Replication refers to the manufacturing process that starts with raw material to manufacture your discs from scratch. An original master disc is evaluated for any errors, followed by the production of a glass master of the disc. This glass master is then used to create a stamper, which is mounted on the machine that molds your discs one at a time. Replication is the highest quality of disc manufacturing, but is only cost effective for 1000 discs or more. This is the best option if you want larger quantities (500 pieces or more) and if you’re not in a time-crunch.

Duplication refers to the process of taking an existing blank CD-R or DVD-R disc and burning information onto that disc, much the same way you copy CDs on your computer. A key benefit to duplication is a quick turnaround, but the per-disc-cost can be somewhat higher than replication. Another benefit to duplication is the fact that you can order smaller quantities rather than going with the 500 piece minimum for replication. This is ideal for those on a shoe-string budget. Duplicated CDs also tend to have a higher incompatibility rate than replicated CDs when playing on certain CD players. For example, if you tried to play a recently burned disc on an old CD player, the laser on the CD player might not be able to read the data on the disc. Additionally, if you were to play a CD that was burned several years ago in a brand new CD player, the laser might not be able to read the data on that disc as well. Fortunately, this isn't much of an issue with the advancements in the technology over the recent years, but it's something to be aware of nonetheless.

If you have any more questions about replication or duplication, please feel free to contact us.