optical disc In computing and optical disc recording technologies, an optical disc (OD) is a flat, usually circular disc that encodes binary data (bits) in the form of pits and lands on a special material, often aluminum, on one of its flat surfaces. ...

manufacturing, replication is the process of producing discs via methods that do not involve "burning" blank CD,

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

or other discs; the latter is known as

duplication Duplication, duplicate, and duplicator may refer to: Biology and genetics * Gene duplication, a process which can result in free mutation * Chromosomal duplication, which can cause Bloom and Rett syndrome * Polyploidy, a phenomenon also known ...

. The replication of optical discs involves: # the creation of a

glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling ( quenching ...

master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

from a client original master. # the creation of a

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow ...

stamper from that glass master. # the injection molding of clear optical-grade polycarbonate substrates (clear discs) from that stamper. # the

metallizing Metallizing is the general name for the technique of coating metal on the surface of objects. Metallic coatings may be decorative, protective or functional. Techniques for metallization started as early as mirror making. In 1835, Justus von Li ...

and lacquering of those substrates to produce compact discs and DVDs.

References

* Bennett, Hugh. " The Demise of Low-Run CD Replication." ''EMedia Professional'' Aug 1999.
How compact discs are made -- Explained by a layman for the laymen
Kevin McCormick
Disc Replication vs. Duplication
Indie Music Minute by Tony van Veen, President o
Disc Makers
120 mm discs {{compu-storage-stub