CD and DVD replication is a process that works by creating discs from scratch. Not to be confused with duplication (the act of burning information onto readymade, commercially-available blank CD-Rs and DVD-Rs), replication relies on the use of molds to produce actual discs that already contain digital data. It is the preferred and recommended mode of mass production for quantities in excess of 500 units.
Replication begins with a painstaking process called glass mastering. In this step, a laser is used to copy data onto a light-reactive glass plate. The plate's photosensitive glaze reacts to the heat of the laser, thus etching several gigabytes worth of digital information for permanent storage.
The data encoded on the glass master comes in binary form, a series of 1s and 0s. While these 1s and 0s may seem like gobbledygook to the average human, it is the language that CD and DVD players understand. Once scored onto the plate via laser, binary information appears as very tiny depressions of varying depths, similar to the grooves on a vinyl record.
Since a glass master cannot be altered once it is completed, great care must be taken when preparing one. As a quality control measure, it has to be made in a clean room environment. Any defects or impurities on the glass master will definitely compromise the integrity and playability of the final CDs or DVDs.
A glass master is considered too delicate to be used for heavy-duty and large-scale disc production. Instead, it is used to create several sturdier, more durable metal molds called stampers. In a process known as stamping or pressing, each stamper is injected with a transparent plastic substance called polycarbonate. The excess plastic is then removed, leaving an exact impression of the mold.
To make the polycarbonate disc suitable for playing, it is then finished with a coat of reflective material. Once the replication process is completed, the disc is finally ready for labeling and packaging.
Replication is considered to be superior to disc duplication. As such, it is regarded as the industry standard. This is because it offers greater consistency in production quality and disc playability than the burning process. In a sense, burning may be likened to photocopying while replication may be likened to cloning. Replicated discs are exact and faithful reproductions of their glass masters; duplicated discs, on the other hand, may differ from their source depending on the quality of the blank media used.
However, due to the complicated and tedious nature of CD and DVD replication, its turn-around or completion time is considerably longer than that of duplication. Depending on the number of copies, discs may be duplicated within a matter of minutes. In contrast, a batch of discs can take two to four weeks to replicate.
Replication is also best left to the experts. Owing to the need for clean rooms and special equipment, the startup expense and preparation can be costlier as well as resource-intensive. But in the long run, replication yields a lower per-unit-cost than disc burning.
For more information ond DVD duplication services, please visit http://www.easydvdburning.com/dvdduplication/index.html
Jasmine Ong is based in the Phillipines, she is a leading technology and software reviewer and has previously had articles published in Businessworld and other periodicals. She currently writes for http://www.easydvdburning.com, the best DVD software resource on the web.
limo prices to midway Crystal Lake west of Randal .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareThe purpose of Project Management Software is to provide an... Read More
Spyware, what it is and what it does. Basically, spyware... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is marketed for mid-size companies... Read More
It's not very often I get excited about a software... Read More
There are certain pluses and minuses in both cases and... Read More
C/SIDE (Client/Server Integrated Development Environment) - The core of... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains may be recommended for international freight forwarding... Read More
Since its release in 1987, QuarkXpress had made an immediate... Read More
Spyware is software or hardware installed on a computer without... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, Solomon, Navision, Axapta, Microsoft CRM... Read More
We all already got used to computer monitoring both at... Read More
Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more popular,... Read More
Microsoft CRM is new player on the CRM software... Read More
Microsoft SQL Server is the leader for inexpensive and middle... Read More
The cornerstone of successful automated office systems is the ability... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains ? ERM from Microsoft Business Solutions and... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, Navision, Axapta, Solomon and CRM... Read More
Since technology changes so quickly, it is hard to begin... Read More
We all take the computer for granted. I mean, all... Read More
What is Colossus?Colossus is software licensed to about twenty-five insurance... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Small Business Manager is Great Plains Dexterity... Read More
When you own a small business, time is money. And... Read More
SyncUp, a file synchronizer is designed to assist the home... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Navision serves both European and American megamarkets.... Read More
Are you one of those people that keeps track of... Read More
taxi o'hare Auburn ..Microsoft bought Navision, Denmark based software development company, along with... Read More
IntroductionSurprised, by the title? well, this is a tour of... Read More
I completed an experiment recently. I wanted to find out... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions ? Navision is an integrated solution for... Read More
Ok... Where to start?Well, I guess I will start at... Read More
If you feel intimidated when someone tries to teach you... Read More
Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more popular,... Read More
How to delete the user? This is the first problem... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains - Microsoft Business Solutions accounting and ERP... Read More
In this short FAQ style article we would like to... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is very popular ERP platform... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains fits to majority of industries, in the... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains might be considered as ERP... Read More
Introduction to C++Why Learn C++?C++ may at first seem like... Read More
In order to implement VLANs in a network environment, you'll... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains is one of three Microsoft Business Solutions... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions ? Great Plains is designed to meet... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions CRM is present several years on the... Read More
If you're online using a dialup Internet connection, you'll probably... Read More
Just imagine: you are walking, say, towards your car, and... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is mid and even corporate... Read More
Formatting and reinstalling windows 98 is very easy if you... Read More
While paper labeling CDs and DVDs may appear to be... Read More
Mike Dunville* had a decision to make. As the new... Read More
Let's say that you have a software project that's under... Read More
Software |