Our Services
Replication or Duplication?
To duplicate or replicate? That's the question.
There
are two ways to copy cd or dvd, namely CD/DVD Replication or CD/DVD Duplication.
Replication means the disc will be pressed from a glass master and the
artwork will be printed directly onto the disc surface just like any CD
or DVD you find in retail stores. Duplication means the disc will be burned
from CD-R or DVD-R media and the artwork will be printed on the disc surface.
Duplication is synonymous to CD burning or DVD burning.
If you have enough time and the ordered quantity is 500 or more you
should always use CD/DVD replication. The only time you would resort
to CD/DVD duplication is when your order is less than 500 or you need
to rush the order. In that case you should use CD/DVD duplication. Even
you chose to go the route of duplication, always choose a supplier who
will turn on the "compare and verify" feature when the discs
are burned. Some companies turn this feature off to save time as the process
will take 3 times longer. I.T. Media Services always does the "compare
and verify" for all our CD/ DVD duplication orders.
There are hot debates over the quality difference between duplication
and replication. By and large the consensus is that the quality should
be the same. But since 2000 we have kept a big archive of discs from
our clients and found in reality the equality does not hold up to what
many people might have claimed. Duplicated DVDs tend to go downhill over
time in readability faster than replicated DVDs.
The ink on a duplicated DVDs fades out in few years while this never
happens to a replicated DVD. Duplicated DVDs are more susceptible to
temperature change than replicated DVDs.
It’s a minefield! Please don’t hesitate to ask for more information.
