Home CD Printing/Graphics

[BluesKing777]

Story for you:

 

 

Years back, I was asked by a boss: " Do you want to learn the Internet?"

 

Huw? Whah?

 

I had worked at the coalface in Advertising and Graphic Production for a while to support my guitar habit and had somehow landed a cushy corporate job doing their graphics/proposals/colour printing before the home printing models were available. Produced on Macs and sent to a bureau for production. Hence my love of Macs. All graphic people loved their Macs...

 

So, on top of these little jobs, the boss wanted me to take everyone's photo and load them on to a company Intranet. A thankless task, I tell you, but I had the 2nd ever model of the Apple digital camera to take their smiling faces and put on digital. After a while, the word was out about my photography skill and everyone fled in front of me when I turned up at their area with my digital camera. Even thought I saw myself as a David Hemmings type figure from Blowup, others saw me as perhaps the spoiler of their beauty image and yes, even perhaps an ogre. So of course after the very, very nasty comments from some 'work friends', I came to the conclusion that digital cameras, printing and the internet sminternet would never catch on.

 

Fast forward a few years to the day I bought a digital camera for myself! Admitting a bit of defeat, I decided to learn a bit on photography and scoured the library, book shops etc for all I could. The dog wouldn't pose for the camera anymore, so I was then out on missions taking photos everywhere - digital photos didn't need film - and I was in town, at the beach, in the hills, click, click, click.... Wahoo!

 

Then the fateful day: A friend's father said: "Do you have a digital printer?"

 

He just bought a Epsom 44666777333aaabbccdd something clickity and showed me this sensational blowup in A3 he did at home. His A3 printer cost more than my car at the time, so that dream was out, but I came home with an Epsom 24siddy55www53 model that did A4 prints when hooked up to my iMac G5.

 

So after wasting big bucks printing out basically rubbish - the ink cartridges are really expensive here - I gave up a bit.

 

But with the printer came a little gadget with some layout software for printing on CDs!

 

I had just been teaching myself how to run a cd of my recordings from the iMac - quite simple compared to my old p.c. - hit "Burn iTunes Playlist To Disk " and then coming up with a little label for the cd and jacket.

 

My very first one I sent to my father interstate and he got the misconception that I had signed a big record deal and had cds out and was going to be rich....NO Dad, I made it myself!

 

Huh? Not possible,is it?

 

 

Pretty cool though.

 

So now and again I make a couple of copies of some tracks I have recorded, make a label and cover and send them to him. After the first few cds I sent hime, I found out that I had to buy him a cd player.....

 

I was just making my latest epic before and have run out of red ink on the 2nd copy, so I need to buy all 6 colours to get the printer going again.......

 

 

 

BluesKing777.

[BluesKing777]

So no replies?

 

I thought everyone would be doing their own personalised CDs/DVDs.

 

If not, it is very easy (on the Epson printer anyway) and the results are as good as the time you put into making the label and cd cover.

 

iTunes makes it easy to keep your tracks in different 'playlists' and when you want a cd copy, you hit "Burn Playlist To Disk". Pretty simple.

 

I just did another with a dozen test tracks of my latest guitar purchase - they look pretty impressive - probably more impressive than the content which I didn't spend a lot of time on recording..........

 

One copy for me, one for my father who feigns interest but always wants a copy, and another copy for a friend who moved thousands of miles away to the dark end of Australia with the crocodiles and bugs and nasties - he says he likes to listen to my cds while he is drinking beer sitting in his pool with his huge outdoor stereo blasting away.

 

Oh, ignore all of the above if you have a recording contract and have some slaves to do all the leg work.......

 

 

BluesKing777.

[zombywoof]

Making CD covers was how I learned photoshop. I ended up with the software because my boss figured I could use it to produce exhibit panels, brochures, and such. Problem was none of us knew how to use it. So I was told to just go and have some fun with it so I would figure it out. The first thing I produced was a template for CD covers to use on the bootlegs I was mastering on reel to reel and then putting on CD. And before ya'll get on my case, I never sold anything. I gave them away to guys who ran trees and trading rings.

[duluthdan]

My daughter did some of that for CDs / DVDs but then she moved to New York and took the knowledge with her. I

Am so hopeless, can't even figure out Garagie Band. I keep getting distracted by guitars.

ZW, bootlegs, eh? Rascal.

[BluesKing777]

Making CD covers was how I learned photoshop. I ended up with the software because my boss figured I could use it to produce exhibit panels, brochures, and such. Problem was none of us knew how to use it. So I was told to just go and have some fun with it so I would figure it out. The first thing I produced was a template for CD covers to use on the bootlegs I was mastering on reel to reel and then putting on CD. And before ya'll get on my case, I never sold anything. I gave them away to guys who ran trees and trading rings.

 

Good ole Photoshop!

 

 

I learned a bit of Photoshop by retouching photos of cars and houses for sale with dead cats in the pic for a local newspaper, and just why the photographer took them, I don't know - I say a 'bit' because it is a bottomless program and I just bought Photoshop elements (small part of the program for photography mostly) for my laptop last year.

 

Cones in handy now for .....guitar photos!

 

 

What else?

 

BluesKing777.

[BluesKing777]

My daughter did some of that for CDs / DVDs but then she moved to New York and took the knowledge with her. I

Am so hopeless, can't even figure out Garagie Band. I keep getting distracted by guitars.

ZW, bootlegs, eh? Rascal.

 

Better get the daughter back then, Dan!

 

And GarageBand has a few sections - if you just stick to trying to record yourself in "real instrument' without all that drums and keys stuff - it can be quite simple and fun! Look this up on the manual.

 

 

 

BluesKing777.

[Tarrr]

With the new online file sharing and cloud content services available, CDs are not too main stream these days. Just upload your song, send the link to whoever you select so they can listen/download, collaborate, etc. What can be done with this new type technology for songwriters/musicians/videographers is magic. Look mom, no hands.

 

I replaced the CD player/stereo that came with my car three years ago with a Sony car stereo that can play from USB thumb drives, i-stuff, CDs etc. I haven't burned a CD in a long time, but I did make the labels before the times changed. lol