the case, acting as the cover.

It can also include multiple or single-panel rectangular inserts inside the case and a slip case.

See CD Amaray style case or DVD Amaray style case for more details.

It is not possible to print all the way to the edge of a sheet of paper or disc. To achieve this effect, it is necessary to print a larger area than is required and then trim the paper down. When producing discs, the bleed will ensure your artwork sits in the print templates correctly and attains the maximum print area possible, leaving no white marks. Typically a designer would allow an extra 3mm of bleed to allow for a little leeway when trimming.

The C shell is slim and lightweight and virtually unbreakable, it is designed to hold one disc, with the disc being held securely in place inside the plastic packaging. C Shells easily snap shut and pop open to protect your disc. The C Shell cases are available in a variety of colours such as black, white, red, green blue and yellow in both transparent and opaque plastic. As standard no sleeves or inserts are available for the C Shell, although you can customize the front and back of the clam shell by screen printing your logo or marketing message.

See CD C Shell or DVD C Shell for more details.

The card wallet has been designed to hold one disc and is both durable and lightweight. The disc is simply removed and inserted from a side opening and is held tightly enough to prevent the disc from falling out. It can also be top opening (preferred for magazine publications etc).

The CD wallet are available with or without an additional flap (see Lancing Packs). Another variation is the Double Card Wallet which can hold either 2 discs or 1 disc and a printed booklet.

The card wallet can be cello wrapped or a small adhesive dot can be used to seal the opening preventing the disc from sliding out.

Although CD wallets hold one disc, they may also hold a small booklet or insert.

See CD Card Wallet or DVD Card Wallet for more details.

CD Mailers can be sent in the post with no need for additional packaging. The CD Mailer is designed to minimise postage costs, as it’s dimensions fall under ‘Letter’, In line with Royal Mail’s ‘Pricing in Proportion’ – a cost to send of only 36p each. The CD Mailer can be printed with pre-paid postage as either a PPI (Printed Postage Impression), or franking stamp (for short runs). The pack is sealed with a self seal tear strip. Simply apply an address labels and off they go!.

Our standard CD mailer pack can hold a variety of products, e.g. 2x discs and a business card, 1x disc and an A4 letter and a business card, 1x disc and a booklet/brochure and a business card - the options are endless.

See CD Mailer or DVD Mailer for more details.

These CD tins come in various shapes and sizes and are made from high quality metal. The CD tin is protected and held in place with either a foam or plastic insert and can come with a hinged or removable lid.

As well as the circular, square or rectangular shape tins, we can provide CD tins which have been custom designed according to your requirements. Minimum order applicable.

The CD tins can also house a variety of print inserts, such as a circular insert or booklet or why not print directly onto the tin, in up to 4 colours. We can also emboss.

See CD Tins or DVD Tins for more details.

CD-Recordable. Recordable CD’s are used where small quantities are required. CD-R’s allow data to be written either once only or in sessions for a multi-session disc. This allows the data to be ‘updated’ and/or ‘added to’ until the disc is full. The data on a CD-R disc cannot be erased or re-written, hence their alternative name WORM (Write Once Read Many) disc.

Unlike CD-ROM where the data is pressed into the product during manufacturing, the CD-R discs have a writable layer where data is ‘burnt’ with a CD-R writer.

The CD-R has a recording surface that uses a special dye that can be ablated by the laser in the writer. When writing to the CD-R disc, the laser burns the pattern of data into the dye on the recording side of the CD-R. There is a special grooved, spiral track that the laser follows when writing the data. Once copied, the CD-R disc functions exactly like a replicated CD-ROM disc.

A replicated CD-ROM is manufactured using an injection moulding process that stamps the spiral track and data into the polycarbonate material at the same time. A reflective layer of aluminium is then spin coated onto the disc to allow for the laser in a standard reader to identify the spiral track and data layout. Once manufactured, the CD-ROM disc functions exactly like a duplicated CD-R disc.

The term used to split a colour image into its separate colour components ie CMYK channels and RGB channels.

These clear plastic wallets are designed to hold one disc and have a small tuck-in flap that secures the disc in place protecting it from dust and scratches. These cost effective CD wallets are commonly used for CD storage, exhibitions, promotions and are perfect for attaching to magazine covers. A common variation for these lightweight CD wallets are to have a self-adhesive strip on the reverse so they can be stuck directly onto promotional material, magazine or brochure. These plastic CD wallets may hold a small booklet or insert helping to provide instant information about the product/service on the disc.

A common variation for these lightweight clear plastic wallets are to have a self-adhesive strip on the reverse so they can be stuck directly onto promotional material, magazine or brochure. A ring binder version is also available.

These clear plastic wallets may hold a small booklet or insert helping to provide instant information about the product/service on the disc.

See CD Clear Plastic Wallets or DVD Clear Plastic Wallets for more details.

Printing that is done in four standard colours Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black on a commercial printing press. Combining these four colours creates all the colours we see on most printed pieces.

CompactFlash (CF) is a type of Flash memory that was developed as a type of data storage device used in portable electronic devices. For storage, CompactFlash typically uses flash memory in a standardized enclosure. This form was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994. The physical format is now used for a variety of devices. An example of a Compact Flash card is shown below.

The DiDi DVD (mini DVD replication) is an evolutionary new product that combines state of the art technology with the ultimate in portability. The DiDi DVD is a miniature of a standard size DVD and is manufactured in the same way. It has a massive 1.4 gigabyte data capacity crammed into a tiny 8CM diameter disc.

A Digifile is a variation on a Digipak. Digifile's are made from cardboard but unlike the Digipak the disc is held in place using die-cuts and folds as opposed to a plastic tray. The variation of panels and slots for booklets are endless and it depends on the number of discs it needs to hold and the amount of graphics needed to display. The variation of panels and slots for booklets are endless, dependant upon the number of discs it needs to house and the amount of graphics / information needed to be be printed.

See CD Digifile or DVD Digifile for more details.

The Digipak, a printed card packaging with a plastic tray that holds the disc, known as a flexi tray This is glued to a pre-printed and finished panel. The Digipak can be designed to meet various requirements and is definitely one of the most attractive and versatile.

The variation of trays and panels is endless and it depends on the number of discs it needs to hold and the amount of graphics needed to display.

For example

4 page, 2 panels, 1 tray and 1 booklet
4 page, 2 panels, 2 trays
4 page, 2 panels, 1 tray

The Digipak can house a variety of inserts and booklets, with the option of having a die cut to hold the booklet or it being held in a "tunnel pocket" or glued to the panel. The booklet can be anything from a 1 sided insert to a 32 page full colour stapled booklet.

To create an impressive finish to the Digipak, you can deliver the product in a full colour slipcase.

See CD Digipak or DVD Digipak for more details.

Direct on-disc digital printing (as opposed to digitally printed paper labels) is a relatively new advance in disc printing. Using well-proven large digital print engines, 4-colour process (CMYK) prints are laid down on a transparent film, which is then bonded to the disc surface. As in digital paper printing, the print engine is driven directly from a computer, providing both great control of the end result, and the possibility of continuous variable print. In this way you can achieve mass customisation, with changing IDs, serial number, Barcodes and other variables.

The Double Card Wallet has been designed to hold two discs or a disc and a booklet and is both durable and lightweight. The Double Card Wallet is made up of 2 pockets and the disk / booklet and inserted at a central spine that is exposed when the pack is opened. Designed to hold 2 disks or a disk and inserts. Each pocket can comfortably hold a 16 page booklet.
The Double Card Wallet can be cello wrapped or a security sticker can be applied to seal the pack.

See CD Double Card Wallet or DVD Double Card Wallet for more details.

Stands for dots per inch/pixels per inch - the measurement to determine the resolution of an image. The number of colour dots per square inch that a printer will lay down in order to create a printed image. Artwork images are saved with a DPI value, with the recommended minimum size being 300dpi. Images viewed on-screen can be reduced to as low as 72dpi and will not look any different when viewed on a monitor (monitors can display work to a much higher resolution).

A DualDisc has both a CD player side and a DVD side, allowing artists to create discs in exciting new ways using audio, video and computer content - all on a single two-sided disc.

One side is the full-length CD audio album. The other side offers DVD content. This may include enhanced album audio, 5.1 surround sound, music videos, artist interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, documentary films, photo galleries, lyrics, computer-ready digital song files, and web links.

DualDiscs do not require any special equipment other than the respective CD and/or DVD player in order to play the side you want to listen to or watch.

The DVD Mailer eliminates large packaging and postal costs as its dimensions and weight fall under Royal Mail’s ‘small letter’ category. To maximise your marketing campaign - the DVD Mailer can hold an A4 Letter, DVD and DVD Business Card/Card Business Card. The DVD mailer is specially designed to be durable while keeping the content safe and secure. This ensures your DVD arrives at its destination in perfect condition.

Ideal for small run sizes (from 100) and fast turnaround (1-3 day) projects. Print processes include ‘on-body inkjet’, ‘screen print’ and ‘laser label’.

The CD-R has a writable layer where data is ‘burnt’ using a standard Philips DVD writer, unlike a CD-ROM where the data is pressed into the product as it is manufactured.

The printed DVD-R’s can be supplied blank ready to write in your own DVD writer or printed only so that you can burn your own data. Alternatively, HDC can print and burn your discs for you. Available duplicated and/or printed in quantities of 100 upwards or supply only from 50 upwards.

DVD, originally named ‘Digital Video Disc’ but then later renamed ‘digital versatile disk’ to match its versatility, is the industry-accepted replacement for CD-ROM. DVD is identical in size to CD but improved laser scanning has vastly improved capacity.

More than seven times the size of CD - 650MB versus 4.7GB (4,700MB) in a single layer single sided form (DVD-5). Other formats including DVD-9 and DVD-10 are also available.

The above products are available from 500 units upwards. Print processes are screen print and offset lithographic print for high definition picture quality.

The Ejector Case is also know as a Trigger Pack. They are lightweight and virtually unbreakable and have a unique trigger mechanism which when pushed ejects the CD half way out. Push it back in and the locking arms snap it securely in place. Ejector Cases are available in a wide range of colours including blue, black, green and red. The standard Ejector Cases holds one CD only whereas the jewel case version can hold a booklet of up to 16 pages.

We can offer Ejector Cases with space for a booklet, giving you the same printable display area as a Jewel Case.

Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) is a standard format for importing and exporting PostScript language files in all environments. It is usually a single page PostScript language program that describes an illustration. The purpose of the EPS file is to be included as an illustration in other PostScript language page descriptions. The EPS file can contain any combination of text, graphics, and images. An EPS file is the same as any other PostScript language page description, with some restrictions.