Frequently Asked Questions
These FAQs have been designed to answer some of the queries that we have been often asked, so we have addressed all of them here. These may appear to be a little light to some, but please be assured that we are treating every order very seriously.
RIYAN is a manufacturer of pre-recorded CDs and DVDs. We make Audio Cassettes, Audio CDs, Video CDs, CDROMs, DVD Video, DVD ROMs, Packing Cases, Jewel Boxes, CD Pouches
What do I need to place an order?
- Input Media: (Any one) This is the content which you want replicated, so that we can make an exact copy, please note, we are not able to make any changes in the masters given to us.
Format Sources accepted
ACD: Audio CD, CD-R
VCD: VCD, CDR
CDROM: CDROM, CD-R
DVD 5: DLT, DVD-R
DVD9: DLT (one for each layer), DVD-R DL.
If using unbranded CDRs or other media, or for rush/urgent jobs, we recommend having two copies of the master given to us, just in case there are read errors from these masters. (YES! We do have such errors arising in some of the most urgent orders! Murphy's Law is alive and can strike in most cases) - Copyright letter: This is Basically needed to ensure that you do make copies of the latest DVD for distribution to your friends! This is to state that you have the copyrights and/or are allowed to make the CDs /DVDs. A format is downloadable here.
- Purchase order: on your letterhead, which states your Company name (or your name, in case of personal orders) and Address. Please also mention delivery details, in case you want us to hand this over to your forwarder.
- Design CD: Please also give us a progressive proof for the printing, so that we know what the printing looks like! Please also note, that the printing will differ from the inkjet/laser printouts or from JPEG files, and for all orders without a white base, do consider the reflective background of the CD.
- Specifications: Please mention the number of tracks and the duration, in the Purchase order, so that we can cross check during the manufacturing process.
RIYAN manufactures against orders received from its customers, who are the legal copyright owners/licensees, who alone have the right to manufacture the Discs. RIYAN is bound to manufacture and sell only to the customer, and hence cannot sell others products to third parties. We will not entertain any such inquiries. Please contact the copyright owner is this respect.
Why do you have plus or minus 5% of the ordered quantity?
As you must have seen from the CD manufacturing process, that each order goes through various stages in the manufacturing process, before it is finally shipped to you. At each stage, there are Quality controls by which the bad Discs are rejected out. This is to ensure that you do not get any defective Discs. We do make some extra discs, but the process is such, that we cannot guarantee an exact number manufactured every time. Due to this reason, the quantity delivered will vary from order to order, and we request that you bear with us on this. If you need exact quantities for any reason, please specify this in writing at the time of placing the order, so that we can produce accordingly. There will be a additional expense for this, since we will have to produce extra discs and ship you the exact quantity.
How do you make the CDs? Burning process or replication process?
There are two types of CD manufacturing processes:
Burning Process and the replication process: RIYAN offers both, depending on the order quantity.
Burning process is when one uses the CD Recordable media and "burns" the information on the blank media . This is typically done on a CD Burner or a bank of CD Recorders. This is time consuming and usually involves a person sitting and putting and removing the blank media from the burners. Furthermore, these discs then have to be checked, if the data has been copied properly or not, before being printed and packed normal CDs. One can apply pre-printed stickers on these CDs or print on them; we recommend that you print on these, since stickers could come out from the CDs in the long term.
These are generally ok for one-offs and time bound critical small runs, but not recommended for long term or rugged usage, as these may prove to have issues with playability.
RIYAN offers these CDs for small runs 100 to 500s, and can offer prices based on these volumes. Above 500s, it may make sense to consider the replication process. Please note that the prices are not cheap for this kind of small runs, since we have to buy out the actual CDRs and then process these, using the same machines which we use for replication. Since this does involve significant labor costs and scheduling disruptions, we have to include this in our costs. On the flip side, this is usually the best method to get very small runs, very fast. The eventual decision on which process to use, depends on the customer preference, usage, time and cost factors.
Replication: this is the main process which RIYAN uses. This process involves making a stamper from your source, then putting this stamper in an Injection molding machine, and then molding the CDs with the data on it, and then printing, packing and shipping it to you.
This process is a lot faster for larger runs, and is used for most professional large orders for Audio, Video and CDROMs.
RIYAN recommends this for most orders and a bulk of our business is from these kind of orders.
How do you print the CDs? Do you apply stickers on them?
We use the screen printing process for 1,2,3 or special/house colour, pantone colour orders where as 4,5 colour, CMYK jobs and all large orders (5000+) are offset printed. We can deviate from this, but please let us know at the time of placing the order and we can make note of this. There may be cost considerations for this, so please have a good reason for asking for this.
Can I have my stampers back? Do you return stampers?
RIYAN as a policy, does not return the stampers back to the customer. While copyrights in the stampers are those of the customer, we retain the right and the title in the physical stamper at all times. We also undertake not to take up production without a written purchase order from the customer.
What are the time Schedules for delivery?
These will vary depending on the order and our production load. Usually, normal orders should take about 5-6 working days time, depending on the quality of the inputs. Typically, do take into account one day each for the stamper making and the label films, (if you are giving us a digital file, and not the actual films)
What brand of Discs do you use? Can I supply my own brand for my orders?
Since we are manufacturing CDs by the replication process, the most straight forward answer would be, we manufacture our own. But in case of burning, we prefer to use our stocks since we know how they behave, and what the rejection rates and quality, is like. We can use your stocks but we do not take any guarantees for the quality or yields.
Why don't you check the CD masters given to you before you start the production?
We do not usually, check the contents for accuracy or for errors, except for checking for any copyright issues. These checks are not a replacement for the content check at the customers end, nor are a guarantee for accuracy of content or playability of the discs. Customers are strongly urged to do their own checks and verification before handing over the masters to us, since our responsibility is restricted to the exact copying of the contents of the masters, regardless of playability. We do not give any assurances for playability or accuracy of content except that the final replicated discs will be a copy of the content given to us in the master.
Our manufacturing process involves making a stamper from the master source given by the customer. During this process, the mastering machine reads the source while trying to copy it. During this process, any reading errors, or readability factors are brought out, and we could reject the master source for this reason. But we do not have any automated systems for checking or verifying the accuracy or playability of the content given to us.
I have a master, why do you have to make another master?
The master which you have with you, is the source master, which contains the data. We have to make a separate mould/stamper from which the Discs are moulded. This is the master that we are refering to.
How good is your quality? Can I trust your products over the "other persons" Discs?
Our processes and systems ensure that the products we manufacture are consistently produced as per the required specs. This ensures that all the Discs that we make are compatible with all standard Disc Players. While we do not make any claims of competitors products, RIYAN guarantees the quality of the Discs made by it. In short, the Discs we make are of good manufacturing quality, if not, we will replace all of these, no questions asked. This guarantee is not valid for any special rate offers, or special price products, or products where inputs are supplied by the customer.
What quality control methods do you use?
All our Discs are checked according to the Philips /Sony Standards for CDs and the various international standards for DVDs. All our processes are tightly monitored for deviations, and this ensures that the final products are also produced under very low variation and a high degree of consistency.
The mastering system is the industry standard Eclipse Image Encoder Suite, in a closed loop system which verifies the contents at the time of transfer to the glass mastering process. It is also in a dedicated network so as not to allow any external viruses or data to interfere with the final masters. We do not play the content given to us, but copy the entire image of the CD, so as to protect the system from any inherent viruses in any other masters received by us. Furthermore, we check the stampers for electrical and physical parameters at the time of manufacture.
The CD replication process: Here the process is monitored and a sample test is done of each output on a fixed basis, to check the consistency of the output and the process.
Industry standardized testing equipment, which compares the signals of the Discs to the specifications is used and the order released only if they are within spec. Also, every Disc is also tested for surface defects by the scanners in the replication machine.
During the printing process, the colours are matched to the proofs given. After the CD has been printed, each CD is checked for any printing or manufacturing defects, and then released for packing and shipping.
If at any stage, any defective CDs are rejected and only the good Discs are allowed to go further in the process.
Do you make, sell or distribute cd-rs, cd recordables, blank cds, blank dvds, dvd-rs?
RIYAN makes only pre-recorded discs, We do not make or sell any blank media
What is the life of a stamper?
This is difficult to forecast as these may get damaged in operations, while putting or removing the stamper from the machine etc. also the condition of the stamper, type of manufacturing, and usage conditions also determine its life. For calculation purposes, we assume a normal life of 10000 pcs per stamper, though some literature does mention a theoretical limit of 50,000 nos to 100,000cds per stamper.
The life theoretically is supposed to be endless, but some literature mentions of about 30 years, but the life of a CD typically depends on the Manufacturing, handling, and care taken to preserve the CD. All our discs are manufactured under the strictest quality control standards so they should last you a long long time!
Why do I need a white base for printing?
A cd has a reflective base, and hence most light colours or process colours will have a reflective, metallic type finish. It is better for half tones, picture printing or light coloured areas to consider a white base, for the printing, to avoid this look.