Help with making Wedding CD for sister!

[MagicMan17]

Hi everyone,

I want to make an audio CD for my sister's wedding with all her favorite songs to pass out as a wedding favor. I will need 350 Cd's all together and want to make a 2-sided front cover (so when you open it, there will be a picture/track listing/etc on the left side), and a back cover. Also, I would like to put a picture on the actual CD itself.

My question is where is the best place to buy this stuff for the printing and labels? Also, is it recommended to go with printing on the cd straight from a printer or printing a paper label and applying it to the cd? I don't mind either but I've heard that sometimes the paper labels can disrupt the playing of the cd in certain situations. If I do need to print on the actual Cd itself, do I need to buy/borrow a special printer that supports this? Further, is there a CD that is better than others to be printed on? What can I expect to spend and how much time will this approximately take?

Lastly, I have looked at "outsourcing" it to certain websites and the cheapest one I found was: http://www.ascotmedia.com/wedding.htm, which with copying cd's, printing inserts, and printing on the actual cd came to about $650-$700. That is a bit much for me and would like to get it done as cheaply as possible but also in a way that will provide the least hassle. I don't mind actually doing the monotonous work of burning, printing, and labeling but I want to make sure the Cd's look decent and will play flawlessly. Any suggestions from anyone that has done this in the past? Best CD's, best labels, cases etc? Any recommended companies to look into for part or all of this job?

BTW, this music is all either personal (karaoke) type stuff or Indian music so there are NO copyright issues.

THANK YOU SO MUCH in advance.

Prav

 

[nweaver]

saw a CD Laber device on Ecost.com or zipzoomfly.com. Says it uses the same laser it burns with? Look on those sites.

 

[mechBgon]

A LightScribe burner and media sounds like just the ticket. Hit Newegg, search for "LightScribe." I'm planning to get the BenQ retail-boxed one with software for my work rig (legit uses for it here as well). If you're doing 350 of them, you are also going to need snacks. :Q

High-res photo of LightScribe goodness

Hope that helps?

 

[bchalker]

I use my new HP lightscribe burner to create my demo CDs for my business. I put them in the neon transparent yellow plastic slim cases from Maxell, which enhances the look of the disc...really nice. I love it, and it's ideal. mechBgon is right, though. Get snacks. A scribe for me takes 30min. Looks amazing, but takes a while. You can burn the track listing on the disc itself. Might be a nice option.

I really wish there was just a scriber, without the burner. I have a dual-layer burner on my lappie, which is not even used now. A stacked (scribe-only) lightscriber array would be cool idea for short run needs.

400 transparent neon yellow Trimpak cases are $45 shipped off ebay. 400 lightscribe CDs would be about $200...maybe less in bulk. The time involved would be the deciding factor for me, though :frown:

 

[GimpyOne]

My wife and I did something similar for our wedding and my grandparents anniversary.(although we only did ~50 CDs each time) We just ended up going to Staples and picked up whatever CD labeling kits were on sale.(Not quite this kit, but you get the idea)

For a label kit with enough for 50 CDs, we have found them for about $10. The quality of the labels is basically as good as your printer. For the CDs we then found deals on the ones that already come in the slimline cases.(here for $12 for 50 cases if you already have discs) You could also look for the CD's that can be printed on directly, if your printer will do it.(several of the epson and canon inkjets can do this onto discs such as these)

It takes some patience and time, although less time than lightscribing a disk. Once you get all the info/pictures in, you just hit print and as fast as your printer goes, you have the labels. I'd also plan on getting 5-10% more labels then you need to cover the inevitable screwups.

Hope this gives you some more ideas on what could be done. This is more of a DIY approach, but works and is pretty cheap/fast.

 

[spacelord]

I'm sure the RIAA has a recommended method of labeling the CDs....ask them.

 

[MagicMan17]

Thanks for all the great replies guys...

I don't think I can do the LightScribe thing because I already have 4 burners and wanted to do one on each so the process moves faster. I also don't want to spend $200 on 400 Cd's so I guess the labels it is.

Can anyone reccomend a label applicator...i know there are a lot of them, any differences?? Also, any place to get a good deal on a 350 CD labels and 350 CD inserts/back covers?

Also, does anyone recommend a certain brand of CD for the job? I have a friend that is willing to print out all the CD labels/inserts (has printing business) so that's not a problem...

So this will be my order:

350-400 CD's of decent quality
CD Label Applicator Kit + enough labels to make 350
350-400 Slimline cases
350 CD Inserts/Back covers (need help on where/what to buy)

That should be it right or is there anything else?

 

[MagicMan17]

ttt

 

[Gigantopithecus]

You should be able to pick up all of that stuff at an office supply store for under $250, total, if you watch for decent deals. The most expensive part of this project is going to be time!