Designing Artwork for CD & DVD Projects – Outlining Fonts

Our design team often get asked how to outline or embed fonts on artwork for CD and DVD printing and why this step in the artwork preparation is necessary. Here is a quick step by step guide to make your life that bit easier:

Guide for Adobe Illustrator:

1. Open up your artwork in Adobe Illustrator and select all (Ctrl+A).
2. Select Type from the menu bar and Create Outlines (Shift+Ctrl+O)

Guide for Adobe Photoshop:

1. Open up your artwork in Adobe Photoshop and make sure your template layer is hidden.
2. Select Layer from the menu bar and Convert to Shape

Alternatively, you can save your artwork as a .jpeg file.

I sent a PDF document so why do the fonts need to be embedded?

Our pre-production process means that all artwork is opened up in Adobe Illustrator and set up for print or for the production of screens. If fonts have not be outlined or embedded and we do not have the font you have used then the text will revert to our default font. By outlining/embedding the fonts or supplying a flattened image, your original design will be preserved and the artwork will be printed exactly how you intended.

And the winner is...

Way back in September 2009, wewow launched a competition like no other. We asked students, graduates and budding product designers to come up with innovative and sustainable packaging solutions CD’s, DVD’s or USB flash drives.

We received entries from far and wide and some of them really blew us away! We are now pleased to announce that the winner is Sun Park, a post-graduate student from Central St Martins College, London. Sun Park successfully combined design flair with sustainability to produce an innovative packaging solution.

Entries came from far and wide and the short-listed design of Florin Alexa-Morcov from Romania was a particular favourite amongst the judges. His design, ‘DisPlay,’ transformed CD storage into a unique interior design feature whilst utilizing sustainable paperboard and water-based glues.

Commendations also go to; Andrew Rennie, who produced a distinctive packaging solution for CDs, providing an eye-catching alternative to jewel case packaging, Sarah Young, the designer of a unique USB packaging solution, ideal for promotional give-aways and Thomas Horwood-Luscombe for his unique DVD mailer design.