Simple Approach to CD Labeling

My rant for the day:

I don't make CDs very often, but this morning I transferred a half
hour live program from tape to CD. First was the half-hour transfer
time, then a little editing. No problem so far.

Then I opened up the file in Nero and dropped markers in between songs
so that it would "look" like a CD when played. Burned a CD. Checked
it. One track, 12 indexes. OK, so I forgot that you have to click on
"Split on markers" before it will separate the file into individual
tracks. On to Take Two.

Checked that out. OK, now there are 12 tracks, but it seems like
there's too long of a pause between them. I look at the Nero track
list and find that it's inserted 2 seconds between them. Took that
out, and burned another CD. Take Two is OK.

So I thought I'd make a neat liner for the case, and maybe even a
label since I have the stuff. I opened up Nero's label designer and
absolutely couldn't figure out how to use it. All I wanted to do was
type text on to something that I could cut out to fit the CD case, and
put a simple label on the disk.

So I went to a program that came with my CD Stomper. It gave me a
choice of dozens of backgrounds, none of which were "blank." So I pick
the simplest one, and again try to put in the text. Couldn't figure
out how to fit it in. Tried different font sizes, tried stretching and
moving the text box, nothing seemed to make any sense.

I finally just typed the text in Word, printed it out on a sheet of
blank paper, and trimmed it to fit into the case. Total time from
start to finish was about 2 hours. Admittedly much of this was
fumbling with programs that I don't use often enough to work correctly
the first time (or any time, obviously) but if this was a paying job
instead of a favor for a friend, I would be at a loss to know how to
charge for it.

But that's not really what I want to know though I'm sure you'll
discuss it. What I really want is a simple and straightforward CD
label template that works like a word processor, or maybe even works
with a word processor. It would be nice if it printed fine lines for
cutting and folding, and let me choose fonts and sizes to make the
text fit. That's all. No fancy stuff, no backgrounds, no logos, no
learning curve.

Any suggestions?



--
I'm really Mike Rivers - (mrivers@d-and-d.com)

I used MS Word and a lot of trial and error to arrive at a template that
works.

I just modify the one that works from there to make other ones.

If you find a program that does what you describe, let me know.

CT

Mike Rivers wrote:
>
> My rant for the day:
>

> But that's not really what I want to know though I'm sure you'll
> discuss it. What I really want is a simple and straightforward CD
> label template that works like a word processor, or maybe even works
> with a word processor. It would be nice if it printed fine lines for
> cutting and folding, and let me choose fonts and sizes to make the
> text fit. That's all. No fancy stuff, no backgrounds, no logos, no
> learning curve.
>
> Any suggestions?

Adaptec CD Jewel Case Creator. Change "Theme" to none to get rid of the
background crap. Has everything you asked for. U-Line makes U-cards and
inserts that line up nicely with preset layouts. Makes easy work of
short runs.

bobs

Bob Smith
BS Studios
we organize chaos
http://www.bsstudios.com

In article <cthomas-A2CA99.15124920082003@teta.doit.wisc.edu> Charles Thomas
<cthomas@REMOVE_SPAM_BLOCK.facstaff.wisc.edu> writes:
> I used MS Word and a lot of trial and error to arrive at a template that
> works.
>
> I just modify the one that works from there to make other ones.
>
> If you find a program that does what you describe, let me know.
>
> CT

For more control, I use PageMaker. Once the templates are set up, it's very
easy to use.

-Jay
--
x------- Jay Kadis ------- x---- Jay's Attic Studio ----x
x Lecturer, Audio Engineer x Dexter Records x
x CCRMA, Stanford University x http://www.offbeats.com/ x
x-------- http://ccrma-www.stanford.edu/~jay/ ----------x

Mike Rivers (mrivers@d-and-d.com) wrote:
> But that's not really what I want to know though I'm sure you'll
> discuss it. What I really want is a simple and straightforward CD
> label template that works like a word processor, or maybe even works
> with a word processor. It would be nice if it printed fine lines for
> cutting and folding, and let me choose fonts and sizes to make the
> text fit. That's all. No fancy stuff, no backgrounds, no logos, no
> learning curve.
>
> Any suggestions?


For simple jewel cases, I use a Word document consisting of a table with
three columns; the left and right columns/cells are narrow (for the
folded-up edges), with the Text Direction/Orientation set to the
respective vertical direction; the middle cell is for the main
listings/notes; the row height is fixed; at will, you can format
fonts, cut/paste, add graphics, etc.

The perimeter is outlined for cutting. Instead of fold lines, it's
faster to just use a commercial jewel case label as a folding template.
Send me an email if you want the basic Word file.

- Brian

Mike,

If I recall correctly, you can download Word templates for just about
anything from Avery (the label people). I think the templates have the
cut/fold lines and marks too.

Randy

"Mike Rivers" <mrivers@d-and-d.com> wrote in message
news:znr1061398604k@trad...
>
> My rant for the day:
>
> I don't make CDs very often, but this morning I transferred a half
> hour live program from tape to CD. First was the half-hour transfer
> time, then a little editing. No problem so far.
>
> Then I opened up the file in Nero and dropped markers in between songs
> so that it would "look" like a CD when played. Burned a CD. Checked
> it. One track, 12 indexes. OK, so I forgot that you have to click on
> "Split on markers" before it will separate the file into individual
> tracks. On to Take Two.
>
> Checked that out. OK, now there are 12 tracks, but it seems like
> there's too long of a pause between them. I look at the Nero track
> list and find that it's inserted 2 seconds between them. Took that
> out, and burned another CD. Take Two is OK.
>
> So I thought I'd make a neat liner for the case, and maybe even a
> label since I have the stuff. I opened up Nero's label designer and
> absolutely couldn't figure out how to use it. All I wanted to do was
> type text on to something that I could cut out to fit the CD case, and
> put a simple label on the disk.
>
> So I went to a program that came with my CD Stomper. It gave me a
> choice of dozens of backgrounds, none of which were "blank." So I pick
> the simplest one, and again try to put in the text. Couldn't figure
> out how to fit it in. Tried different font sizes, tried stretching and
> moving the text box, nothing seemed to make any sense.
>
> I finally just typed the text in Word, printed it out on a sheet of
> blank paper, and trimmed it to fit into the case. Total time from
> start to finish was about 2 hours. Admittedly much of this was
> fumbling with programs that I don't use often enough to work correctly
> the first time (or any time, obviously) but if this was a paying job
> instead of a favor for a friend, I would be at a loss to know how to
> charge for it.
>
> But that's not really what I want to know though I'm sure you'll
> discuss it. What I really want is a simple and straightforward CD
> label template that works like a word processor, or maybe even works
> with a word processor. It would be nice if it printed fine lines for
> cutting and folding, and let me choose fonts and sizes to make the
> text fit. That's all. No fancy stuff, no backgrounds, no logos, no
> learning curve.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
>
>
> --
> I'm really Mike Rivers - (mrivers@d-and-d.com)

"Charles Thomas" <cthomas@REMOVE_SPAM_BLOCK.facstaff.wisc.edu> wrote in
message news:cthomas-A2CA99.15124920082003@teta.doit.wisc.edu...
> I used MS Word and a lot of trial and error to arrive at a template that
> works.
>
> I just modify the one that works from there to make other ones.
>
> If you find a program that does what you describe, let me know.

Took the words right out of my mouth ...
I have Nero, Adaptec and a utility that came with my little plastic doodad
for applying self-adhesive labels to CDs ... and I use MSWord 'cos it's
easier (or at least, more 'intuitive') !!

For about $80 dollars you can get a small CD printer that will print right
on your CDs no more stickers.


Mike Rivers <mrivers@d-and-d.com> wrote in message
news:znr1061398604k@trad...
>
> My rant for the day:
>
> I don't make CDs very often, but this morning I transferred a half
> hour live program from tape to CD. First was the half-hour transfer
> time, then a little editing. No problem so far.
>
> Then I opened up the file in Nero and dropped markers in between songs
> so that it would "look" like a CD when played. Burned a CD. Checked
> it. One track, 12 indexes. OK, so I forgot that you have to click on
> "Split on markers" before it will separate the file into individual
> tracks. On to Take Two.
>
> Checked that out. OK, now there are 12 tracks, but it seems like
> there's too long of a pause between them. I look at the Nero track
> list and find that it's inserted 2 seconds between them. Took that
> out, and burned another CD. Take Two is OK.
>
> So I thought I'd make a neat liner for the case, and maybe even a
> label since I have the stuff. I opened up Nero's label designer and
> absolutely couldn't figure out how to use it. All I wanted to do was
> type text on to something that I could cut out to fit the CD case, and
> put a simple label on the disk.
>
> So I went to a program that came with my CD Stomper. It gave me a
> choice of dozens of backgrounds, none of which were "blank." So I pick
> the simplest one, and again try to put in the text. Couldn't figure
> out how to fit it in. Tried different font sizes, tried stretching and
> moving the text box, nothing seemed to make any sense.
>
> I finally just typed the text in Word, printed it out on a sheet of
> blank paper, and trimmed it to fit into the case. Total time from
> start to finish was about 2 hours. Admittedly much of this was
> fumbling with programs that I don't use often enough to work correctly
> the first time (or any time, obviously) but if this was a paying job
> instead of a favor for a friend, I would be at a loss to know how to
> charge for it.
>
> But that's not really what I want to know though I'm sure you'll
> discuss it. What I really want is a simple and straightforward CD
> label template that works like a word processor, or maybe even works
> with a word processor. It would be nice if it printed fine lines for
> cutting and folding, and let me choose fonts and sizes to make the
> text fit. That's all. No fancy stuff, no backgrounds, no logos, no
> learning curve.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
>
>
> --
> I'm really Mike Rivers - (mrivers@d-and-d.com)

I have a word template you may use for a tray card (back cover).

http://ccarlan.home.mindspring.com/traycard.doc

You will have to fine tune the positioning of the text boxes for the
program name on the edge. Each printer has a slightly different
understanding of the page dimensions.

For the CD insert (front cover) use your favorite drawing program or Word
to create a document 9.5" x 4.75". Trim to size and fold in half.

On Wed, 20 Aug 2003 13:29:41 -0700, Bob Smith <rsmith@bsstudios.com>
wrote:

>Adaptec CD Jewel Case Creator. Change "Theme" to none to get rid of the
>background crap. Has everything you asked for.

I can second that. And my old 3.5 version doesn't even
have themes. Or maybe I just never saw one.
Prints a scissors line around the edges. Very un-fancy.

Chris Hornbeck
http://www.votetoimpeach.org/

In article <3F43DA35.2648AEBE@bsstudios.com> rsmith@bsstudios.com writes:

> Adaptec CD Jewel Case Creator. Change "Theme" to none to get rid of the
> background crap. Has everything you asked for.

I had that on my old laptop, but my mew laptop has a version of Easy
CD Creator that doesn't have the jewel case creator. I really miss it.
I think that the version of Easy CD Creator that I had on the laptop
came along with my iOmega USB CD-R drive (which has since died, good
thing I don't need it any longer). I'll have to dig out the CD that
came with it and see if the jewel case creator is a separate program
that I can install on the current computers.



--
I'm really Mike Rivers - (mrivers@d-and-d.com)

In article <bi0mau$c9q$1@news.Stanford.EDU> jay@ccrma.Stanford.EDU writes:

> For more control, I use PageMaker. Once the templates are set up, it's very
> easy to use.

Ack! Another program that's difficult to use (and expensive to buy).


--
I'm really Mike Rivers - (mrivers@d-and-d.com)

In article <MPG.19ad9a1df7a51251989732@news.chi.sbcglobal.net> btakei@mindspring.com writes:

> For simple jewel cases, I use a Word document consisting of a table with
> three columns; the left and right columns/cells are narrow (for the
> folded-up edges), with the Text Direction/Orientation set to the
> respective vertical direction

Cool idea.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers - (mrivers@d-and-d.com)

In article <w6S0b.284880$BA.63572013@twister.columbus.rr.com> nospam@nowhere.com writes:

> If I recall correctly, you can download Word templates for just about
> anything from Avery (the label people). I think the templates have the
> cut/fold lines and marks too.

I think I might have that template. I'll have to dig through the old
Word files that I don't know what they are any more.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers - (mrivers@d-and-d.com)

"Mike Rivers" <mrivers@d-and-d.com> wrote
>
> jay@ccrma.Stanford.EDU writes:
>
> > For more control, I use PageMaker. Once the templates are set up, it's
very
> > easy to use.
>
> Ack! Another program that's difficult to use (and expensive to buy).

I use Autocad. It fails everything on your wish list, too. However
you should look into the Casio CW-50 CD printer. It does a great job of
printing on CDs and looks like an expenvie silk screen. Software is a
little klunky, but is WYSIWYG and more like a Word Processor than any of the
other things you've listed. Less than $100. You need to use blank CDs,
trying to print on a branded one comes out lousy. Email me your mailing
address and I'll send you a sample CD to look at.

- Tommy

Mike Rivers wrote:
>
> In article <3F43DA35.2648AEBE@bsstudios.com> rsmith@bsstudios.com writes:
>
> > Adaptec CD Jewel Case Creator. Change "Theme" to none to get rid of the
> > background crap. Has everything you asked for.
>
> I had that on my old laptop, but my mew laptop has a version of Easy
> CD Creator that doesn't have the jewel case creator. I really miss it.
> I think that the version of Easy CD Creator that I had on the laptop
> came along with my iOmega USB CD-R drive (which has since died, good
> thing I don't need it any longer). I'll have to dig out the CD that
> came with it and see if the jewel case creator is a separate program
> that I can install on the current computers.

The Easy CD creator version I have does allow the jewel case creator to
install separately. Nice to have one machine burn CDs and another to do
the print work.

bobs

Bob Smith
BS Studios
we organize chaos
http://www.bsstudios.com

www.surething.com. May be more than you need, but very configurable. And
they start out 'blank', if you want.

geoff

This is what he is using.It comes with CD Stomper.


Geoff Wood <geoff@paf.co.nz-nospam> wrote in message
news:8ZX0b.12833$9f7.1511224@news02.tsnz.net...
> www.surething.com. May be more than you need, but very configurable. And
> they start out 'blank', if you want.
>
> geoff
>
>

Mike Rivers <mrivers@d-and-d.com> wrote:

> My rant for the day:
> But that's not really what I want to know though I'm sure you'll
> discuss it.

I take work all the time that I don't know how to do. I don't charge
clients for the time it takes me to learn how to do what they hired me
to do. I consider it free education. I take the time to make sure I
do it right, then the next time I get a similar job I'm prepared.

> What I really want is a simple and straightforward CD
> label template that works like a word processor, or maybe even works
> with a word processor. It would be nice if it printed fine lines for
> cutting and folding, and let me choose fonts and sizes to make the
> text fit. That's all. No fancy stuff, no backgrounds, no logos, no
> learning curve.

I use Quark Xpress. It may be more complicated than the E-Z-Graf-Icks
programs that come with CD stompers. But it's intelligently laid out,
and here's the best part: I can use it for everything, which means I
know HOW to use it. It makes no sense to use 30 different specialized
applications for different jobs you want to do. You own and use a
computer for a bunch of different things, it makes a whole lot of sense
for you to own and know one good desktop publishing program, and use it
for whatever you want to do. The first time you use it to make a CD
label, you get out your ruler and you make the measurements and
generate a good document. Then you save it to use as a template in the
future. It's not hard, and since CDs and jewel cases are standardized
it'll be useful for a long time. Now you have all the utility of the
E-Z-Crap programs, but in a professional application that has the exact
same interface as the program you use to design labels for your
homebrew bottles, your X-mas cards, your studio invoices, your track
sheets, etc because it IS the same program. It doesn't even have to be
such a great program if you know it well.


ulysses

"Mike Rivers" <mrivers@d-and-d.com> wrote in message
news:znr1061398604k@trad...
>
I have templates I use for Illustrator, but you would need to have
Illustrator and know at least a little bit about it. It always prints the
right size (unlike Word templates) and is easy to insert artwork. Let me
know if you want it.

ryanm