Simple Tips to Print out High-Quality CD Labels and Stickers
Posted by Vijay Chaudhary on December 5th, 2016
Printing out CD stickers and labels through a vendor can be an expensive process. Alternatively, you can choose to print out your own CD label stickers at home without spending extra for the same. If you want to save money on this front and choose to design as well as print out the stickers and labels yourself, here are some must-follow tips to help you along the way.
Use High-End Graphic Programs and Formats
It is wise to stick to high-end graphic programs for your CD stickers and labels. Programs like InDeisgn, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, etc make good examples of applications you can use to create stickers and labels for your CD. The trick here is to choose a program that offers a minimum resolution of 300dpi that offers better disc printing results.
It also pays to stick to certain image formats while designing and CD label printing. Some of the commonly used graphic formats for the same include TIFF (.tiff), EPS (.eps), JPEG (.jpeg), PDF (.pdf), and Adobe Photoshop (.psd).
Use Original Source Images
When opting for a CD label print, use only original source images for better results. If you are using web images, choose ones that have a minimum resolution of 300dpi, as altering the resolution will only lead to blurriness. Web images are usually compressed to load faster on the browser. In this case, they will appear pixilated and blurry as disc print images. So consider using original source images for the CD stickers and labels.
Use Layered Files
Save your work as layered files. This makes it easier to make minor editing changes on individual layers rather than botching up the final image. Saving the image as layered files thus prevents the need to recreate the entire artwork from scratch in case of a mistake while designing.
Make Note of the Safety Margin
When working with a CD DVD label maker program, you will notice safety margins, aka crop lines, on the sides of the work area. Make sure your image does not cross these lines as it might get cut off during the final edit by the printer. The image needs to stay away from these crop lines by at least .8 inches on all sides. In addition, ensure that you do not crop the image near the center hub, as this is where the hole will appear. However, do not provide any wordings in this area as they may get cut off during the final crop and printing process.
Summary
Creating your own CD and DVD labels and stickers is quite an easy task. You can make it even easier with a few simple tips on which programs to use and which images to choose for the project.
