5 Questions to consider when choosing a disc manufacturing company.
You spent years honing your skills. You scoured the scene, assembling the perfect combination of talents, making sure the chemistry is just right, and then you practiced, played shows and wrote until your sound matched the vision inside your head. You scraped together everything that you could to take your band into the studio where you played your heart out. You made your record out of passion, blood and sweat. You deserve to give your project the best release possible, and the first step to that is making sure that your album looks amazing, because that’s how it sounds. At Lo Down Digital Media, we want to ensure that your album art and CD replication look and sound as good as they should. Don’t settle for less when it comes to your final product. Here are a few questions that you can ask to help you make sure that you are getting the highest quality product available to you.
# 1) Is glass mastering done “in house”?
Outsourcing stampers is all too common. However this can damage your masters as they are transported between facilities, and can also cause unwanted delays to your project.
# 2) Do you have a secure, environmentally controlled clean room for your manufacturing lines?
If your discs are produced in an insecure environment, or in or near an open area, millions of particles of dust are being embedded in the molded plastic that makes your discs. This increases the probability of jitter and digital distortion in your final product. Also, can the plant guarantee that anti-piracy security measures are in place so that the public isn’t allowed to wander in and out of the shipping and packaging areas? You want to have people playing your music, but you want to make sure they are playing the copies that you sold to them!
# 3) How many production lines do you have? How old is the equipment?
Often second hand equipment is capable of getting the job done, but it’s risky. If there is a technical issue associated with your project, production stops and your project is delayed! Get rid of the risk. Always go through a manufacturer that uses a number of state of the art machines and also maintains their equipment regularly. This way your project can easily be moved to a backup line if there is an issue. This ensures that you have no delays in getting your product.
# 4) Is your printing staff certified?
Putting your project in the hands of an unskilled or uncertified operator is the difference between amazing satisfaction and disappointment…’nuff said.
# 5) Can you talk to an experienced sales person or customer service rep at any time?
When trusting a manufacturer to help you realize your dream, it is imperative that you can reach them at your will. If you are always talking to an answering machine or a voicemail box it’s time to move on to a manufacturer that values you and understands the importance of your project.
