CD Duplication and CD Replication - What Is the Difference?

CD Duplication

Duplication is the term used to describe the process of "burning" information onto a CD-R using an optical drive. There are already a few terms here that require further explanation:

I) CD-R (CD Recordable) - This is a pre-manufactured CD with a printable surface that is available for consumers to buy in most supermarkets, high street computer stores and online computer stores. As long as your PC or laptop has an optical drive that is capable of writing information to a CD or DVD, a standard CD-R can be used to save up to 80 minutes of audio information or 700 MB of data. They are the optimal format for consumers who wish to create their own music CDs.

ii) The "burning" process - this term describes the transfer of information from a PC or laptop hard drive, or attached storage device, to a CD-R using an optical disc drive. The laser in the drive performing the writing of information to the CD or DVD, is the reasoning behind the expression "burning".

iii) Optical drive - These are the standard CD/DVD drives that you will find in a desktop PC or a laptop. They read and write (burn) information to a CD or DVD using a laser as described above. The optical disc drive is usually integrated into the PC or laptop but they can sometimes be a separate unit.

Mass Duplication

When a consumer needs to burn a few CDs then the optical drive in a standard PC or laptop is just fine, but what if you need a short run of 100 or 200 CDs, or a larger run of 1000 to 2000 units? It would be far too time consuming to burn 1 disc at a time in a PC so the logical approach would be to contact a company offering a mass CD duplication service.

Despite the rise of the digital download, the CD/DVD printing and duplication industry is still thriving and there are many UK companies offering this service. The duplication service is almost always offered in conjunction with a CD and DVD printing service.

The Duplication Suite

A duplication suite houses duplication towers connected together in a daisy chain style set up. Each tower usually contains from 11 to 15 optical drives similar to the drive found in a desktop PC. A business carrying out duplication on a large scale with many jobs being put through the suite every day, may have a great many of these towers in order to able to complete large orders as quickly and efficiently as possible. There are also a great many smaller businesses specialising in short runs of up to 500 discs that use just a few towers linked together to carry out any duplication required.

Where duplication is carried out on a large scale, efficiency measures are very important to keep turnaround times short. Most large scale businesses have fully automated suites where the process works as follows:

I) The master CD is loaded into the controlling drive which is linked to all of the tower control units.

ii) The towers are then loaded by an automated robotic system that uses vacuum to pick up a blank disc from a spindle located in front of the tower. The vacuum system eliminates the possibility of damage occurring to the disc if they are printed before duplication. A disc is then placed into each open tray of the tower optical drives.

iii) Once all the required drives are loaded with blank discs, the information on the CD in the controlling drive is simultaneously transferred to each blank disc in the towers.

iv) When the burning process is complete, the tower drives open automatically to allow the robotic system to remove the discs from the drives and load them onto a second waiting spindle in front of the tower.

v) The drives are reloaded and the process is repeated until the required quantity of discs has been duplicated.

When CD-Rs first became available there were some quality concerns about the integrity of data burned onto them over long periods of time, particularly with cheaply manufactured CD-Rs. As the manufacturing technology improved and tighter tolerances were more easily achieved, quality concerns were no longer an issue. Large scale manufacturers will specify a particular brand of CD-R which they use and these will be CD-Rs made to a very high specification for customer reassurance.

CD Replication

This process is also commonly referred to as CD pressing. Even though you will end up with a very similar product to the duplication process, replication is a completely different and far more complex manufacturing process. The process begins with a master disc submitted by the client. An exact replica glass master "template" is then produced from this original master. The glass surface needs to be highly polished as even the most microscopic of scratches or marks will affect the resulting master. The glass master then receives a thin coating of polymer. This polymer layer has a laser beam focused upon it at precise positions, vaporising the polymer and producing tiny pits in the surface of the template. These pits, which cannot be seen with the naked eye, are the physical interpretation of the audio recording or software data contained on the original master disc.

Once the glass master has been produced it then undergoes a baking process to harden the polymer layer in preparation for the metalisation stage. During the metalisation stage the glass master will be plated using nickel and the final result is, essentially, a negative of the intended final injection moulded CD. The "positive" mould is then produced using the glass master. Each disc is injection moulded using a strong polycarbonate material with a very thin aluminium surface which is bonded to it. This aluminium layer has the tiny pits in it that are interpreted as the master data by the optical drive laser which reads the resulting disc. The aluminium surface has a thin layer of lacquer applied to it to protect it from damage.

The CD Replication process must be carried out in a 100 (ISO 5) or better clean room, or a self-enclosed clean environment. Any contaminants introduced during critical points of the master manufacturing process (e.g. dust particles, pollen, hairs, smoke particles) can result in errors that render a master unusable. This results in a very high set up cost for a replication plant. The glass master production process is also lengthy and expensive. These factors mean that replication really only becomes an economically viable solution for large runs of CDs, over 500 units, which are not required at short notice.

Summary

Whilst there is no quality difference between the end products of either process, there are advantages to be gained from each of the processes as described above, when sourcing a run of CDs and these are summarised below:

The Advantages of Duplication

· Fast lead-times for short runs as there is no glass master production requirement.

· Lower set-up costs for runs of less than 500 CDs.

The Advantages of Replication

· Lower unit cost for large runs over 500 CDs.

· Faster production times for very large runs of discs over 10,000 as there is no duplication process requirement. This is especially advantageous for major releases of music albums by international artists where the production run may be as many as 100,000 units, or for mass media circulation such as where a CD may be included with a national newspaper and involve a production run of well over a million units.

The Importance of Having an Oil Change

Keeping your car in top working order requires regular maintenance. No maintenance is more common than an oil change.

Why Get Have Your Car Serviced

The main reason for an oil change is to help keep the engine running smooth. The liquid acts as a lubricant on the entire engine's moving parts. As the lubricant gets used, contaminants build up inside the liquid. This sludge makes it more difficult for parts of the engine to move freely. As this occurs, you may feel that your car is not running properly. The engine may start cutting out or stop working completely due to overheating. If the parts have to work harder to move, the engine is going to heat up even more.

Conventional vs Synthetic

There are a couple of different types that can be used in your engine. You can choose what is known as conventional, and it is usually the cheapest. This version will help reduce the build-up of contaminants in the engine itself, as well as reduce friction on parts. It is created through a distillation of crude oil. Before you decide on a type, you should make sure that you check your car's owner's manual to make sure the right weight and version is used.

The Process

An oil change is a simple process. The technician gets under the car, removes the pan (on some models) and plug, and allows the liquid to drain from the car. Once it is empty, he or she reinstalls the plug and pan (if applicable), and then refills the engine with fresh, clean lubricant. In addition, the filter should be changed in order to keep your car running smoothly. The filter helps collect some of that sludge and keep the substance cleaner longer.

While many people choose to do this task themselves, by going to a professional, you are certain that all seals are tight and that the proper type is used. This is the benefit of not having to dispose of the old substance yourself.

There is a lot of debate on how often to have an oil change. Lube shops and most manufacturers suggest every 3,000 miles or every 3 months. Some professionals suggest every 5,000 miles with no minimum length of time. If you read the label on some synthetic bottles, they suggest every 10,000 miles. If you are uncertain, have your oil changed every 3,000 to 5,000 for best performance results.

Always check your levels between oil changes. This will not only indicate how dirty the system is getting, as the easier it is to read the dirtier it is, but doing so will also inform you of leaks. You should not lose much of the overall lube in between services. If you have to refill your engine before your next change, then there is a leak somewhere, and you need to have it checked.