Do-It-Yourself CD Cover Design

Working with images

Once you have chosen the photos and/or artwork for your CD, you'll need to convert them to a format that can be used in your desktop publishing software. For printing purposes, any images you use have to be at least 300 dpi (dots per inch) at full size. Images taken from the web are 72 dpi and do not reproduce well in print; resizing web images will not increase their resolution. Any decent scanner can scan in a photo or a small piece of artwork (e.g., 11" x 14") at a sufficient resolution. If your artwork is too big to fit on your scanner, you have a few options:

  1. scan the artwork in sections and use a graphics editing program (such as Adobe Photoshop) to piece it back together. If you don't have the appropriate software, contact us for assistance;
  2. take a photograph of the painting and then scan a print of that photograph. Make sure the artwork is photographed in a well-lit environment;
  3. bring the artwork to a professional scanning service. They will give you a high-resolution scan of the artwork on a disc which you can then use in your layout program. The cost is based on the size of the original artwork and the size of the file they provide.

When you scan in a photo or piece of artwork, the scanning program will save the file in RGB (Red/Green/Blue) format. Before it is printed, the images have to be converted to CMYK. CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black — the four inks used in the printing process. When combined, these pigments form the full spectrum of colour on the printed page. Programs like Adobe Photoshop can easily convert RGB images to CMYK, however, some CD manufacturers would prefer to receive all your artwork in RGB format since the files are smaller and easier to work with. If you are using a desktop publishing program like Adobe InDesign or Quark XPress, you will want to convert your images to CMYK before placing them. Ask your chosen CD manufacturer what format they would prefer before converting your scanned images.

All of your images should be saved in TIFF format. (EPS format is also acceptable, but should be reserved for images that contain a duotone or clipping path.) Unfortunately, you can't use GIF or JPEGS because they are meant for screen viewing, not print. If your original image is a high-resolution JPEG (from a digital camera photo, for instance), you can use a program like Adobe Photoshop to save it as a "flattened" TIF file before placing it in your layout program. Always keep original copies of your images, particularly if they contain layers.

If you use a desktop publishing program like InDesign or Quark, it is important to place your images as linked files rather than embedded files. This allows the printer to troubleshoot any problems with the image before it goes to press. When placing your images, make sure the "link to file" option is selected — don't cut and paste your images or you will run into problems when you send it to print.

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