Preparation Tips

The master CD or DVD disk, is the one you will provide to your CD or DVD vendor for either replication or duplication of the media. Below, you will find some tips designed to help you create a high quality master disc:

1. Always use the highest quality media that you can obtain, as all media isn't the same. Do your research, take your time, then choose a brand that will produce a high quality disc each and every time you duplicate or replicate.

2. Avoid copying from a network source. If the source files for your disk are on a network drive, copy the files to your local disk before you burn a disc. If you can't move the files to your local drive, try using the copy to hard drive first feature. When doing this, your burning software will create a temporary image file during the burning process. Once the burning has been completed, the temporary file will be deleted.

3. You should always avoid burning on a laptop computer that is running on low battery power. The fluctuations that will occur in the available battery power may cause you to have poor results in your duplication.

4. Always make sure that you finalize your disc. If you fail to finalize, the disc won't play back. Finalizing will also help increase the reading capability in other CD-ROM drives.

5. Never use the packet writing method to burn a master disc. This method is very common with burning drives that have re-writing capabilities. This method will produce discs that can't be read on many CD-ROM drives.

6. Avoid any type of impact or movement of the drive during burning. Doing so can cause the laser to skip or jump tracks, which will lead to errors or a bad disc.

7. If available, use the "burn-proof" feature. This feature will allow the drive to slow down the burn speed in the event the computer can't supply the data fast enough. Although this can increase the burn time, the quality of the disc will be much better.

8. You should avoid having multiple applications open when burning, especially those that access the Internet or a network. This can hinder your computer's ability to supply data to the burner drive at the necessary rate.

If you follow the above tips, you should produce a master disc of excellent quality. A master disc is something you'll want perfect, which is why you shouldn't take any risks.