JPF Home Page Forums Southeast US Chapter Message Boards Tampa Chapter Message Board Making CDs?

Hello All,
I have a coffeeshop gig coming up next Friday and I would really like to have some CD's available for purchase.
I have an eight song EP completed, but where do I go from there? I really don't want to just burn CD-Rs and write on them with a sharpie and try to sell them. Ideally I'd like a finished product that's low budget but doesn't look like it. In other words, something I'll be proud of 10 years from now, but not something that will break the piggy bank (especially with a baby on the way!).
Any insight on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. The coffeeshop alluded to is Taste in Safety Harbor. I'll be there next Friday the 23rd from 6:30-10:00. Shameless Self Promotion Over...

Depends on the number of cd's that you want,weather or not you have the art work done or some graphics in mind.
Dicmaker's does short runs but I don't know what their turn around time is.
Rush jobs always cost more!
There is a place in Tampa that also does short runs.
I will try to find out the name etc and get back to you.

Thanks for your input Jerry. The smallest order on discmakers is 100. I probably only need 20 or so as I don't expect to pack in much of a crowd.

You can do less than 100 with discmakers - I did 25 once - but I wouldn't recommend it - it's just not cost effective.

I posted some info on how I'm rolling my own CD's a while ago... here's a recap:

I bought an Epson Stylus Photo RX595 from Best Buy - $99. It can print directly on CD's. I had some plain white printable CD's hanging around - printed a CD on it. It looked... eh. Better than a sticker label, but not very nice.

Then I bought 100 ultra hydroshield blank CD's from discmakers. They're glossy and water resistant. WOW!!! It looks freaking AWESOME. Looks as good as any commercial CD I've ever bought. The cost is about 61 cents per disc.

If you're wanting to make your own CD's, I'd highly recommend the combo I got - Epson Stylus Photo RX595 and some ultra hydroshield discs from discmakers.

The other trick I've found is for printing the cover. You can buy double-sided gloss white brochure paper from Staples - This way you design and print a two-wide CD cover that you fold. Looks great, doesn't slip out easily. And gives you more real estate to put on pictures or lyrics or whatever you want.

If you're doing very small amounts, ie 5 CD's at a time, this is an awesome way to go. If you want to do 100 or more... I'd look into tunecore.

I do my own as well!
It is way cheaper and not all that hard to do.

I use the same set up as Richard...thanks to his knowledgeable input on the previous thread. I'm really pleased, both with the results and with the great info garnered here on the Tampa board.

Mike

http://www.myspace.com/threeoldguys