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How do you guys print CD stomps?


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#1 leglessmoof

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Posted 12 November 2004 - 06:15 AM

So like the rest of you, I use CoverXP for all my cover-printing needs. However, my printer is pretty inaccurate, so whenever I print CD stomps with CoverXP they never line up correctly to the template.

So I realized an obvious way around this when I started printing covers from LiveMetallica.com. The LiveMetallica.com CD stomps are slightly larger then they need to be, so if they don't line up exactly, you still get the main part of the cover on the label and the extra runs off the label. It appears afterwords that the label lined up fine.

So here's what I did to print out Mr.Metal's latest CD stomp for the 2004.06.06 cover (only compatible with Neato templates of course) and it worked like a charm!
  • 1. In Photoshop, open a random LiveMetallica.com CD stomp PDF file.
  • 2. Open the cover you are trying to print (most likely it's a JPEG/BMP).
  • 3. Copy and paste the cover into the LiveMetallica PDF. This will create a new layer.
  • 4. In the new layer, set the opacity to 50%-ish (so it's transparent).
  • 5. Drag and resize the new cover as necessary so that it exactly fits on top of one of the existing covers in the LiveMetallica PDF. This should be pretty easy to do since we made the cover semi-transparent in Step #4.
  • 6. Now that the cover is lined up properly, set the opacity back to 100%.
  • 7. Set the fill of layer 0 (the original PDF) to 0% so it won't show up at all.
  • 8. Save the project to a temp PDF file.
  • 9. Print the cover using Acrobat Reader (following the instructions in the LiveMetallica.com FAQ).
Does anyone else even have the same problem as me with the labels not alligning correctly? Am I the first person to come up with this method? Anyone else want to try this method and see if it works for them? Other thoughts, ideas, or questions?

If I've seriously stumbled on to something genius here, I can write up a more-detailed guide on it. We could even start posting PDFs instead of JPEGs/BMPs if everyone wants to agree to use Neato templates.

#2 Mr.Metal

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Posted 12 November 2004 - 03:08 PM

You are the best at explaining all kinds of stuff, I was also reading your tutorial in how to put different audio tracks to the DVD and it was so easy to understand.

Thanks for the tutorial, I don't print my or anyone else's covers because I have a shitty printer, but it's great that you wrote the tutorial, because for some reason the shape of the CD (as you can see on the stomp that I made) looks pretty bad, it doesn't look like a cercle, so now we know how to make it look fine.

Thanks :unsure:
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#3 Guest_Guitarfreak454_*

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Posted 12 November 2004 - 04:02 PM

Nice tutorial. :P About saving the files to PDF ... the gallery will only support .jpg files because it has to make thumbnails and can only support .jpg. Therefore, if you uploaded a .gif, it wouldn't create a thumbnail for it. GIFs suck anyway for things like cover art. JPG is the best way to go. But now that this is stickied, people can see how to create the pdf's, for their personal usage. :unsure:

#4 Guest_lost_prophet_*

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Posted 12 November 2004 - 09:11 PM

Personally i just use Nero Cover Designer lol

#5 Guest_Angerdude_*

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Posted 13 November 2004 - 10:18 AM

I use word :unsure:

#6 Mr.Metal

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Posted 15 November 2004 - 09:46 PM

Odd resquest leglessmoof, but if it's possible could you please show us a picture of how it looks :D I am curious about it.
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#7 Guest_^MuYa^_*

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Posted 15 November 2004 - 11:23 PM

I would suggest getting an Epson Stylus Photo R200 printer. This printer can print directly on the cd (special cd's needed). The cd's are a little more expensive then normal ones but if you consider the price of stickers and the hassle it is worth it.

#8 Mr.Metal

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Posted 16 November 2004 - 02:44 AM

Oh my god, I just saw that one and it's realy cheap :D it's like 140$CAN but how reliable are they? I mean, I don't want to kick it after I buy a new cartridge and the black stuff comes out red or the green colors come out yellow.
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#9 Guest_^MuYa^_*

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Posted 16 November 2004 - 03:13 AM

I haven't had any trouble with mine. I'm just getting to the point where I need to change a few of the cartridges. Each color has a seperat cartridge so your not wasting ink. There is a total of 6 cartridges in it. I don't see how the colors could get screwed up other than putting a cartridge in the wrong spot.

#10 leglessmoof

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Posted 16 November 2004 - 05:42 AM

@Mr.Metal: http://members.lycos...lessmoof/cd.bmp
(SAVE TARGET AS and rename to TIF)

@Muya: I'm sure it works well, but I don't see a need to purchase such a printer. The cost of buying the special CDs probably comes close to the cost of purchasing the labels, plus you don't incur the extra one-time cost of buying the printer. Plus it's slightly more economical in the sense that if you mess up a label, you can just print a new label instead of having or re-burn the CD.




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