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CDs and CD-ROMs

Digital Force is a full-service production facility located in the heart of Manhattan. With fifteen years of experience, Digital Force can handle your entire project for you – from consultation to mastering to package design to fulfillment.

Whether you have a short run duplication project or larger replication project, Digital Force ensures that your job is done right.

Visit our glossary to learn more about the duplication versus replication process.

"On behalf of the band, thank you for providing us with an excellent product and, more importantly, excellent customer service throughout the entire manufacturing process”
-- Adam Hirchman, Bassist and Co-Founder of Kosmic Daydream

Ordering CDs at Digital Force is easy and convenient. We excel in areas of production, printing and packaging, providing you with a finished retail-ready product. You can choose from constantly expanding variety of packaging options including jewel cases, cardboard sleeves and digipaks, as well as economy packaging. Check out our portfolio for examples of all these formats.

Have questions? Contact us for more information or get a quote today.

How a CD is made

A compact disc is constructed of 5 separate layers…

1. First a thick, soft, clear plastic layer. This layer comprises the majority of the CD's thickness and weight. It serves two purposes. First, it protects the data layer from damage on the play side and Secondly it acts as a lens to focus the CD player's laser onto the data layer so it can more easily read the data (much the way lenses in spectacles help eyes focus on the words on a page).

2. Next the data layer is where the music and any other information are stored. It's the layer that the CD player "reads" in order to create the music, graphics, etc. The data layer is molded or pressed into the top of the clear plastic layer. The data in the data layer is arranged in tracks that spiral like the grooves on a vinyl record (except CDs are read from the "inside out", the opposite of vinyl records).

3. A reflective, metallic layer is located on top of the data layer. It allows the disc to function like a mirror, reflecting the CD player's laser back to the detector in the CD player after it reads the data layer It's this layer that gives the CD's play side a shiny appearance.

4. A thin, hard protective layer is an ultra-thin plastic coating that is added to provide some protection for the reflective and data layers, while also forming a surface upon which the label information can be printed.

5. Finally the label layer is printed on top of the protective layer. It contains the title, graphics, band and other information to identify the contents of the disc. (label side).