MD Production

2. The production process of the premastered MD

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2.1. MD Production

1	2	3	4	5	6
Input	Pre-	Mastering	Disc	Cartridge	Packaging
Material	Mastering		Replication	Assembly

1. Input Material

DADC requires following input components from customers:

•A MD master tape or a sound carrier as for CD production (e.g. PQ-encoded U-Matic 1630).

•Print films, as well as colour proofs, for artwork, label- and cartridge print.

•Completely filled in form sheets (sample forms 1, 2 & 3 on pages 14, 15 & 18, form sheets in appendix).

Production can be started as soon as all necessary components have arrived.

2. Premastering

At the premastering studio the CD-Master tape is converted to a MD-Master tape. This means that the audio information is compressed by a Format Converter using the ATRAC compression technology. Also the PQ-code is converted to MD specific data and optional subdata (POS*, disc name, track name) can be added. All information then is recorded onto a MD Master.

3. Mastering

A nickel stamper for MD replication is produced in the same process as for CD. A glass plate is coated with a thin layer of photo lacquer. A laser spot records the data from the MD Master into the photo lacquer. The nickel negatives which are produced from the developed plate are used to replicate the MD.

4. Disc Replication

The replication process of the MD is the same as for CD. After creating a disc by using high precision molding technology, the MD is coated with a thin layer of aluminum as reflective media, and subsequently with protective lacquer to protect it against damage. Then the coated discs are 100% quality inspected.

5. Cartridge Assembly

As the first step in the finishing process, the cartridge is prepared with a paper label glued onto the front and other information printed in white on the back and spine. After the clamping plate has been mounted onto the MD, the MD is set into the cartridge halves and the cartridge is welded.

6. Packaging

Packaging is done very similar to CD packaging, with a booklet and a backline card added to the MD in a special MD jewel case.

* point of sales data.

DADC 9

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