How to use the Disc Template

This is what you see when you open one of the disc templates. Click to see an enlarged image.

Callouts

All of our templates contain "callouts" in magenta, which contain valuable design hints and instructions.  They are all grouped together, so getting rid of them is as simple as clicking once to select the whole big bunch and pressing delete.  If you ever need to refer back to that information, just open the template again to create a fresh new document with the callouts intact.

EPS Mask

Every Mr. Toad's disc template consists of 2 files: the template file, and a linked graphic: the EPS mask. The EPS mask is a special graphic, created in Illustrator, that only allows the printable area of the disc show through when placed in front of other objects.

Items that don't need to be masked can be placed on top of the EPS mask, as long as they fall within the printable area. There should not be any bleeds, as there is nothing to trim away.

The Mirror Band, The Stacking Ring and The Clear Inner Hub

Some of our disc templates indicate the location of these three obstacles that designers should account for. Take some CDs out of your collection, remove them from their jewel cases, and observe these items:

• Mirror Band: an area of high reflectivity on the inside edge of the silver part of the disc. Since it's more reflective, its color varies more widely according to what it's pointing at. It can cause a distracting variation in background color, especially when design elements straddle it and the duller main area of the disc. As a general rule, try to keep type away from it.
• Stacking Ring: also called the knockout ring, since you can't print over it. This is a depression on the top surface of the disc that corresponds to a ridge on the bottom. The depression and the ridge interlock, making stacks of bulk discs considerably easier to handle. The location of the stacking ring varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, so make sure that you're using our templates.
• Clear Inner Hub: near the center of the disc, the silver stops and clear plastic starts.

Your page layout software assumes that you are printing on continuous white paper, but you will actually be printing

on a discontinuous, uneven, dull-silver/reflective-silver/clear surface.  You will have to rely upon your imagination to predict what effect the mirror band and the clear inner hub will have on your design.  For starters, be prepared for significant color variation:

• Translucent colors (including almost all light Pantone inks, since they contain a high proportion of the base ink "transparent white") will appear much darker over the clear inner hub when the disc is placed on top of a black tray.  Effectively, the black tray shows through the clear plastic and becomes part of the background on which the ink is printed.
• Screened images will appear to drop out partially over the mirror band, and almost entirely over the clear inner hub.
• Most inks will also appear darker when printed on the main printable area of the disc, from the outside of the mirror band to the outer edge of the printable area.  This color variation is minor - about half a shade -  and is due to the fact that the disc surface is silver, which is duller than white.

For many designs, the solution is to preprint a flood coat of opaque white (see below).  If you know you want to print on silver, make sure you remember to take the uneven color of the disc surface into account.

Available Ink Colors

In the upper left hand corner of the disc template, there is a place for you to indicate which inks you want to print. For example, the disc above uses Pantone 485 Red and Black over a white flood.

Discs are screen printed with a limited number of inks: see Mr. Toad's Online Catalog for current details. Please use only inks from the "Pantone(R)," and "Pantone Coated" libraries (these are different names for the same thing), plus cyan, magenta, yellow, or black if desired. Don't use RGB. Don't use Pantone Uncoated. Don't use any of the others...

Note that CMYK screen printing costs extra, and has a number of severe limitations, detailed on the Screen Printing Limitations page.  If you import a CMYK graphic, make sure you know what you're getting yourself into! And of course, RGB graphics are a big no-no.

White Flood

If you would like a solid coat of opaque white laid down on the disc before any of the other colors, please indicate as much: "WHITE FLOOD: yes".  If you don't want a white flood, indicate that instead: "WHITE FLOOD: no". If you indicate "yes," a solid wash of white will preprint everywhere that you saw cyan when you opened up the template.

White floods are useful because they even out the surface color of the disc, making it much closer to the white paper that page layout software is expecting. If you elect not to get one, make sure that you have accounted for the mirror band and the clear inner hub in your design, and be prepared for a slight darkening of all translucent inks, since you're printing on plastic coated aluminum, not paper.

Paper Separations

In order to counter potential confusion , we request that you supply paper separations for all orders. In this example, there are 3 inks to be printed.

Composite	Pass#1: White Flood
Pass#2: Pantone 485 Red	Pass#3: Black