Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
If you’re releasing a CD or vinyl record, the packaging is something most artists may not think about until it’s too late. Your music might sound amazing, but does your album packaging look incredible? At Disc Makers, we’ve made significant investments to ensure that your printed packaging —jackets, digipaks, and wallets — look better than anywhere else.
Table of Contents:
• The Disc Makers difference
• What quality printing means for you and your fans
• Ready to release your album?
The Disc Makers difference
How can we promise that our packaging looks the best? Two big reasons. First, we’re a G7-certified printing facility. That’s not marketing fluff. In fact, it’s the most-rigorous standard in commercial printing for color accuracy and consistency. And second, we print all our album covers on HP Indigo presses, which are the highest-end industrial digital color printers in the world.
What is G7 printing?
First, let me explain what exactly G7 is and why you should care. G7 is a precise color calibration standard. It makes sure your printed artwork matches your original design files every time on every press. It’s not just about printing nicely — it’s about printing accurately and predictably.
To stay certified, we run daily color tests to keep our presses dialed in. And we have G7-certified technicians on our staff — people trained to maintain strict tolerances. That’s why your photos look natural, your skin tones look real, and your reds and blues and blacks are deep and true.
G7 matters for four big reasons. Number one, your band merch will look better at the merch table or on the store shelf. Those sharp, vibrant colors will make fans want to pick up your album. Number two, your printed product will look exactly like your designer intended. That’s kind of a big deal. Number three, your reorders will match your original press run, whether you come back in three months or three years. And number four, every press run is consistent, even if your digipaks are run on press one and your booklets for the insert are run on press two.
Why HP Indigo presses?
Our printing presses are the second part of our secret sauce. In our print shop, we have two HP Indigo presses. These HP Indigos print with a special liquid electro ink that is designed for super-bright colors, perfect skin tones, and really beautiful photo printing. This is not like inkjet printing. Many of our competitors use inkjet printing, which can be okay, but the skin tones tend to drift out of color alignment a little bit.
What we get here with the HP Indigo — which is, by the way, recognized as the best-quality digital color printing anywhere — is super bright. When your CD or your LP is on a merch table or on a shelf, your fans will go, “Wow, this is amazing.” And here you can see some of the printed sheets — beautiful print quality waiting to be die-cut and folded and glued.
What quality printing means for you and your fans
Thanks to our G7 printing capabilities, we can make your album cover look fantastic. Consistent colors and realistic skin tones help your album make a great first impression. We promise to impress you with our photo quality, and you won’t find this anywhere else.
Think about it this way: For many album release, it’s your face on your CD cover. It’s got to be right! That’s why we maintain our G7 certification. That’s why we use only the best printing presses. Yes, G7 takes time. It takes training, specialized equipment, and trained technicians, and ongoing testing. Most manufacturers skip all of that to save a couple of bucks. But we don’t cut corners because we know your packaging isn’t just packaging — it’s your first impression. And when it looks great, you look great. That’s the built-in quality you get from Disc Makers.
Ready to release your album?
We can’t wait for you to see our printing quality for yourself. Whether you’re releasing a custom LP, a CD, or both types of media, Disc Makers is ready to work with you and ensure that your album looks as great as it sounds. Get started today!
You can watch the original version of this blog as part of our Indie Music Minute series on the Disc Makers YouTube Channel.
Tony van Veen
Tony van Veen is the CEO of DIY Media Group, the parent company of Disc Makers and BookBaby. As a college student, he played in indie bands, created his own LPs, cassettes, and t-shirts, and sold them at shows. Today, he collects CDs, vinyl LPs, and concert t-shirts to support the artists he loves.
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