Free design proof on every custom order: no templates, no stock SKUs
A CD or DVD label has one structural requirement most stickers don't: it has to sit perfectly flat and balanced across the disc face, since an uneven or bubbled label can throw off a spinning drive or cause read errors. They're die-cut to the disc's circular shape, including the center hole, and printed on a thin, lightweight stock so the added label doesn't meaningfully change the disc's weight or balance.
An estimator will reply within one business day.
CD and DVD labels are a fairly specific product because the disc itself imposes constraints that don't apply to most other labels. The die cut has to match the disc diameter and center hole precisely. A label cut even slightly off-center or oversized can throw off the disc's balance enough to cause skipping or read errors in some drives, particularly older or more sensitive ones. That's why disc labels are cut on precision equipment to standard disc dimensions rather than a rough approximation.
Material matters for the same reason. A disc label needs to be thin and lightweight so it doesn't meaningfully change the disc's mass or thickness, and it needs to apply perfectly flat without air bubbles or wrinkles, since any unevenness translates directly into wobble once the disc starts spinning at several thousand RPM. That rules out thicker vinyl stocks that work fine for other applications but would add too much bulk here. Disc labels use a purpose-built thin adhesive paper or film instead.
Content on a disc label typically covers artwork or branding, a track list or content summary, and sometimes a logo or release date. Whatever helps identify the disc once it's out of its case. Full-color printing handles cover art and photography well, and because the print area is small and circular, layout usually needs a design built specifically for that shape rather than a rectangular design cropped down to fit, since a rectangular composition rarely translates cleanly to a circle without wasted space or awkward cropping.
Application technique affects results as much as the label itself. A slight air pocket or off-center placement during application can undo an otherwise well-made label, so many people use a simple centering tool or applicator designed for disc labels to get consistent placement, especially when applying labels in volume for a batch of discs rather than a single one. For anyone still distributing physical media (software, music, archived data, event recordings) a well-made disc label remains a straightforward way to make a plain disc identifiable and presentable without printing directly on the disc surface itself.
Labels divide first into paper and film, and the dividing question is whether the label will ever get wet. Coated paper takes ink beautifully and costs the least, but moisture ends it. A paper label on a chilled bottle wrinkles within an hour. Film faces such as BOPP shrug off condensation, refrigeration and handling. Clear and metallised films are chosen for a specific visual effect rather than for durability alone.
Paper or film? If the labeled item is ever chilled, refrigerated or handled with wet hands, film. Everything else, paper does the job for less.
Full color covers most label work. Three cases need more: a brand color that must match across every reorder runs as a Pantone spot rather than being approximated from process inks; anything printed on clear or metallised film needs a white underbase or the colors go translucent; and labels carrying serial numbers, addresses or codes are printed as variable data, where every label in the run is different.
Can every label be different? Yes. Sequential numbers, names, addresses and codes are all variable data. Send a spreadsheet and the field mapping.
A protective layer over the print, in two grades. Varnish is a coating applied inline. Cheap, thin, enough to stop ink scuffing in normal handling. Laminate is a bonded film: thicker, tougher, and the only real answer where a label meets moisture, abrasion or chemicals. On anything that gets wiped, refrigerated or squeezed, the difference between the two shows within weeks.
Varnish or laminate? Varnish for a dry indoor label. Laminate for anything wet, chilled, handled constantly, or wiped down.
Chosen against the surface, the temperature and the intended life. General-purpose permanent covers most rigid, room-temperature surfaces. Removable releases cleanly within a reasonable window. Freezer-grade stays flexible and keeps bonding at temperatures where a standard adhesive turns brittle and lets go. High-tack exists for textured plastics, recycled board and anything that resists adhesion.
It is going on something cold. Does that matter? Considerably. Applying a standard adhesive to an already-cold surface is the single most common cause of labels falling off in the chiller.
A disc label has a structural requirement almost no other label has: it must sit concentrically and with even weight distribution, because a disc spinning at speed with an off-center or partially lifted label will wobble and can fail to read. The die is cut as a precise annulus with a center hole, and the material is kept thin and evenly coated for that reason.
Can a label damage a disc or a drive? A poorly applied or lifting label can. Apply with an applicator rather than by hand, and keep it flat. A bubble at the outer edge is what causes read failures.
Ask for samples of any face on this list before committing to a run. How a stock takes ink and handles moisture is impossible to judge on screen.
An inline coating that stops ink scuffing in normal handling. It is thin and inexpensive, and it is the right answer for a dry indoor label that will not be wiped, chilled or gripped.
A bonded film rather than a coating. Thicker, tougher, and the only real protection where a label meets moisture, abrasion or cleaning chemicals. On chilled and handled products the difference from varnish shows within weeks.
Metallic foil pressed into the label under heat, applied to selected elements. Against an uncoated or matte ground a single small foil element does more visual work than any amount of additional color.
Relief pressed into the material, or a clear resin lens poured over the face. Both add a physical dimension a flat label cannot have: emboss for texture, dome for depth and abrasion resistance.
Same family, genuinely different jobs. Your current selection is highlighted.
| Label | From | Build | Order it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom Labels | $175 | Every layer specified | Nothing standard fits the job |
| Product Labels | $145 | Brand panel plus mandatory content | It sells the product and carries the details |
| Food Label | $175 | Regulatory panel, food-safe adhesive | Ingredients and nutrition are required |
| Bottle Labels | $169 | Film face, wraparound, laminated | It gets cold, wet and gripped |
| Clear Labels | $180 | Clear film, white underbase | The container should show through |
| Die Cut Labels | $179 | Custom outline die | A rectangle or circle will not do |
| Domed Labels | $210 | Cut to a custom outline | The shape is the artwork, not a rectangle |
| Metallic Foil Labels | $180 | Metallised film beneath the ink | Large metallic areas or metallic color |
| Embossed Foil Labels | $190 | Emboss registered to foil | Seals and authenticity marks |
| Bar Code Labels | $150 | Contrast, resolution, quiet zone | It has to scan every time |
| QR Code Labels | $150 | Module size to scan distance | A phone camera has to read it |
| Shipping Labels | $165 | Thermal face, carrier format | It moves through a carrier network |
| Mailing Labels | $140 | Sheet or roll, high volume | Hundreds or thousands of addresses |
| Address Labels | $145 | Sheeted, uncoated, writable | Envelopes, by printer or by hand |
| General Purpose Labels | $140 | Standard shapes and stock | Dates, contents, internal marking |
| Business Labels | $160 | Standard commercial format | Everyday branded commercial use |
| CD Labels | $170 | Concentric annular die | It spins, so it must be balanced |
A poorly applied or lifting one can. An off-center label unbalances the disc at speed and a lifting edge can catch inside a drive. Apply with an applicator rather than by hand and keep it flat.
Full face gives you the whole surface for artwork and is what most people want. A hub label (a small ring near the center) adds far less weight and imbalance, which matters if the disc will be read at high speed.
Because a disc spins fast enough that a few millimeters of eccentricity becomes a measurable wobble. The die is cut as a precise annulus for that reason rather than for appearance.
Where the disc surface supports it that is the more reliable route, since there is no added weight or lifting edge at all. Labels remain useful for short runs and for discs that are already manufactured.
Pricing for cd labels starts at $170 and moves with quantity, size, material and finish rather than sitting on a fixed list. Setup is shared across the run, so the per-unit price drops steeply as the quantity rises: the gap between a few hundred and a few thousand is usually the significant one. Send the size, quantity and what it has to do and you get a firm figure back, not a range.
There is a practical minimum rather than a hard one. Every run carries artwork checks, a proof and a press setup, so a very small quantity of cd labels prices poorly per unit even though we will still make it. If you are ordering a small batch, ask for pricing at two or three quantities at once: the curve usually shows that a modest increase costs very little more in total.
The clock starts when you approve the proof, not when the order is placed, which is the part most people are surprised by. You get a proof first: a digital proof showing artwork against the dieline, and on clear or metallised faces exactly where white ink sits. Nothing is printed until you approve it, and on a shaped label the proof is where you first see the real outline. Turnaround after approval depends on the finish: anything laminated, foiled or die-cut adds a stage that cannot be compressed without causing problems later. Tell us the date you actually need them and we will work backwards from it rather than quoting a generic lead time.
Print-ready artwork with bleed and a safe margin, supplied as a PDF, AI or EPS. Because this product is cut to a shape, the file also needs a live vector path for the blade to follow. A JPG or PNG has no outline to cut to, so it has to be redrawn first. If your file is not print-ready, say so when you order. We would rather fix it before the proof than after the run.
Yes. Concentric die, balanced application is the standard build, and the dimensions around it are yours to set. A size that sits efficiently on the press sheet often costs no more than a standard one, while an awkward proportion that wastes half the sheet does. Ask before you commit and we will tell you whether a small change to the dimensions saves a disproportionate amount.
In most cases they are the same product under a different name: the trade uses several terms for it depending on the region and the supplier. What actually defines this one is the build: concentric annular die. Order it when it spins, so it must be balanced. If you have seen it called disc labels elsewhere, describe what it has to do rather than which name you found, and we will match the specification.
Yes. We provide free samples, and on cd labels it is worth asking for one, because the difference between semi-gloss paper and uncoated paper is obvious in the hand and invisible on a screen. Most orders run on semi-gloss paper, but ask for whichever you are weighing up. You also get a free design proof before anything goes to press, so nothing is printed that you have not seen.
The usual choices are varnish, lamination, foil stamping. Finish is not decoration on this product so much as a decision about how long it survives and how it reads in the hand, so it is worth choosing against the job rather than the budget. Tell us where the finished piece ends up and we will say which finish is doing real work and which is only adding cost.
Yes, and that is what almost every order here is. Nothing in this catalogue is a stock item: cd labels are manufactured to the specification you give us, with your artwork on them. Send your logo as vector artwork where you have it, since that scales to any size without softening. If all you have is a low-resolution file, tell us and we will say what it needs before it reaches the press.
Yes, and a repeat run is simpler than the first one. We keep your approved specification on file, so a reorder skips the setup decisions and goes straight to production. Where the job used custom tooling, that tooling is reused, which is why a shaped run costs less the second time. Tell us the previous order and we will match it rather than starting the specification again.
Yes. Regalo Print has been producing custom commercial print for businesses across the USA and Canada since 2008, and every order ships tracked. The tracking number reaches you the day the job leaves, not the day it arrives. If you are working to a fixed date, say so when you order so the production schedule is built around the delivery date rather than the other way round.
