What to avoid in CD DVD disc thermal printing

Thermal printing is a method we use for short run CD duplication and DVD duplication. The process does not require much set up and allows capacity of up to 1000 discs per day. However as in all printing methods there are certain limitations, if they can be avoided you can make sure to get the best possible print quality.

Tips for thermal on-disc printing:

1. Gradient effect: although it may look good on offset printing, gradient on thermal sometimes results color changes that are not smooth. Try using solids, pattern or photographic image instead.
2. Thin lines: avoid lines that are thinner than 0.3 pt, the result is pixelated lines with uneven colors
3. Small fonts: keep all fonts, even the small copyright copy to at least 5 pt. Text that is too small will be hard to read and look pixelated.
4. Grays and Blacks: avoid designs containing only grays and blacks. Distinctive and contrasting colors can achieve vibrant and pleasing results.
5. No Pantone allowed: thermal printing is essentially a 4-color process, so if your design contains any Pantone spot colors it will be converted to CMYK. If there is a color you need to match, bring a sample print or let our staff know the PMS number the piece needs to match. However the colors will never be the same as the Pantone.
6. Full color images: high-resolution photographic images is the best way to showcase the photo-listic feature of thermal printing, a combination of images, solids and text achieve great results

As always if you are unsure how your design will look on thermal printer, we provide production proofs, or ask to speak with one of our printing specialist.