Contents: What is a Shaped Disc? Why cut a disc into a custom shape? Can you cut any disc into a shape? What are the advantages and disadvantages of Shaped Discs? What shapes are available? Is any shape possible for a CD, DVD or Blu-ray Disc, or are there limits? Can I get Shaped CD Recordable Discs so I can burn them myself? What is a FAN CD-R? Disclaimer           What is a Shaped Disc?           Shaped Disc (sometimes refered to as Shaped CDs, Shaped DVDs, or Shaped Blu-rays) refers to a process of cutting a manufactured optical disc to a custom or pre-defined shape. The disc can be cut to a variety of different shapes, including business card shapes, triangle shapes, star shapes, gear shapes, house shapes, heart shapes and many more. Back to top           Why cut a disc into a custom shape?           The Shaped Disc is primarily used for marketing impact. It can be used to complement a theme or to reinforce either branding or a message. For example, The band Green Day released a single titled “Brain Stew” on a Shaped CD that was cut into the shape of a brain. Back to top           Can you cut any disc into a shape?           Manufactured (stamped) discs (including AudioCDs, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, and Blu-Rays) can be cut or shaped. However, recordable media (such as CD-R, DVD-R or Blu-Ray Recordables) cannot be cut. Recordable media uses a photo-sensitive die for the burning of information to the disc. Cutting this photo-sensitive die renders the disc unusable. A disc that has been stamped at a manufacturing facility (as opposed to burned on a computer) does not contain this photo-sensitive layer, and as a result, can but cut into different shapes. There is one exception to this rule… a recordable disc that has a reduced photo-sensitive layer (like the Fan CDR) can be cut on the clear part of the media. However, if the disc die is disturbed or cut, the disc will be rendered unusable.           It is also a good idea to avoid cutting where the disc has been printed. Some inks can cause the cutting mechanisms to produce an inferior cut, producing chips or bites in the edges. It is always best to cut a disc where the disc is unprinted. Back to top           What are the advantages and disadvantages of Shaped Discs?           The most obvious advantage is marketing impact. A Shaped disc can be unique and inviting , particularly if used in conjunction with a planned marketing campaign.           The most obvious drawback with a Shaped CD, Shaped DVD or Shaped Blu-ray is the loss of capacity on the cut disc. When a disc is cut, the maximum capacity is also cut. Some shaped CDs can only hold as little as 40MB of data in the form of music, video or information. Some Shaped DVDs have a capacity as little as 280MB. It is always a good idea to calculate and measure the capacity that is required, before considering a Shaped Disc for your CD, DVD or Bluray project.           In addition to a loss in capacity, some players (particularly juke-box style players) cannot play Shaped Discs. Most players have a tray system where the disc is either placed into a tray or clipped onto a hub (these playback devices are typically not an issue for Shaped discs). However, players that suck the discs into the drive (i.e. players without trays) may not be able to play your shaped cd, shaped dvd or shaped bluray. The user will need to consult with their owner’s manual to determine if playback is supported with this style of player. Even if playback is supported, some shapes can cause noises and vibration in the drives (particularly high-speed drives) which can be undesirable. The shape should be designed to be as symmetrical as possible to avoid these issues. It is best to consult with the manufacturer of the CDs, DVDs or Blu-ray discs to determine if a certain shape may produce undesired vibrations in playback. Back to top           What shapes are available?           Discs can be cut into a wide range of different shapes, including heart shapes, smart phone shaped discs, house shape CDs, flag shapes, car shape CDs, business card shaped CDs or DVDs, fruit shapes and many more. Many existing designs are already created and tested. Click on the image below to view more disc shape designs. Click here to view more CD and DVD shapes. Back to top           Is any shape possible for a CD, DVD or Blu-ray Disc, or are there limits?           There are 3 basic things to remember when contemplating a new design or shape. 1. The shape should be as symmetrical as possible. If the shape is skewed to one side or another, the disc may cause unwanted vibrations in the drive 2. The shape should touch the outside edge of the disc tray in at least 3 points. Whether the disc is designed to fit into the 5” or 3” tray, the design of the custom cut/shape should allow the outer circumference of the disc to touch the outside edges at 3 distinct points. 3. Always test your shape before mass production. Your Manufacturer can usually provide you with a testing package to try a shape out. This way, you can test for unwanted vibrations, overall stability and you can see how it looks! It will cost you time and money to test, but it is better to go through this process particularly with a new design or shape that has never been done before on a CD or DVD. Back to top           Can I get Shaped CD Recordable Discs so I can burn them myself?           The only available shaped recordable CDs are the 3”/80mm mini-round (which really isn’t a custom shape) and the business card shaped CD (which is basically a 3”/80mm disc that has been cut on the top and bottom to make it wallet-sized). These 2 items are the only pre-manufactured discs that are a different size or shape that are available in the recordable format. There is no other shaped disc that is mass-produced in a recordable format. The reason there aren’t more shaped recordables on the market is that recordable discs are manufactured with a photo-sensitive die. This die cannot be cut or shaped after it has been manufactured, or it will render the disc useless. It is possible to manufacture a CD-R with a limited circumference of the photo-sensitive die to allow shaping of the disc, but most manufacturers do not offer this service. There is at least one manufacturer in North America that can manufacture and silk screen a Recordable CD that is custom shaped. You can contact them at 1-800-465-CDCD (2323) or their website is www.microforum.ca . However, they have a minimum order of at least 500 CD-Rs if you require them to be silk screened and shaped! Also, just like other cut discs or shaped CDs and DVDs, the capacity of the disc (i.e. the amount of information, music, data or video it will hold) will be reduced by this process. Back to top           What is a FAN CD-R, or a FAN DISC?           CD-R is the name given to a Recordable CD that has a reduced amount of photo-sensitive die. Since a disc starts to read from the inside centre, these discs would be readable only to a portion of the circumference of the CD-R. (see image) As a result a FAN CD-R or FAN CD will have a reduced capacity to store information as compared to a regular CD disc. However, this allows the disc to be cut without disturbing the photo-sensitive die layer. Back to top           Disclaimer           You should not rely solely on this material for making business decisions. Always consult with your legal advisor. Material from other websites is provided for informational purposes only. The other websites all have their own disclaimers. Links to commercial sites are provided for your convenience. We have tried to ensure that all of the material presented on this page is accurate and factual. Where possible, links to original source documents are also provided, so you can confirm the information for yourself. Back to top Copyright ® 2010 CustomShapedDiscs.com. All Rights Reserved.