I'm looking into getting some CDs pressed and, having not done this previously, could do with some basic pointers. Mainly:

*What are the different types of on-body CD printing? I've seen
thermal,
silk screen, and
litho.

I know that some CDr's have rubbish print jobs (which I don't want), some CDs have a full colour coating of matt paint, and some just have a sort of "etched" lettering straight onto the silver surface. But which is which?

*Does anywhere print digipaks to small runs (<500 units)? If not:

* Can anyone recommend any good/cheap manufacturers, preferably in the UK?

I believe the thermal is the "etched" look

Litho is the thick heavy stuff

and I only have heard of Silk-Screening for Tshirts. lol!


Ive looked at Oasis a while ago, and I may use them for an upcoming Demo. Its not in the UK, but its online, so they can ship.

and your looking for Short Order runs.
http://www.oasiscd.com/selfservicequoter/

check this out.

Thanks for the explanation on the printing. I've only seen the screen print option in one place, but it was priced between thermal and litho, so I assumed to it "ok" quality but not the best.

I had a look at that Oasis place, looks like a decent set-up, but there's no international shipping option at the minute, (plus, shipping a large number of discs overseas results in some killer postal charges).