I'm designing the graphics for a CD. I've got all 4 panels done, but am having trouble with the CD label. I'm using the PDF templates DiscMakers supplied, who will be duplicating the CD.

The templates have guides showing the borders of the panels. I've colored the panels with the bucket tool by creating a new layer and putting it on top of the guide layer. I can easy adjust the size of the colored layer with the scale tool.

With the actual CD label I'm not sure how to handle it since it's a circle with a circular cutout in the center. I used to bucket tool to color the label by just clicking on the label and it fills in nicely, but it doesn't cover the lines and descriptive text on the guide layer.

Since I'm not supposed to include the guide layer when I upload the label to DiscMakers, I wonder if I need to somehow separate the color on the label into a new layer? how can I solve this problem? I'm new to GIMP. I'm including the cd label template with this post.

The bottom line is you turn off the visibility of any layer you do not need before exporting as a PDF. That is the little 'eye' icon in the layers dialogue.

Probably not as straightforward as you think. Does the printing company provide information of print resolution and colour mode.

Gimp is a raster editor, works in pixels and real-world dimensions only come in with printing, so they need to be considered here.

The default for Gimp opening a PDF is 100 pixels-per-inch (ppi) which might not give the correct printing size and more important quality.

Looking at the PDF in a PDF application gives the document size, 186x186 mm You need to use this in Gimp to set the print resolution when importing the PDF. 190 ppi gives the correct size. see screenshot 1

Then it depends how keen you are. For a one-off, adding artwork and keeping inside the bounds. Use guides and toggle visibility to check as you go along. Turn off the PDF layer visibility before exporting.

A better way is to set up your own template, with guides and sized layers so you can see if you exceed the bounds.

An example attached and a screenshot with some art. Turn off visibility of un-needed layers before exporting.

A bigger hurdle - color mode. CD/DVD disks are typically screenprinted and require a CMYK image. Gimp is just RGB. You will need some other way to produce a CMYK file. Ask the printing company.

rich: www.gimp-forum.net

Well, an easy search brings up this. Looks like I got the size wrong.

https://support.discmakers.com/hc/en-us/articles/209098677--Using-our-Templates-with-Adobe-Photoshop

so you need these properties

Resolution: 300 pixels/inch (which makes more sense) : Mode: CMYK Color : Bit Depth: 8bi

Import the pdf at 300 ppi which does give the correct canvas size. Gimp is an 8 bit editor so that is ok.

CMYK is the problem - Try an online converter such as http://www.pdf2cmyk.com/ and it looks like the GRACol2006 icc is the one to use. (see the end of that webpage)

Great advice and info - thanks. So is 300dpi the same as 300 ppi? I see now that I need to start all over importing the template at 300dpi not 100. I did a test where I exported a PDF and see a big difference, so 300 it is. What is the easiest way to copy from the finished work I've done to the 300 template?

The problem with scaling your artwork up: Image -> Scale image (set to 300%) is you will lose quality. Depends on the image if it is acceptable. Any text is better re-done to the larger size wherever possible.

rich: www.gimp-forum.net

I see I'd need to delete the 2 pics and re-import them. But what about the text and colors? Can I copy them over to the new template? Keeping the same fonts, sizes, positioning, background color layers, scaling?

They are all going to be too small. Truthfully you need to start again.

If it is any consolation this is a very common beginner issue. Starting work / importing images on a canvas that is way too small for quality printing. The PDF default 100 ppi is something to look out for in this instance. Default canvas 72 ppi is the other. You need to look at the Image size in pixels rather than some stated size in inches/cm Quality printing rule-of-thumb is 300 ppi although for large prints, posters etc, smaller ppi values are used, the value depending on size and distance of viewing.

rich: www.gimp-forum.net

thanks for your excellent help. So is it ok for me to have the old 100ppi project open at the same time the 300ppi new imported template is open and then just at least copy and paste the raw text over?

If you have Gimp text layers, do not copy and paste. You will lose the text properties, what was a text layer becomes regular graphics.

What you can do is click-n-drag the text layer, from one image up into the tab of another. That then becomes active, continue the drag down into the canvas area before releasing the mouse. Takes a little practice

Another way is: Open the CD template @ 300 ppi.

Then Open-as-Layers the previous work. Any text layers will still be there, too small, but easy to increase the font size (x3) all other layers can be deleted (or even resized if you think you can get away with the reduced quality).

or

If you have the text (raw?) as a text file, that can be copied and pasted into the Gimp text tool.

If you have done what most beginners do and export flattened (png / jpg / pdf) images. Best plan is start again from scratch. Always **save** your work as Gimp xcf files, that saves all layers, guides, masks, etc Only when complete then **export** the image.

rich: www.gimp-forum.net

I do have all my XCF files. I used tried this method: click-n-drag the text layer, from one image up into the tab of another. It works really well and you're right the text is very very tiny. I had to increase the font size from the original 40 to about 100. If not this should do fine and save some time. I tried this with a color background and it did fine, I just needed to scale the size back up and position it. So with this method am I losing quality?

Of course I know I'm starting from scratch with the 2 pics importing them into the 300 ppi template, that's fine.

Sounds like you have it cracked.

You will not lose any quality with the text layers, a solid / simple coloured background layer will be ok, it is more complex images that become fuzzy when scaled up.

DiscMakers said I should export as a PDF-X4, but I don't see that option in export. When I exported as a PDF it gave an extension of PNG, but I changed that to PDF. I left all the boxes unchecked in the export dialog box.

I opened the PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Reader and it looks very good, but when I printed it it didn't look that good. Should I be concerned? What about the PDF-X4 file?

You've been such a great help - thank you very much.

PDF/X-4 permits factors like transparency, fonts embedded in the file. What you get from Gimp is a flattened image, it is a single graphic in a PDF wrapper. You will not have any transparency , embedded fonts..etc. Discmakers will only use the circular area covering the disc.

What you do want is a CMYK PDF, so use that on-line site I mentioned earlier.

http://www.pdf2cmyk.com Send discmakers the resulting file and see if they complain. Commercial printers are always whinging.

If you look at discmakers web site, all the products used are commercial, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Corel Draw. These can all produce a CMYK PDF from beginning to end.

One thing to note with CMYK is some colours will look muted, typically bright colours. The inks used for printing do not have the colour range (gamut) of your over-bright computer RGB monitor. Do a search for RGB versus CMYK. Consider that before ordering 1000's

You can produce a CMYK PDF/-X4 on your computer using a freeware application called Scribus, your Gimp graphic can be imported as say a tif, but it is yet another steep learning curve.

I have a good working relationship with DiscMakers and have used their online templates on projects and asked Alex for some other recommendations of programs that I could use to get more options. He suggested the usual ones plus GIMP. I sent him an email asking about the PDF/X-4, and will likely hear from him today on that.

He said don't worry about the RGB they can do the conversion for me for free. I did send him the PDF of the CD front cover, plus the actual pic I started with, so he can check it with his graphic techs. So thankfully I have some help on their end.

I just didn't want to do too much more work before checking to see if I'm on the right track and then find I have to redo everything a 3rd time. The thing I was concerned about was on their tutorials saying that a regular PDF can distort the image to fit on an 8.5x11 paper and that the PDF-X4 doesn't do that. I hope that doesn't apply to this situation.

Thats sounds very helpful, I hope it turns out ok.

Going back to your original question, how to hide the writing.

I went back to the DiscMakers site and downloaded their complete bundle of templates for the various applications they support. One of them is a Photoshop template, A CMYK .psd file, so does not open in Gimp. I do have tools to convert that to RGB and is attached.

Nothing complicated with what is provided. Two layers, the outlines and text, a transparent layer on top. A white bottom layer called 'Your Artwork'. So the answer is put your artwork between those layers, follow the sizes given in the template. When finished turn the visibility of the top layer off.

There is also a 'UsersGuide_V1.pdf in the bundle which helps, it says

..quote..Illustration C shows what the proof we send you will look like

So you will get to see what it looks like before ordering 1000's.

It turns out they want the CD label background not the circle but the square the exact same size as the template. So my original question was a misconception I had. I can't color the template even though it was easy. I have to hide the template when uploading.

Discmakers told me not to worry about the other templates but to only use the PDF template which opens fine in GIMP. Alex approved what I sent him, so it appears I don't need the PDF-X4. I asked him about that. To be safe I'll get them to mail us proofs before production, so I can really see how it'll turn out with no variables.

Comedy of errors. Did you read the Users Guide that comes with the templates?

Attached in case anyone else uses DiskMakers, however the fact that they will accept a RGB image is useful. If Diskmakers added information on using Gimp to their site, what a help that would be.

Hope your label comes out ok, I have an advantage, only one disk required and I print at home.

rich: www.gimp-forum.net