Printing disc labels and CD covers with Burn by Zaweba
Labels and covers in Burn by Zaweba makes A4 PDFs with crop marks: CD inserts with spines, a round disc label and a DVD case cover.
A disc with no label is a mystery waiting to happen. Labels and covers, on the Tools menu of Burn by Zaweba, makes printable covers and labels so your discs and their cases say what they hold.
Everything comes out as an A4 PDF with crop marks, ready for any printer.
What you can make
There are four designs. A CD front insert goes in the front of a jewel case. A back insert, with spines, goes in the back so the disc can be read from the shelf. A round disc label is 118 mm across with a 41 mm hub, sized for the disc itself. And a DVD case cover wraps a DVD case.
You don't always have to go looking for the tool. After you make an audio CD, Burn offers covers with the track list already on them. After a backup, it offers a label for each disc, numbered like Disc 2 of 3, so a set of backup discs can be kept in order.
You can also open Labels and covers from Tools at any time, for example to make a cover for a disc you burned earlier.
Printing well
Print at actual size. The designs are measured, so let the printer print the PDF without scaling it to fit the page, or the label and inserts will come out the wrong size.
Use the crop marks. They show exactly where to cut, which gives cleaner edges than cutting by eye. A craft knife and a ruler make light work of straight lines.
For the round disc label, use label paper meant for discs, or print on plain paper first to test the fit before using expensive sheets.
Do a test page. One plain sheet held against a case shows whether the sizes and layout are right before you print the real thing.
Choosing the right design
Match the design to the case. A slim or standard jewel case wants the front and back inserts, and the spines on the back insert are what you read when the case stands on a shelf. A DVD case takes the DVD case cover. The round label goes on the disc itself, and it works whatever case the disc lives in, so it is the one to print when a disc might be separated from its box.
Labels for backup sets
For backups, labels are more than decoration. A set of several discs is easiest to restore when each is clearly marked with its set and number. Burn's restore index means any disc can explain the whole backup, but a clear label still saves time when you are picking discs out of a box.
Going further with Labels by Zaweba
If Labels by Zaweba is installed, you can open the disc label in it for editing, which is the way to go when you want to add pictures and shapes or rearrange the text. Burn writes the designs to a folder in Documents and opens the label there.
Finishing every disc job
Labels and covers finishes off the jobs Burn does. An audio CD gets a track list on its insert, a backup gets numbered labels, and any other disc can have a cover made whenever you like. With Burn by Zaweba, the job is done when the disc is labelled, not just when it is burned.
