Media Made Easy™ means that Dub-It is more than a CD and DVD manufacturing company. Since 1986, Dub-It has expanded its products and services to include everything from DVD replication to CD-R duplication, custom printing for DVD cases to blank DVDs, DVD authoring to streaming video, mini CD replication to multiple-title DVD duplication. ALL delivered on spec, on time and on budget!
Dimensions depend on the media format (DVD-5, 9, 10, CD, CD
Mini-Disc, CD Biz-Card etc...). Please refer to the dimensions indicated on the
specific media template. Disc face templates
Although we can print over the mirror band portion of the disc face (20mm - 40mm), many customers choose to NOT have any type or important information print over the mirror band area. Be advised that art may discolor slightly as a result of the mirror band. Many customers will run background art from 20mm but will keep any type or crucial art outside of 40mm.
1.) COLOR MODE: The entire layout & ALL elements (logos etc.) must be in 4C Process (cmyk) or spot mode ONLY. Do not submit layouts in RGB, lab or Indexed color modes; presence of illegal color mode elements or layout will prevent film output.
2.) SPOT COLOR MODE: If the layout is in Spot color mode, isolate each Spot color to its own individual layer. Layouts with more than one Spot color in any one layer will prevent film output.
3.) SPOT COLOR FILE SET-UP: If SPOT color printing is desired, your file must be provided in a format that supports SPOT color separations (Illustrator, InDesign, Quark Xpress, Freehand). Unless you are printing a duotone or a tritone, it is not advisable to use PhotoShop to create layouts for SPOT color printing. If your Art originates in PhotoShop and you need to print with SPOT colors, one method is to substitute Pantone inks for your C, M or Y channel.
4.) INFORM DUB-IT OF SPOT COLOR ASSIGNMENT: Dub-It uses Pantone Coated colors only on disc faces. Customer must provide Pantone numbers for each color (i.e. Pantone 421 Red).
5.) RESOLUTION = 300dpi: The entire layout & all .tif elements must be at 300 dpi ONLY. Any .tif elements or layout less than 300dpi will prevent film output. Submit all other elements as .eps.
6.) COMPRESSED ELEMENTS: lzw, .jpeg or .gif or any other compressed element will prevent film output.
7.) MIRROR BAND: See note above regarding area from 20mm to 40mm (mirror band). Most customers keep type and critical art outside of 40mm.
8.) VECTOR ART: Vector art will give best results for type on CD/DVD face. See "Maximizing CD/DVD face art screen art clarity." below for info.
9.) OUTLINE ALL TYPE BEFORE SUBMISSION: PLEASE, select all type, create 'outlines' before submitting final .eps
10.) TEMPLATE IN SEPARATE LAYER: PLEASE, verify that Dub-It template resides in separate layer of layout. Layout art merged in same layer as template, or files flattened with template will prevent output to film.
11.) FILE SUBMISSION: PLEASE, do not flatten layout files. Please retain all layers and submit according depending on File format. Dub-It File Format Submission Requirements above.
Dub-It can screen 1 to 4 colors process cmyk with or without a white undercoat. Dub-It can screen 1 to 4 colors spot with or without a white undercoat. Dub-It recommends a white undercoat when printing photographic, "continuous tone" images. The addition of a white undercoat brings the total film layers for photos to 5 film layers. (cmyk + white undercoat) Dub-It recommends spot colors for all vector/line art.
Dub-It offers standard disc face silk-screen printing in both cmyk process and spot color modes. Silk-screen has a line resolution of 120lpi. Dub-It's new Off-set face printing offers a higher resolution line screen of 175lpi. The 175 line resolution is comparable to commercial packaging. Disc faces printed as Off-set are limited to cmyk process only. Photographs and continuous tones will print much more realistically with Off-set as compared to silk-screen. We recommend using our Off-set for disc faces with photographic images. There is no additional charge for Off-set disc face printing. Please inform Dub-It upon confirming your order that you want Off-set printing on your disc face.
1.) Silk-screened disc faces are of medium resolution due to the limited screen density with only 120lpi resolution. Therefore, any effort to improve clarity can improve silk-screen image quality.
2.) All type, especially small type and vector-art logos will silk-screen on disc face with the best clarity and legibility if the disc face layout is submitted as pure vector art graphic format (Illustrator, Quark & Freehand) as opposed to Photoshop or any other graphic software that rasterizes pixels.
3.) Vector art graphic programs generate pure mathematical Postscript type that will print cleanly defined on the disc face; whereas rendered Photoshop type will print as a rasterized "picture" or bitmap comprised of pixels with soft edges due to anti-aliasing. The result; vector-art type and logos print silk-screen sharp and clear.
All files supplied must be 72 dpi, and 720 x 480 pixels.
The only exception to providing menu art at 720 x 480 pixels is if you have icons, images, or text that may be sensitive to looking stretched on a TV monitor, since TV playback utilizes a different pixel shape than computer monitors. If this is the case, you may submit your DVD menu art at 720 x 540 pixels. However, this approach will cause your DVD menu art to appear a little compressed or distorted when the DVD is played on a computer monitor. You can view this difference by designing a menu at 720 x 480, and then changing the image size to 720 x 540. The 720 x 540 image (that you just resized to) will approximate what you DVD menu will look like on a TV. In this case, your menu would appear normal on a computer monitor. You can also experiment with the opposite situation by designing a DVD menu at 720 x 540, and then changing it to 720 x 480. The 720 x 480 image (that you just resized to) will show you approximately what your DVD menu will look like on a computer monitor. In this case, your menu will appear normal during TV playback. Think about where most of your audience will be viewing your content, and then choose which route to take.
Menu graphic file format is dependent on Menu Style as follows:
1. "Still Menu" with audio loop playing: The still menu can be submitted in any flattened format (e.g.- .tiff, .jpeg, .pict, .targa, and .psd)- but .tiff and .psd are preferred. Still Menus require an OVERLAY FILE (see Overlay File Design instructions below).
2. "Still Menu" without audio and rollovers: This menu style requires a multilayered .psd (Photoshop) submission. Create one (1) background layer with all your static art. Then, wherever you have a selection button, create two additional layers (one for each of two states): "Selected" and "Activated." Please name the selected and activated layers clearly. Please, NO LAYER SETS. Dub-It will return layer sets for breakdown. Please FLATTEN ALL LAYER STYLES. If you have a text or image layer with a layer style on it, create a new layer and merge the two together.
3. "Motion Menu": Motion Menus can be supplied as a motion file format such as Quicktime, or Final Cut Pro Movie. Mac formats are preferred. We can work with PC formats, but it’s best to call Dub-It and confirm the motion menu format. The safe method is to supply the motion menu on a video tape format such as Mini-DV, DV-Cam, Betacam SP, or Digi-Beta. Additional costs may apply to capture Betacam SP or DigiBeta. Call Dub-It for motion menu capture costs. The Motion Menu requires an OVERLAY FILE. (see Overlay File Design instructions below)
Avoid using standard red color for type, since red bleeds and distorts on TV playback.
Please keep any graphic lines, font sizes, or font strokes, larger than 2 or 3 pixels. Thin lines, and font with thin serifs, may also bleed and distort on TV playback. Use stroke or drop shadow on type to prevent this by thickening the lines/type.
Confirm that you have flattened the layer style by creating a new layer and merging the two.
Avoid using high contrast between type color and background color. NTSC video will cause dot-crawl around type color that is in high contrast to background color.
For better results, try a lighter black or grey font on a creamy or light-colored background (or any other combination that does not create extreme contrast).
When an overlay file is required, you will need to prepare your DVD menu art to include an overlay layer. An overlay is a file that tells the DVD player where you want your highlights to appear, and in what shape. The highlight can be an underline, a glow around the words, an icon, a shape, etc.
To create an overlay file in Photoshop, follow this procedure:
Create an additional layer in the multilayered Photoshop file of your menu.
Fill the new layer with white, confirming that the visible menu art is one layer above.
Set the top layer of your menu art to a transparency of 50% or less, allowing you to see the white layer below.
Create all the button shapes in this white layer matching up to your visible artwork wherever you need a highlight to appear.
Do not be concerned about the color of highlight; simply make all shapes/lines solid black.
The Dub-It authoring dept. will program the color of the highlight for all three states; normal, selected, and activated.
IMPORTANT: Design all overlay shapes so that a box can be drawn around them without touching another overlay shape (unless you want that shape to also appear in the same selection)! The only way to highlight your overlay shape is by drawing an invisible box around it.
NOTE: If the overlay shapes overlap, and are less than several pixels away from each other, or if the button overlays are designed with diagonal shapes, remnants of another highlight may appear where you did not intend.
When you are finished, remember to return your original layer to normal transparency. You may leave the overlay in the multilayered file, or you may copy the layer to a new flattened file such as .jpeg, .tiff, etc…
In the case of MOTION MENU OVERLAY, whenever you create the graphics for your motion menu, create the overlay file at the same time. Save it as a flattened file, separate from your final movie file.
1.) Illustrator will open the Dub-It .eps template.
2.) Keep the Dub-It .eps template at 100% of its original size. Do NOT resize.
3.) Create a separate layer for all of the art. NOTE: Dub-It templates serve as a mask. When placed as the top layer, Dub-It templates will mask-out all non-printing areas exposing only those areas that will print.
4.) Select all type and "create outlines" before saving final .eps NOTE: Creating outlines eliminates the need for font submission and prevents future font problems.
5.) Confirm that the template resides in a separate layer. Do not group the layers containing art with the template layer. Submit finished multi-layer file.
6.) Submit as Illustrator .eps. NOTE: Regarding File name: Please include project title and media/packaging. i.e. Story_DVD_Face.eps, Story_Wrap.eps, Story_Interior_insert.eps.
1.) Place Dub-It template .eps in a picture box at 100% full size, do not reduce.
2.) Provide font folder will all fonts. Verify that all screen fonts are included.
3.) Check that all image modes correspond with the intended printing mode (cmyk or spot). Spot color image files in 4C Process (cmyk) layout will prevent film output.
4.) Do not submit graphic files or elements in RGB, lab or Indexed color modes. Presence of illegal color mode elements will reject file.
5.) Provide images folder will .tif & .eps ONLY. All .tif files at 300 dpi ONLY. Any .tif elements less than 300dpi may result in poor printing results, rejection of file.
6.) Submit as Quark file. (.qxd) NOTE: Regarding File name: Please include project title and media/packaging. i.e. Story_DVD_Face.eps, Story_Wrap.eps, Story_Interior_insert_Front.eps.
1.) Download the template to your hard drive. Make a note of the location of the template file.
2.) Launch Photshop first. Do NOT attempt to open the template before launching Photoshop.
3.) In Photoshop, go to File: Open the template file from your computer.
4.) The "Rasterize Generic eps Format" window will appear.
a. Do NOT change the "width" & "height" fields.
b. Set the "Resolution" field to 300 ppi (pixels per inch).
c. Confirm that the "Anti-alias" & "Constrain proportions" boxes are both checked.
5.) Do NOT "place" Dub-It templates in Photoshop.
6.) Create art layout in separate new layers.
7.) Please "Render" ALL type before saving final version. NOTE: Rendering all type eliminates need for font submission and prevents all font flight check problems.
8.) PLEASE NOTE: Bleed is very important. ALL art layouts including disc face must have a minimum 1/8" bleed. If you have any questions regarding bleed, call Dub-It toll-free @ 1.888.99.DUB-IT.
9.) Check that all image modes correspond with the intended printing mode (cmyk or spot). Spot color image files in 4C Process (cmyk) layout may cause output failure or reject file. NOTE: It is not advisable to use PhotoShop to create layouts for Spot color printing. If your layout originates in PhotoShop and you need to print with Spot colors, one method is to substitute Pantone assignments for your C, M or Y channel. Spot color output from Photoshop requires isolation of each spot color to separate output channels.
10.) Do not submit Photoshop files in RGB, lab or Indexed color modes. Presence of illegal color mode files or elements may cause proof output failure or reject of file.
11.) Do not delete template layer before submission to Dub-It. Do not flatten .psd files. Confirm template resides in separate layer from all art.
12.) Save as multi-layered .psd file with NO compression. NOTE: Regarding File name: Please include project title and media/packaging. i.e. Story_DVD_Face.eps, Story_Wrap.eps, Story_Interior_insert.eps.
Address: ftp://ftp2.dub-it.com
user: dub-it (don't forget to include a hyphen in the user name) *Customers must call Dub-It @ 323-993-9570 to obtain the username password.
NOTE: Create a folder on ftp with your company name.
NOTE: ftp client software is not necessary.
Use Internet Explorer 5+, go to ftp address and drag & drop files. IMPORTANT:Please send an email notification to Dub-It (ph@Dub-It.com) upon successful upload.
If you are printing less than 2,000 labels, the labels are printed on 600dpi blank ink laser printer.
Laser label graphic submission spec:
1.) Set all images as grayscale and type as 1C - Black ink only.
2.) Laser Face label cannot include screens or continuous tones (photographs are continuous tone images)
3.) Logos as are O.K. in laser layout as .eps.
4.) VHS face labels created in Adobe Illustrator preferred.
5.) If face label layout is completed in
Illustrator, 'select' all type and 'create outlines.'
6.) Save VHS face labels as .eps NOTE:Regarding File name: Please include project title and face/spine, i.e. Story_Face_label.eps, Story_Spine_label.eps.
Getting art files to Dub-It – via ftp, email & disc
See file format submission spec for Illustrator, Quark or Photoshop file procedures.
If you are printing over 2,000 labels or more, face labels will print on a flexographic press.
Flexo Press label graphic submission spec:
Flexo Press Labels are printed 1C or 2C Spot color, glossy paper on rolls for automated application. All specs are the same as Laser excepting that a Flexo press can output screens and continuous tone images (Photographs).
Flexo press require additional plate charge of $35.00 per color layer.
Getting art files to Dub-It – via ftp, email & disc
See file format submission spec for Illustrator, Quark or Photoshop file procedures.
