Burned vs Pressed CDs ?

[sixstringer506]

My band is getting ready to have our cd duplicated and I was wondering what the difference is between having your cds burned or pressed ? I know the difference in how they are made . What I want to know is if they sound any different or have playback issues. Thanks.

[geoffkhan]

If you just burn them yourself, you'll find that some CD players won't be able to play the CDs (because they assume that any burned CD is illegal), whereas if you go get them pressed, it'll be guaranteed to work on any CD player.

Also, some CD presses can put the labels on the CDs and even slip a business card inside the CD case for you -- saving you from all the manual work later. Obviously a CD press can also make a whole lot more CDs faster.

[Stephen Soto]

If the cost is enough to make the difference, I'd just go burned.

[brianrost]

geoffkhan was a bit off base in his post about burned CDs being "illegal", but it is true that burned CDs may not play properly on some players and can degrade quickly if not stored properly. The actual SOUND will be the same (bits are bits).

The only reason to go with burned CD-Rs is because you are doing very small runs, need them super fast and the recordings are disposable (i.e. demos or freebies).

If you're planning to sell them get 'em pressed.

[xush]

I agree with Brian. Like usual.

We get lots of homemade CDs at our studio or gigs, etc; and that's exactly how they strike me- homemade. Frequently they have glitches or problems. I'd never trust handing out home-burnt CDs unless I checked each and every second of each and every copy.

I rarely get a burnt CD that doesn't have imperfections somewhere on it.
If you want to charge money for them, or give a professional impression, you should look into having a duplicating company make them for you.

So, in the age of desktop publishing and DIY promotion, that may sound unrealistic, but you've got a reputation to establish (or uphold) for your band.

You are asking about having them professionally duplicated vs making them yourselves, right?

[Ed Fuqua]

The other thing is long term quality, the CDs that are burnable use a low power laser to imprint information on a foil backing. Which is liable to damage, bad data burn etc...

[sixstringer506]

yeah we are going to be going through duplicating company . I came across one in my internet search though that offered burned or pressed cds . The burned ones had a quick turn around . I think the pressed cds took about 2 to 3 weeks because they need to make the molds and stuff . I think we will go with pressed cds after reading about the burned ones being less reliable . Thanks for the info .

[geoffkhan]

Originally Posted by brianrost

geoffkhan was a bit off base in his post about burned CDs being "illegal", but it is true that burned CDs may not play properly on some players and can degrade quickly if not stored properly. The actual SOUND will be the same (bits are bits).

The only reason to go with burned CD-Rs is because you are doing very small runs, need them super fast and the recordings are disposable (i.e. demos or freebies).

If you're planning to sell them get 'em pressed.

I'm wasn't saying that burned CDs are illegal, I'm just saying that some CD players disallow playing burned CDs because they assume they are illegal. Fortunately I also own an older CD player which plays burned CDs fine.

[The Golden Boy]

I've got an older (5 years) Alpine car stereo that is exceptionally touchy about which burned CDs it will play.