Knowledgebase - FAQ
CD - CD Assembly, CD Fulfillment, CDR Printing - Questions and Knowledge Base - Software Manufacturing
Following are our frequently asked questions, organized by category. If we haven't answered your question below, please contact us, so that we can help you.
CD Questions
How does a CD work?
A cd has a series of 'pits'. A cd drive aims a precision laser beam at the surface of the cd. The laser beam reflects off of the cd. This reflection is slightly different when the laser beam hits a pit versus when it hits a flat spot. This difference is read as data.
What is a CD-Extra?A CD-Extra is the same as an enhanced CD. An enhanced CD has a portion formatted for Digital Audio and another portion formatted for data. This CD will play the Digital Audio files in most Audio CD players. Computer drives will be able to access both the Digital Audio files and the data files.
What is an enhanced CD?An enhanced CD has a portion formatted for Digital Audio and another portion formatted for data. This CD will play the Digital Audio files in most Audio CD players. Computer drives will be able to access both the Digital Audio files and the data files.
What is a Hybrid CD?A hybrid cd is disc that can be played on more than a single operating system (Mac & PC). There are several ways to create a hybrid cd. There are two common approaches. One approach is to partition the cd with different operating system formats. The project is put onto each of the partitions. Another way is to create a shared data region that can be accessed by multiple platforms and the data that is operating system specific is on other disc areas.
What is a VCD?VCD stands for Video Compact Disc. This is a CD that is formatted for video (with an audio track). The video is decent quality. The quality is not as good as a video tape or a DVD because of the compression used to make 74 minutes of video fit into 640 mb.
What does CD-DA mean?CD-DA is a Digital Audio CD.
What does CD ROM mean?Compact Disc Read Only Memory. A CDROM can contain many different types of data. It can contain digital audio, digital video, or data. Once the information is put on the media it cannot be altered.
What does CDR (CD-R) mean?Compact Disc write once. A CDR (CD-R) starts off absolutely blank. Data is then written to the media. This writing process is often called 'burning' a disc. A blank CDR can have data written to it only once.
What does CDRW (CD-RW) mean?Compact Disc write multiple times. A CDRW (CD-RW) starts off absolutely blank. Data is then written to the media. This writing process is often called 'burning' a disc. A blank CD-RW can have data written to it multiple times. This format is good for archiving type uses where the data is not going to be shared or copied for use by other computers.
What is the difference between CD-R and CD-RW?A CD-R can be written to only once. If the disc is written to using disc at once and is finallized the disc should be able to be read by nearly any CD drive. A CD-RW can be written to multiple times. But the format does not have wide compatability amongs different cd drives. So a CD-RW should be used for archival type purposes only.
When to use CD and CDROM Replication?Replication is used for projects that have large volumes.
What is the CD Green Book?Green book is the compact disc industry's standard for CD-I discs.
What is the CD Orange Book?Orange book is the compact disc industry's standard for Recordable CDs
What is the CD Red Book?Red book is the compact disc industry's standard for Digital Audio CDs
What is the CD Yellow Book?Yellow book is the compact disc industry's standard for Computer Data CD Roms
Music CD Audio (Yellow Book) vs. MP3There are two main types of Music CDs: Audio CD & MP3 CD. There is a difference. A correctly formatted Audio CD conforms to the industry standard referred to as Yellow Book. This is the format of the Audio CDs you purchase at a music store. The files on an Audio CD will be in the WAVe format. This is considered a lossless file format and retains full fidelity. Read more about Music CD Audio (Yellow Book) vs. MP3.
What are Open Status CDs?When a software program writes a CD, the program has the option or default setting to finalize the CD. Finalizing a CD allows the written CD to be read by other CD players with near universal compatibility. Read more about Open Status CDs.
What is Track at Once?Track at Once is a term for burning data to optical media one track at a time. This method will work well for archiving data to a disc. This disc will probably only be able to be read by the drive / system that created the disc. This method is NOT recommended if you plan on having other systems or drives use the disc or a copy of the disc.
What is Disc at Once?Disc at Once is the term used for burning information to optical media in one session. This method is best for any discs that may need to be used on other systems or drives.
What is an ISO image?An ISO image is basically an electronic copy of an entire CD. This single file will have all the files, folders, volume labels and other details of an entire CD. This single file can be used by any CD burning software with total confidence.
Does my CD label artwork need a bleed?It is common to call the artwork on a CD or DVD a label. There are five different printing methods for CD and DVD face artwork. These five methods are: Thermal, Inkjet, Paper Label, Silk Screen, & Offset. We recommend providing a background artwork bleed on all printing methods. The paper label is the only method that requires a background artwork bleed to be supplied.
What is the main difference between a CD and DVD?The physical difference between a CD and DVD is the proximity of the tracks and the length of the pits. The pits on a CD are .5 microns wide and a minimum of .83 microns long. The tracks on a CD are 1.6 microns apart. A DVD is about half these dimensions. The track separations are only .74 microns and the pits are about .42 microns long. This is what enables a DVD to have a minimum of 6 times the amount of data.