Exploring the Benefits of Custom CD Printing an Album

Custom CDs help independent artists make money and stand out with professional, memorable merch. This guide breaks down the benefits of custom CD printing, how they boost a brand, connect with fans, and add value to music.

Exploring the Benefits of Custom CD Printing an Album

by Chris Huff via Disc Makers Blog

As an independent artist, custom CDs are an essential part of monetizing your music. Here, we’ll explore the benefits, design options, and marketing power of custom CD printing. This is an excellent way to boost your brand and create memorable physical media for your fans. Let’s get started.

Understanding custom CD printing

First, we’ll explain what CD printing is, and we’ll look at a bit of hits history.

What is custom CD printing? 

Custom CD printing is the process of putting personalized music or other data content on a duplicated or replicated compact disc. It includes printing of artwork on packaging and on the surface of the disc itself. “Custom” in manufacturing refers to any product that is designed, engineered, and produced according to a customer’s unique specifications, and often refers products that are built to order with short production runs. This is generally anything under 10,000 units, which would include the high majority of CD runs that independent musicians order.

Brief history of CD printing

The original CD was a joint creation from Sony and Philips, with a large group of people for both companies working collectively as a team. The first CD release in the U.S.was Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The USA in 1984. However, it was some years after that before the music industry shifted and the technology was available to artists without a major label or similar stature. Disc Makers started offering CD manufacturing to independent artists in the early ‘90s, and the floodgates then opened to a myriad of similar businesses who offered short-run custom CD printing. 

The benefits of custom CD printing for your album 

Now, let’s explore some perks of releasing your album on CD.

Enhanced branding and aesthetic appeal 

It’s cool to manufacture physical media — seriously. Not only does it give the appearance of being a legitimate artist in the eyes of your friends and fans, but it’s something tangible that a follower can leave one of your performances with. Think of it as a playable souvenir. A professionally produced and printed CD shows the world that you are serious about what you do and can leave a lasting impression. 

Personalization and creative freedom 

As an independent artist, you aren’t generally beholden to anyone else’s aesthetic considerations but your own. So, feel free to really go for it! You call the shots, and it’s entirely up to you how to present yourself. But as the poet Delmore Schwartz said, “In dreams begin responsibilities.” Don’t just flail about willy-nilly. Study the style and presentation of those who came before you. You might reject their approaches, and that’s fine, but put some thought into how your CD presentation ties into the music you’re making. Most likely all the artists you admire have put great thought into their appearance and style; honor them by applying the same amount of effort to the details of your own project. 

Improved perceived value 

The more you invest in yourself, the more other people will invest in you and your business — emotionally, timewise, and financially. Having a custom-printed, professional-looking CD in hand goes a long way to showing customers that you have value and your music is worth listening to. 

Technical advantages of custom CD printing 

Next, we’ll take a look at the current technology for CD manufacturing, explain how durable the products are, and check out some options for custom design.

High-quality print technology 

You might own a disc duplicator with excellent on-disc printing and a top-notch laser printer, but you won’t come close to matching the print quality of an actual print house. For example, a home-printed digipak won’t ever resemble one you can order from a reputable company. Access to superior printing technology will not only save you time and heartache, but also open wider options for packaging possibilities. 

Durability and professional finish 

Replicated CDs in jewel cases or digipaks are incredibly durable. Short of running a vehicle over them, it takes quite a lot to render them unplayable. If you order CDs in jackets or wallets, there is a gloss coating option which will keep the package shiny for years to come. There is also a matte coating available, and that’s durable, too.

Versatility in design options 

At a professional printing house, you’ll have the option of creating digipaks, jewel cases, wallets, jackets, CD mailers, and custom-made board packaging, just to name a few. You can select the configuration that best serves your album. 

Marketing and promotion benefits

From boosting your brand to creating cherished memorabilia, CDs offer extensive benefits for independent artists. Here are a few:

Custom packaging for brand recognition 

If you have established a color scheme or a specific design style as representative of your business, make sure that you incorporate this into your album design. It doesn’t have to dominate entirely, but it’s good to have something visual for your audience to hook into, especially if you are just getting started in your musical career. Additionally, your packaging choices should complement your style of music. If you are creating symphonic prog rock, an 8-panel digipak with a large booklet might help convey the scope of your album. But if you are a punk band, this kind of excess might alienate your listeners, so you might be best served by going with a simpler packaging, like CDs in jackets. 

Unique CD designs as memorabilia 

Your favorite album covers probably all exist as T-shirts, mugs, and posters these days, if not on even more and varied merchandise items. A well-constructed and evocative album cover becomes art on its own. People are even buying vinyl LPs these days without owning record players — specifically to display the covers as art! So, careful planning and forethought could help you create a timeless album cover that stands on its own as an image even without the music. It’s worth it to spend the money on professional artists, designers, and printers because merch can be a very profitable revenue stream. 

Boosting direct sales and fan engagement 

Having any physical media to sell (like a professionally printed, custom CD) can be a great thing to offer your audience. If people like your music, you will sell CDs and make money; the profit margin on physical products is generally very high. If you sell a CD for $15 and it costs you $5 to produce each unit, that’s a profit of $10! Not too shabby. Plus, physical products are something for fans to hold in their hands as they remember the great show you gave them. It gives them something to listen to, talk about, and share with others in between concerts. 

The economic perspective 

Time is money and money is time, right? Let’s discuss some financial aspects of CD printing.

Cost considerations and budgeting 

In planning your album’s budget, you want to make sure that you have enough money to follow production through to the end, including some money for promoting the album once it’s released. This should include all facets of the recording and mixing process: studio time, musicians, engineers, arrangers, and hard drives, to name just a few categories. A healthy chunk of your budget should go towards mastering, which can make or break a record. Then you have artwork creation, package design, and finally CD manufacturing, packaging, and shipping. If your spending plan is truly limited, you may want to consider duplicated instead of replicated CDs; the advantage to this is being able to order in smaller quantities. Do not skimp on mastering or artwork expenses! If you must cut corners, do so in other categories. 

Value for money: long-term benefits 

Custom CD printing can literally change people’s lives. Granted, it’s the artwork and music within that does the life-changing, but first and foremost, you should congratulate yourself for translating your musical visions into concrete reality. Not everybody makes it to that step and its importance should not be underplayed. Well done! Additionally, as mentioned above, the profit margins on physical media are very high, so if you are able to sell what you manufacture, you will not only recoup your costs, but make a tidy profit. Plus, with everything going on in the world, one of the greatest things you can do right now is continue to make music. Finished with your CD project? Make another one. The world needs your musical contributions — especially right now! 

How to choose a custom CD printing service 

Let’s go over the different factors to consider before you select a CD manufacturer or printing service.

Evaluating printing quality 

Most custom CD manufacturers with custom print shops will have high-quality print production. To tell the difference between companies, ask for a sample of their work. Focus on image resolution, color accuracy, paper quality, and finish when evaluating, then take all quality factors (along with cost) into making your decision. 

Consideration of costs and turnaround time 

While affordability is always a prime consideration, don’t make it your only consideration in selecting a custom CD printing service. Measure how much you get for your dollar. Is shrink-wrap included? What about a bar code? Do you get price breaks at 2500 units? 5000? Asking these and other pertinent questions will help you determine which company will offer you the most value for your money. Also, weigh the estimated turnaround time in your decision. If you need your CDs quickly, you’ll pay a premium for rush service, but try to avoid this. In custom manufacturing, rushing production is more likely to lead to errors. Find out if turnaround times come with any guarantees, no matter which vendor you use. Make sure your evaluation of any custom CD printing business balances the cost-effectiveness with your perception of the quality of their services. 

Reputation and customer support 

When it comes to verifying the reputation of a custom CD printing company, check Trustpilot, Yelp, and Google reviews. Consult friends and/or family who might have worked with or ordered from the company. When reading reviews, you might want to notice what the company did to correct errors, and the availability of customer support is a huge plus. Errors can frequently occur during custom manufacturing. Approaching the process with patience, time, and flexibility will produce the best results, no matter who you choose as your custom CD printing company. 

Steps to create your custom CD design

Lastly, we will walk through the steps of creating your custom CD design.

Designing the artwork 

As we’ve emphasized above, selecting an image for your cover should be a thoughtful and methodical process. Pick or design an image that represents the music inside and the concept of your album as much as possible. Think about some great album covers and how their images reflect the music and unify the songs into a whole. It often is necessary to hire one artist to create the images for the album and then an additional graphic designer to lay out the images in the package in an aesthetically pleasing way while also fitting them into the templates of the manufacturer. If you are looking to save money and are not exactly what sure what you are looking for, custom CD businesses like Disc Makers have our own design studio that can assist with CD package design. The Design Studio at Disc Makers will work with you until you are 100% satisfied with your artwork. The process is simple! 

Selecting material and finishes

Once you’ve chosen images that represent your album, you’ll want to select the kind of packaging best represents your project. There’s nothing wrong with simple jackets, but if your lyrics are well-crafted and are an integral part of experiencing your music, you might want to spring for a jewel case or digipak with inserts where the lyrics can be printed. Glossy or matte coating will be available depending on which packaging option you choose. 

Collaborating with printing professionals 

No matter who you choose to handle the printing for your compact disc project, make sure there is a proofing process so you get to see what is going into print before production. Often proofs will be digital; if color is a concern, then request a hard copy proof. At Disc Makers, we offer an instant online proof, so the process is quick and convenient.

You will generally only get one proof to approve if there are no corrections, so double check your artwork with a fine-tooth comb. Your printing professionals will inform you about any other possible thing to expect with your printing project. Listen to them carefully and follow their suggestions! Print professionals know their stuff, and if you take their advice, you will end up with a superior final product. 

Release your album on CD with Disc Makers

Now that you’ve learned all about the benefits of custom CD printing, it’s time to release your album! Contact us to get started.

Chris Huff has been a professional singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer for over 25 years. He has worked as a sideman with Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul, and Mary), Echo and the Bunnymen, Chuck Hammer (David Bowie, Lou Reed), and Tom Kitt (Broadway composer of Next To Normal). Chris also wrote liner notes for David Bowie’s Live And WellCD.