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To Duplicate or to Replicate?

March 14th, 2011
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Not too many people know that there are 2 kinds of manufacturing discs- replication and duplication. And those that know sometimes get confused and use the terms interchangeably. Their literal definitions may be nearly identical, but in practice they are extremely different.

Here are some of the basic differences between CD replication and CD duplication that you need to know:
DUPLICATION: Duplication of CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays is the faster, more affordable copy option for disc quantities under 2,000. A CD/DVD duplicator extracts data from the master disc and writes it to a blank disc. If you have your album duplicated in a CD manufacturing company, CD Duplication facilities duplicate hundreds at a time on towers that are linked together. Each tower contains several CD/DVD trays so that many copies can be created simultaneously. Duplication is also the way to go if you are in a rush because it will take approximately 1 to 5 days for delivery.

REPLICATION: Replication is the copy process that will cost you less money per disc when it comes to high volumes like 2,000 to more than one million. If it’s lesser than 2,000, the price per disc is higher compared to the duplicated discs.  The price of materials and initial machine setup operations for replication drives up the price and makes it a more costly expense for smaller quantities; only large quantities will benefit from its price.

Replication is used in commercial and retail applications and viewed as more ‘professional.’ A “glass master” of your original project is made which in turn “stamps” the data onto blank media. The disc is then printed and lacquered for protection. This produces CDs with more professional quality. D Replication generally takes a much longer time then duplication because of the necessary added steps which can add  7-14 days or more to complete.


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Unified Manufacturing is a custom CD/DVD and Vinyl Manufacturing facility based on both sides of the US. Our clients range from indie artists to major label artists such as Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, and Ringo Starr. If you need an Instant Quote on a project AND you want FREE SHIPPING ( free shipping on all quotes from the blog) – Then CLICK HERE.

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