To duplicate or replicate?
There are two ways you can copy cd or copy 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 a paper label which is then applied onto 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 replication or DVD replication. The only time you would resort to CD duplication or DVD duplication is when your order is less than 500 or you need to rush the order. In that case you should use CD duplication or DVD duplication. Even you chose to go the route of CD duplication or DVD 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. New Cyberian always does the “compare and verify” for all the CD duplication and 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 DVDs. Duplicated DVDs are more susceptible to temperature change than replicated DVDs. Last but not least, duplicated discs have less resistance to scratch damage then replicated discs.
