What are CD art proofs and mistakes to avoid with your CD artwork.
If you ever have your CD duplicated or replicated along with sleeves, one of the things your CD manufacturer will send to you are CD art proofs.
CD art proofs are a digital representation of your artwork including a visible template. The aim of the proofs is to highlight exactly how the sleeve will get printed so changes can be made if necessary.
A typical CD art proof should consist of two files – sleeve and CD on body.
What to look for in CD art proofs
The main thing you should pay attention to is the placement of your panels.
Each panel of your artwork should be aligned with the template so that none of the important elements like text or logo are getting cut off on the art proof.
Another thing is bleed. Bleed is basically the background layer that should go over the template edges to make sure once printed the white space won’t show up.
Look below at the example of correctly applied bleed.
What to do if colour varies in your CD art proof
The main reason why your art proof colour might differ from your design is the colour model. All printed graphics uses CMYK colours. If you’ve created your artwork in RGB model the art proof will be converted to CMYK and the colours might be a bit different/darker.
To avoid this make sure your art is designed in CMYK and if you only have RGB design make sure you convert it into CMYK.
In photoshop you can convert RGB to CMYK from the image menu.
What to do if you're not happy with your CD art proofs
If you’re not happy with your art proofs consult with your CD manufacturer and discuss the options. Usually, simple tweaks to the artwork will fix most of the problems.
Your CD manufacturer should be able to advise you on the best ways to fix the problem.
If you want to talk to our art specialist just send us a message and we’ll help you fix any issues.
Common mistakes with CD art proofs
Those are the most common mistakes we see pretty much with every client we work with.
- design in RGB not CMYK
- not enough bleed
- text too close to the edge
- incorrect panel placement
- panels not sizes according to the template
I hope this was helpful.
Feel free to write to us with any artwork issues you might have.
We’ve worked on thousands of artworks and can help fixing every issue.
Thanks for reading,
Tom
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Hey, I’m Tom, and I’ve been involved in the music industry for over two decades now! I help bands produce top-notch records by lending my expertise in CD manufacturing, music business and mastering. But that’s not all – I also have a soft spot for writing and sharing knowledge with others. I hope you’ll find the content I create enjoyable to read and that it provides some valuable insights into the world of music.
