Master preparation for replication and copying

Material preparation is ordered together with disc production. You choose CD replication or duplication, and add this service as another item on the same order.

Here we deal with what goes on the disc: the layout of the content, the track order and the information written in CD-Text.

What a disc image is

A disc image is one file containing an exact reproduction of the whole disc: its contents, the layout of the data, the order and the way it is written.

It is not the same as an ordinary folder of files. A folder only says what material is in it. A disc image already defines exactly what the finished disc is to look like.

That is an important difference, because the master used to produce the whole run is made from the image. Every disc is therefore prepared from the same source material.

If we receive individual files from you, we still have to establish information the files themselves do not contain: their order, the way they are arranged and the name of the whole release.

When material preparation is worth adding

This service is particularly useful when:

• you have finished files but no disc image and do not know how to prepare one,
• the material comes from several sources - part from recordings, part from another person, part from an archive,
• the disc is to carry CD-Text, that is information displayed by players that support it,
• you are preparing a music release with a specific track order,
• you are duplicating training material or documentation and every copy must have exactly the same content.

How to name music files

File names matter, because the track order on the disc is established from them.

It is best to name them according to the intended order:

01.wav or 01.mp3 02.wav or 02.mp3 03.wav or 03.mp3 and so on.

With random names the files may end up sorted alphabetically. As a result the track that was to open the disc can land in the middle, and the order stops matching the one given on the cover or in the booklet.

You can send the material via Google Drive, WeTransfer or Dropbox. Just send us an active link that allows the whole set of files to be downloaded.

Important: we do not interfere with the substance of the material, we do not edit recordings and we do not level their volume.

The files go onto the disc exactly as they were supplied to us. So before sending, make sure they are the final versions intended for production.

CD-Text

CD-Text is information written on an Audio CD that can be displayed by a player supporting that standard. Most often it is the disc title, the artist name and the titles of the individual tracks.

Prepare the data in the following layout:

Tytul plyty | Wykonawca
track 01 | Tytul utworu | Wykonawca
track 02 | Tytul utworu | Wykonawca
track 03 | Tytul utworu | Wykonawca
...

Send it as a TXT file, without Polish characters and special characters.

This restriction follows from the way CD-Text is written and read. Polish letters and unusual characters can be replaced by random symbols on some devices.

CD-Text is read mainly by set-top equipment such as hi-fi systems, CD players and car radios.

Popular computer programs such as Windows Media Player or iTunes do not use this information by default without additional solutions. So when a disc is played on a computer, the titles written in CD-Text may not appear.

It is worth knowing this before ordering the option, particularly if the disc will be used mainly on computers.

The master disc and approval

Once we have prepared the finished image, we make a master disc and send it to you for checking.

Listen to it or check its contents, preferably on the equipment the finished discs will later be used on. That lets you verify not only the files themselves but also the track order and the information written in CD-Text.

The master disc does not have to be returned to us. After checking, simply send your approval of the material by email.

This is a very important stage. After approval we launch production of the whole run.

So before confirming, check the track order carefully, the titles in CD-Text, the artist name and whether the disc holds the right, final versions of the recordings.

If anything raises doubts, that is the moment to say so. Once production has started, correcting a finished run will no longer be possible.

You can also supply the material yourself

If you already have a correctly prepared disc image or a finished master disc, you can send us that instead of individual files. In that case you do not need the material preparation service.

We then work directly on the master supplied.

This service covers only the contents of the disc. Artwork for the cover, the packaging and the print on the disc is a separate item.

The rules for preparing material are in the help section, and the ordering process is described in the "How to order" section. If you are still not sure what material you should send us, write to us.