All About Mini CD Replication
Mini CDs are extremely useful disks for distributing a small amount of data. Drivers, image files, short movies, presentations and demo disks can all be distributed on a mini CD. These small disks are also eye catching, and are an excellent way to distribute audio singles. After all an eight centimeter disk can hold up to twenty-four minutes of music, or about two hundred megabytes of data. That makes them perfect for a number of uses. However, if you want to use one of these great little disks to distribute your data, you’re going to need to look into mini CD replication.
Mini CD replication works a lot like regular CD replication. You’ll get a perfect copy of each of your mini CDs and they’ll be just like the original master you provided. Any good replication company should offer high grade quality testing to make sure that you’re getting a true copy. That does mean that the master you provide must be of the highest quality you can come up with. It’s not possible to get a better CD than the data you provide will create. So, make sure that the master CD you give your CD replication company is the best you can find.
You’ll need to order a number of mini CDs if you’re using replication services. This is because this process isn’t like CD duplication, where a single copy is made of a CD. Instead, it’s a lot more like commercial printing. A relatively high setup fee must be charged to create a glass and metal masters of your disk. From these disks, the actual mini CDs can be made.
These masters will be checked against the original data again and again to prevent degradation and ensure you the highest quality mini CD replication. Because of the amount of work that goes into the process, most manufacturers will have a high minimum order – usually about a thousand disks – to protect their finances. However, the per unit price can be very inexpensive, so if you need to distribute to at least a thousand people, this is a wonderful way to do it.
You’ll also want to find out what you’re getting with your order. Prices from some mini CD replication companies will include printing on the disk, a paper sleeve, and insertion of the disk into the sleeve and cling wrapping. Other times, you’ll have to pay extra for it. You may also want to find out about mini CD jewel cases, as these can be hard to find elsewhere. Getting them from your disk manufacturer is a much less costly and more convenient way of accomplishing this.
It’s even possible to find some CD replication houses that will pack your disks for mailing for a small additional fee. That way, if you’re distributing your work through the mail, you’ll have no trouble getting it out there. All you need to do is address and post the CD mailer. Be sure that the mailers you’re using and your CDs will comply with the regulations of your shipping company or the post office, however, and check all your addresses carefully to keep mini CDs from coming back to you.
Mini CD replication provides you with an excellent way to get your information out there. However, there are a few disadvantages to a CD of this size. Tray and spindle based CD drives can use these disks, since the hole size is the same as that on a standard CD, but vertically aligned and slow loading drives are often incompatible or have trouble. Adapters can be used to play mini CDs in these drives, but this ads inconvenience. Business card CDs, a type of mini CD shaped like a business card, do not have available adapters.
Fortunately, this isn’t a common problem – most people have access to a player that can deal with a mini CD. They’re smaller and harder to break than regular disks, making them great for inclusion with offers or in advertisements. Check out the options for distributing your information using mini CD replication services today. You’ll be surprised by the difference it makes.