Standard Media

CD packaging options for an audio release can be a difficult decision when mulling over the details when pressing and manufacturing CDs. We always like to collect comments and thoughts from customers about it. It’s typically a situation where multiple things are being taken into consideration. If you’re touring – lugging 1000 or 2000 jewel cased CDs  around is cumbersome. There’s the environmental aspect, and trying to stray away from using plastic cases. There’s the desire by most bands and artists to create a physical version of their record that is as aesthetically pleasing and as well put together as possible.  There’s also an element of design distinctiveness that is important to most. On all of these fronts, the standard 2 panel digipak, 3 panel digipak, 4 panel digipaks, and 2 panel …

We had the opportunity to work with Environment Canada recently on a customized USB flash drive project that included a custom designed and fabricated mold for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Doha, Qatar. We were initially approached about the production of a standard drive order, but after consulting with the team at EC, we pitched the idea of utilizing a customized mold of a polar bear to communicate the content loaded onto the drives more effectively.

The creation of a custom mold typically has a few steps. We ask that the client submits a series of reference images for us to draw from thematically. In this case, Environment Canada wanted to incorporate a clearly visible outline of a polar bear – something akin to the beautiful …

If you’ve Googled “Customized Printed USB Flash Drives “, “Custom USB Drives Canada”, or Custom Printed Flash Drives”, then you’re in the right spot. Standard Media Services is one of the leading USB flash drive sources in North America, and we take great pride in assisting our customers with making informed decisions about the variety of different models, sizes, and aesthetic items to take into consideration when they are considering using custom printed usb flash drives. Request A Quote, browse through our Custom USB Flash Drive catalogue, or contact us directly at info AT standardmedia DOT ca.

Q: Why should I use a custom USB flash drive for marketing? They are typically more expensive than something …

If you’ve Googled “Custom Printed USB Flash Drives Canada”, “Custom USB Drives Canada”, or Custom Printed Flash Drives”, we’re glad that you found us. Standard Media Services is one of the leading USB flash drive sources in North America, and we take great pride in assisting our customers with making informed decisions about the variety of different models, sizes, and aesthetic items to take into consideration when they are considering using custom printed usb flash drives. Request A Quote, browse through our Custom USB Flash Drive catalogue, or contact us directly at info AT standardmedia DOT ca.

We recently did a run of custom printed USB flash drives for Navantis Canada. They selected our …

Mark Motors of Ottawa, one of Canada’s leading Audi and Porsche group of dealerships, recently contracted Standard Media for a run of custom USB flash drives. They opted for a custom shape in the impression of Audi’s distinguished 4 rings with the dealership’s information on the back. They were looking for something distinctive and useful to leave with potential buyers and with new owners that created a sense of exclusivity. The drives were done as 2 GB models, and were custom molded with a standard single color white pad print on the back with the dealership’s two national capital region locations. With every purchase, and with every prospective buyer, the dealerships wanted to provide a highly memorable way of keeping the Audi brand on the consumer’s mind with a compelling and premium aesthetic that was reflective of the product they deal in.

If you’ve Googled “Custom USB Flash Drives Canada”, “Customized USB Flash Drives with Logos Canada”, or “Printed USB Flash Drives Canada”, then you’ve come to the right place. Standard Media Services is one of the leading USB flash drive sources in North America, and we take great pride in assisting our customers with making informed decisions about the variety of different models, sizes, and aesthetic items to take into consideration when they are considering using custom usb flash drives. Request A Quote, or contact us directly at info AT standardmedia DOT ca.

We had the opportunity to work with Miv Fournier of Miv Photography, professional photographer extraordinare. Miv’s commercial work is well known around the National Capital …

You may have Googled “DVD Replication Canada”, “DVD Replication U.S.A.”, or “DVD Region Codes”, you’ve come to the right place. You’re probably getting ready to create a retail ready DVD product. We are Canada and the United States’ source for DVD manufacturing.  We’re going to take the opportunity to talk about DVD region codes, how they affect the burning of a master that you may be sending in for replication, and how it can affect the distribution of your project. Request a Quote or contact us for an estimate at info AT standardmedia DOT ca. Check out our Special Offers as well.

Q: What is a region code for, and how does it play into my DVD replication order?

A: Motion picture studios want to control the home release of movies in different countries because cinematic theatrical releases aren’t …

If you’ve Googled “Custom USB Thumbdrives U.S.A.”, “Customized USB Flash Drives with Logos Canada”, or “Printed USB Flash Drives Canada”, then you’ve come to the right place. Standard Media Services is one of the leading USB flash drive sources in North America, and we take great pride in assisting our customers with making informed decisions about the variety of different models, sizes, and aesthetic items to take into consideration when they are considering using custom usb flash drives. Request A Quote, or contact us directly at info AT standardmedia DOT ca.

We had the opportunity to recently pair up with Summers Direct Event Planners for the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) conference being held in Banff, Alberta. The …

CD Text on Your Audio Master

If you’ve Googled “Adding CD text to your audio master”, “CD duplication services Canada”, or “Short Run Audio Duplication”, we’re glad you found us. We specialize in short run Audio CD duplication with eco wallets, printed jackets, digipaks, and jewel cases. Request a Quote or contact us directly for an estimate at info AT standardmedia DOT ca.

A question we get regularly from customers manufacturing or duplicating their audio or music project with us is whether they can add CD text. There are couple of things to note. CD Text is supported in some – not all – CD players ranging from audio decks, to standalone carousels and mini systems. Secondly, if you’ve burned your CD master with software like Nero or Toast,  that allows …

www.prinzofinecatering.com

If you’ve Googled “Ottawa Web Design Services”, “Ottawa Web Design Companies” or “Ottawa Web Site Development”, we’re glad you found us. Standard Media has a full team of web site professionals that can provide the array of essential services for any small businesses’ web site needs. You can view samples of work in our web portfolio or Request A Quote.

Web site design is a subjective thing. Everyone has their own take on what is a nice looking site and people will have different opinions on what works visually and what doesn’t. The initial presentation of a mock up and/or an interior page of a web site is always the most crucial first step with a client because even though we’re …

Customized USB Flash Drives with Logos Canada

If you’ve Googled “Custom USB Thumbdrives Canada”, “Customized USB Flash Drives with Logos Canada”, or “Printed USB Flash Drives Canada”, then you’ve come to the right place. Standard Media Services is one of the leading USB flash drive sources in North America, and we take great pride in assisting our customers with making informed decisions about the variety of different models, sizes, and aesthetic items to take into consideration when they are considering using custom usb flash drives. Request A Quote, or contact us directly at info AT standardmedia DOT ca.

Common misconceptions about custom USB flash drives – Volume 1:

All Custom USB Flash Drives are the same …

If you’ve Googled “Ottawa Web Design”, “Ottawa Web Design Companies” or “Ottawa Web Site Development”, we’re glad you found us. Standard Media has a full team of web site professionals that can provide the array of essential services for any small businesses’ web site needs. You can view samples of work in our web portfolio or Request A Quote.

We wanted to talk about something that it seems like we’ve been discussing regularly. In our opinion, small business has historically been an under serviced and relatively over looked segment of the market, and we’ve been focusing specifically on assisting Ottawa based companies with a desire to increase their presence on the web, with organic natural search, as well as with a web experience for their customers that …

If you’ve Googled “Custom USB Thumbdrives Canada”, “USB Flash Drive with Logo Canada”, or “Printed USB Flash Drives Canada”, then you’ve come to the right place. Standard Media Services is one of the leading USB flash drive sources in North America, and we take great pride in assisting our customers with making informed decisions about the variety of different models, sizes, and aesthetic items to take into consideration when they are considering using custom usb flash drives. Request A Quote, or contact us directly at info AT standardmedia DOT ca.

There are a variety of reasons to consider a custom USB flash drive as a delivery medium for your content and data. USB flash drives were commonly referred to as “promotional items” up until just a few years ago, …

If you’ve Googled “Custom USB Flash Drives Canada”, “USB Flash Drive with Logo Canada”, or “Printed USB Flash Drives”, then you’ve come to the right place. Standard Media Services is one of the leading USB flash drive sources in North America, and we take great pride in assisting our customers with making informed decisions about the variety of different models, sizes, and aesthetic items to take into consideration when they are considering using custom usb flash drives for the delivery of content that may have been previously delivered on CD, DVD, or the web. Request A Quote, or contact us directly at info AT standardmedia DOT ca.

We’ve decided to dedicate a post to model and style considerations for custom USB flash drives.

How do you know which drive style is …

If you’ve Googled “Custom USB Flash Drives Canada”, “USB Flash Drives with Logo”, or “Custom thumb drive Canada” you’ve come to the right place. We are Canada’s authority on custom USB flash drive duplication and production. Request a Quote, or check out our USB Flash Drives. We also have our new model rundown for every drive style we carry here. We carry an assortment of models, but more importantly, we’re committed to informing the general consumer about the variety of things to consider when looking to get customized USB flash drives with a logo. We want to tackle soome misconceptions about these truly unique pieces. Custom USB Flash Drives are one of the most engaging ways to deliver content and have a personal application for the user that can’t be dismissed. …

If you’ve Googled “Short Run CD Duplication U.S.A.”, “Short Run DVD Duplication”, or Short Run DVD Duplication Canada”, we’re glad you’re here. Request a Quote, check our Special Offers, or contact us for an estimate at info AT standardmedia DOT ca.

Like thousands of other customers all over North America, you probably are only looking to do a limited run of a CD or DVD project that you’ve recently completed, and there’s a million different reasons why. We’re always keen on listening to our clients’ needs, and increasingly, we’re noticing that many of our customers are more conscious about budget or simply don’t want to inventory 500-1000 pieces and assume the shipping cost for a larger than required quantity. The short run market is something we’ve always been passionate about, especially since it …

You may have Googled “CD Replication U.S.A.” or “DVD Replication U.S.A.”. If you’ve found yourself here, then great, because we’re calling out to all of our American clients right now. The exchange rate is working in your favor North of the border, and we’re running a special jewel case promotion that we think our U.S. based clients will appreciate. Request a Quote or contact us for an estimate at info AT standardmedia DOT ca. Check out our Special Offers for December as well. We’ve put together some holiday specials that are sure to get your attention. The jewel case special is listed below and includes a 4 panel insert and tray card with a full color disc face.

The Standard Media Holiday Jewel Case Special USD

1000 replicated Audio CDs with full color disc face in either offset …

We produce custom USB flash drives for our customers. Looking for a company or organization logo on the side of one? Promotional piece? If you’ve Googled “Custom USB Flash Drives Canada” or “Logo USB Flash Drives”, you’ve come to the right place. We’re the experts in all things Custom USB flash drive related. Request a Quote or contact us at info AT standardmedia DOT ca. You can check out our drive styles in our flashy new USB section. We utilize our blog as a means to shed light on the specifics of using these effective devices for either content delivery or promotional purposes. We’re also keen on asking our clients particulars when they’re shopping around for these. We thought we’d share some essentials with you when considering USB flash drives as a potential purchase.

Common …

You’ve googled “CD Eco Wallets”, “Printed CD Wallets” or “Eco Wallet Printing”. You’re looking to get something that has no plastic to house and package your CD or DVD project. You’ve come to the right place. Request a Quote or contact us directly for an estimate at info AT standardmedia DOT ca. We are always running specials on printed CD sleeves, CD eco wallets, and CD Digipaks, whether you require 200 or 2000.

We’re committed to demystifying the process of getting a CD or DVD project completed. In the last month alone, we’ve had a lot of our customers ask about the different kinds of Eco Wallets you can get for a CD or DVD project. There are so many different variations of board stock, that it’s kind of dizzying. We wanted to dedicate a blog post to the …

Ok. So you’ve Googled “CD Replication Canada”, or “DVD Replication U.S.A.”, and you’ve found yourself at this page. We’ve decided to begin posting our monthly specials to our blog page in an effort to increase as much awareness about the packages to our Canadian and U.S based customers. The response to the DVD specials has been overwhelming. Just an FYI, join our Facebook group at http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=20603853636

…and save an additional 2% off of your order.

We’re also offering 10% off of all USB orders for the month of September.

The Standard Media DVD Special

1000 Replicated DVD-5s (retail grade) with FULL COLOR disc face (offset print or standard 5 color silk screen)
1000 Black DVD Amary Cases-with prnted trap sheet (4/0)
Over Wrapped and Assembled
Free Film and File Charges
Free Shipping to Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto areas
Retail Ready DVD package – read our blog post on getting the …

If you’ve googled “Custom USB Flash Drive Canada”, “Pendrive Canada”, or USB with Logo”, then you’ve found what you’re looking for. We produce custom USB flash drives with a company or organization’s logo. If you’re looking for drive styles, check out our USB Flash Drive section, Request a Quote, or contact us at info AT standardmedia DOT ca.

We wanted to dedicate a post to a few items you may want to consider if you’re thinking about doing a run of custom USB flash drives.  As with all things media related, we want to demystify the process, create awareness, and introduce simplicty into the process. You’re here because you’re considering getting your company or organization’s logo or identity branded onto a portable flash drive. Great decision. These are pieces that are designed for personal and professional use, not to mention the …

If you’ve Googled “CD Replication Toronto”, “Toronto CD Replication”, “DVD Manufacturing Toronto”, or “CD Manufacturing Toronto”, you’ve come to the right place. We’re Canada’s premier source for CD and DVD replication and duplication. Check out our Special Offers or Request A Quote. We’re offering free shipping to our clients in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal.

We’ve decided to dedicate a post to our Toronto customers. We’ve had a few of these questions posted by clients so far this month, and we figured we’d shed some light on the printing process when you’re ordering discs, and what’s involved when you see items on an estimate or when you’re reading the specs of what’s included when you’re shopping around for CD and DVD replication/duplication. If you’re getting print work produced with your disc order, you may have come across references like 4/0, 4/1, or 4/4/. …

Have you googled “DVD Manufacturing Canada”, “DVD Replication Toronto”, or “DVD-9s Canada”? If you’re looking for replication, print, and packaging for a DVD project you’re putting together, you’ve come to the right place. Request a Quote from us, or contact us directly at info AT standardmedia DOT ca.

We respond to what our clients and blog readers are asking questions about, and we dedicate blog posts to some of those things in an effort to create awareness, help demystify the process of getting CDs and DVDs produced, and to assist people in gaining knowledge and insight to better equip them in making informed decisions when it comes to choosing which DVD product is best suited for your needs. The concept of using a DVD-9 is a major one as of late, so as we strive in doing, let us give you a few things to …

If you’ve Googled “DVD Duplication Ottawa” or “CD Duplication Ottawa”, then you’ve come to the right place. You can check out our Special Offers or you can Request a Quote. Beyond that, read on for some tips for properly preparing a DVD or CD Master…

In the last few weeks, we’ve had a few of our recent video production clients ask us a few things about DVD duplication, and the best prep method for ensuring that even a small run of DVDs is done the right way. I usually tell them all the same thing. Here’s a few pointers on ensuring that your disc project gets produced correctly, even if it’s a short run that you’re getting done. This really applies whether it’s a CD or a DVD project.

1. CD-R & DVD-R Media
For CD and DVD masters, you will need to use high-density, Red …

You may have just googled “DVD Manufacturing”, “DVD Replication Canada”, or “DVD Duplication Canada” and come across this post. Check out our “Special Offers” or “Request A Quote” We’re actively working at demystifying the DVD process with our clients, and wanted to dedicate a post on our blog to things to consider when putting together a DVD project. Video is extremely easy to shoot and edit these days. Youtube is a perfect example of the point. Microsoft Movie Maker, Adobe Premiere, and Final Cut Pro are accessible programs that can allow amateur videographers and lensmen to create high quality video pieces, and many of those amateur and mid experienced film makers come to us asking questions about putting together a DVD product that will go over well with their intended audience. Here are a few things to take into consideration …

Ok. You’re Googling around the net looking for information or pricing on CD wallets or Eco-Wallets. Right? You’re at the right place. We have some packages in our Special Offers section on Digipaks and Jewel Cased product, but we also have unadvertisied specials on all of our printed board stock stuff. Contact us for an estimate on your Eco-Wallet and replicated CD or DVD needs. You can request a quote or email us at info AT standardmedia DOT ca.
Our previous post on Digipak Printing in Canada generated a few questions about using card stock/printed board pieces from some people. To take it a step further, let’s take a look at CD wallets, as well as some of the variety of other terms they are referred to as, including, but not limited to …

This month has seen a big flux of traffic to our web site via our Facebook group, as well as what’s been the passing around of our blog URL. Hands down, the biggest question from our corporate and film clients has been what the main differences are between Digipak product (both CD & DVD) and Standard Jewel Cases.

Digipaks typically consist of a gatefold (book-style) paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside. There are two different kinds of Digipak product. Standard CD Digipaks and DVD Digipaks, which have an increased height much like plastic DVD amary cases.

Digipaks have some benefits over jewel cases and amary cases that are very important to note when taking into account, that YES…they are more expensive.

They have a lot more space for design. Doesn’t …

So….We started a Facebook group for Standard Media Services, and so far the response has been pretty steady, especially from independent film makers. We’ve got hot packages for August. Check it out on FB at

http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=20603853636

Join up. It’s all about spreading the word.

I wanted to talk about something that I am passionate about. Music.

This is the beauty of Myspace, Facebook, and every other social media element that exists within the web. It’s meant to share information, expose at a high level, and get conversations going. Independent musicians and artists are increasingly finding themselves better positioned and empowered by the fact that they can focus on exposing people to their music, pack conert halls or venues, and get people better engaged with what’s going on with their careers. It’s more attainable now than it was even 5 years ago. The debate about the changing of technology and how that has affected the music industry goes back and forth regularly. Keep in mind, it has affected the MUSIC INDUSTRY…as in the big music industry….but it has affected the MUSICIANS in an overwhelmingly positive way.

Before the internet, Ani DiFranco …

If you’ve Googled “Ottawa CD Replication”, “CD Manufacturing Ottawa”, or “Ottawa CD Duplication”, OR “Montreal CD Manufacturing”, ‘Montreal CD Replication”, and “Montreal CD Duplicatioin” we’re hoping that you find yourself here. I don’t normally use the blog to promote packages we run for a month, and try to keep the topic and theme to pertinent things non-sales related, but we have two August packages that have been getting a tremendous amount of attention since we started running them early on Google Adwords and a small Facebook campaign in the last week. If you’re not in the know…check out our “Special Offers Section”. The two packages…well three technically…are the following:

The Standard Jewel Case Package for August:

1000 Replicated CDs with full color disc face (either standard 5 color silk screen or full color offset print at no added charge) in Clear Jewel Cases with Full Color …

I decided to dedicate a blog post to the ins and outs of CD and DVD duplication for our clients in The Government of Canada. There’s a lot of things to consider when doing a CD/DVD project, especially if it’s being duplicated versus replicated. If you haven’t checked out our blog post on the differences between replication and duplication, you can read “CD & DVD Replication in Ottawa” here. In short, duplicated discs is what you’d get if you were doing anything less than 500 pieces. It’s ideal for short run projects, and increasingly, I’m noticing many of our government clients are sensitive about the decorative method that is used on CD-R and DVD-R media orders. Everyone wants a product that looks good, and doesn’t suggest you put it together yourself with a stomper, some paper labels from …

As a musician, I’ll tell you, there’s not many things out there that will help you as much as CD baby. CEO Derek Sivers founded the company in 1997 in New York City, and hasn’t looked back since. This is the real deal. If you don’t know what CD baby is, then let me bring you up to speed with this highly credible company.

CD Baby is an online record store founded and run by music lovers. This is as independent as it gets. They don’t accept music industry payola, and the company operates under four main principles.

The musician will be paid every week
The musician will get the full name and address of everyone who purchases their music
The musician will never be removed from the system for not selling enough
The site will never accept advertising or paid-placement

The company listens to every single disc …

As purveyors of information and knowledge about the interesting applications of CD and DVD media, I wanted to shed some light on some of the cool things that companies all over the world are doing with CD and DVD media. We say this all the time, but CDs and DVDs are simply the content delivery mediums. The content on the discs themselves are ultimately what people want to access and use, and some companies and individuals are doing some very cool things.

Mediak, an Indiana based custom audio products company, produces personalized CDs for kids. I’m the parent of twins, and I never thought I would say this about kid’s products, but stuff like this blows me away and I love it. The company staffs a series of professional writers and musicians, and the quality process with ensuring that …

The consensus of opinions from manufacturers and digital preservation specialists, based on accelerated lifetime testing, is that a high quality CD or DVD, if properly handled and stored, should preserve data for at least 75 years. Studies conducted by Toshiba and Sony even suggest a lifetime as long as 200 years before the data becomes unreadable.

We check our Google Analytics back end UI daily, and some of the keywords that have been popping up in terms of search that brings people to www.standardmedia.ca are things like “Using CD & DVD for Archival”, “CD Replication for Archiving”, “DVD Archives”, and “CD and DVD Archive”. We’ve decided to dedicate a post to the ins and outs of what you should know when deciding to transition into a digital archive using CD or DVD products.

1. I’m In Over My Head. I have thousands of documents …

Is it possible to be green as a disc manufacturer? After all, discs are made of plastic, which is a petroleum product.

The answer is yes.

The disc portion of a CD or DVD order, whether it’s duplicated or replicated, is but a small component of the overall project. The polystyrene used in jewel cases and DVD amaray cases is where the greater landfill slew lies. We’re all about being as environmentally sensitive as possible, and we try to steer clients as much as we can (provided that the budget allows) away from using the heavier components of CD and DVD projects, which is hands down plastic packaging. Board stock pieces like Digipaks, Printed Mailers, and CD Wallets/Eco-Wallets have traditionally been more expensive. Once you start getting into partially recycled stocks or 100% recycled stocks, historically, it’s been over the top costly. These alternatives are already …

As a childhood lover of Lego…I just had to post this cool USB flash drive.

So I was having a conversation this morning with a friend of mine about inter office use of USB sticks, and how different mediums of media product can simply do things in different ways. For instance, something I come across regularly when discussing strategies and ideas with clients is the suggestion by other media consultants and media products companies that EVERYTHING is either moving or has moved to the web or electronic environment. It’s a digital world! The web is where it’s at! Printed manuals and books are an ancient thing of the past! Nothing will be in a hard copy format anymore and business and government simply has to accept this and get with the program, or risk losing their audience or alienating their target market.

This is the single stupidest thing …

Every company is a customer service organization. It’s as simple as that.

A testament to a good one is how seriously they take that.

I’ll give you an interesting example of what I’m talking about. I recently went into my local convenience store, where for the last 3 years, I have been greeted with a personable and warm “Hello” by the man who owns it. I literally go in there at least 4 times a week, and have been for three years. I’ve gotten to know the man over this period of time, and he’s never been inconsistent with a greeting and making small talk with me as he’s identified me, I’m assuming, as a regular customer. His prices aren’t the cheapest in the city on things like canned pop or chips, but he’s quick on the register and knows me by …

If you’ve Googled CD Business Card, Business Card Sized CD, Mini DVD, 3 inch CD, or shaped CD and DVD, I’m hoping you find this post. We’re going to shed some light on this.

These optical media pieces are ideal for compact supplement to an actual business card. They’re simply just small discs. They demand attention, and they’re cool. I wanted to give a few interesting examples of business card sized CD-Roms and CD-R, as well as Mini (3 inch in diameter) CD-R and CD Rom and DVD, and what some of the drawbacks are. When we consult with clients, there’s a few things to take into consideration if thinking about using them.

Business Card Sized CD-Rom/CD-R/DVD-Rom/DVD-R are the most compact disc media pieces that you can use. That’s the idea. They don’t lug around like traditional disc media because they are …

In one of our initial posts, I was talking about meeting the guys from Freshbooks, a trusty online based app that we use at Standard Media Services, for our invoicing and estimating. It’s great, and you should check it out. Well, this week, I was introduced to another great idea on the web. Customizable online portfolios via Carbonmade. It’s great for design companies of any size, and ideal for freelancers, copywriters, visual artists…just about anyone looking to show off their wares. Just when I thought I had been dazzled enough as I was attempting to have a Kettleman’s toasted sesame seed bagel with Swiss, an associate drew my attention to a collaborative web based service called Conceptshare. Check out the screen shot below.

…

We wanted to call some attention to something we’re really pushing as a method to moving a CD or DVD project forward as effectively as possible. We’re about education and knowledge, and since one of our goals is changing the way current and future clients look at CDs, DVDs, and USB Flash Drives as content delivery mediums, we wanted to discuss something we’re busy with currently. Splash pages.

The splash page is an effective way to refine what can be simple document duplication for inter office use or release to the public. Our short run clients usually approach us with a series of .pdfs, power points, images, and video clips, and are simply just looking for us to duplicate copies of an organized master …

We had the pleasure recently of doing a small run of CDs for local Ottawa artist Ana Miura, who I’m of the firm opinion is one of the best undiscovered musicians in Canada currently.  I worked in the music industry for about four years with a small independent label that I founded back in 1999, and have seen a full spectrum of different kinds of artists…some good and some who needed work….in a variety of genres. Ana is one of only a handful that I’ve come across that I think truly has a gift that needs to be shared. I think this seriously only happens every once in a while. Her music is fantastic.

Check out the track listing and streaming audio from 2005’s “Tenacious Heart” at the CBC’s New Music Canada,

After that you’ll probably want …

Hopefully you’ve found this blog post at our company, Standard Media Services, for a reason. You’ve googled CD & DVD replication, and you live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The nation’s capital. We’re going to break away from the pack here and thoroughly explain the difference between CD Replication and DVD Replication versus CD Duplication and DVD Duplication. We’re going to do it for our Ottawa crowd. Our Ottawa clients. That’s right. The Communications and Marketing Managers. We’re going to do it for the independent musicians. We’re going to do it for independent film makers. We’re going to do it for the client or customer who simply just wants to get his wedding footage transferred onto a DVD, and doesn’t want to get inundated with the technical details of what’s involved. You see…there’s still a lot of misconception about what the differences are …

As a company that services Ottawa’s association and council market, as well as the Government of Canada, I wanted to shed some light on the practical applications of using USB flash drives as a method of delivering interactive and dynamic content. I speak with Comm and Marketing managers every day, and there seems to be a lot of differing opinions on CD/DVD vs. USB.

CD-ROM and DVD-ROM media has traditionally been the vehicle of choice for delivering documentation, interactive driven presentations, promotional pieces, etc… but don’t discount the modern flash drive as a contemporary content delivery vehicle. There’s a big difference between a flash drive and a CD-ROM, and it’s important to note those differences. I think there’s a misconception about the flash drive and how useful it can be, not to mention concerns about the cost. I think part of …

This may be old news…but for those of you who are passionate video bloggers, you’ll love Gary Vaynerchuk.

Pictured above when he was on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, Vanderchuk transformed his family’s local liquor store in New Jersey into the Wine Library. An infectious public speaker on business, social media, and wine, his references to “bringing the thunder” are awesome. If you’re into building your brand and being passionate about what it is that you do, he’s quickly becoming the go to guy. Very interesting.

I was having a discussion with a client recently about the state of the independent film industry, and in many ways, it’s in virtually the same situation as the independent music industry. It’s thriving. More so than ever before. Indie film makers are more empowered than ever. The internet has exposed smaller, formerly almost invisible film studios for the gems they are, and the disc media industry has enabled film makers, just like musicians, to be able to create professional DVD releases that are on par with anything you might find at Best Buy with a big name attached to it. Here’s another big secret. Ottawa’s independent film scene is alive and well. I think it’s safe to say that most people don’t realize this, but the nation’s capital has a strong and vibrant presence in indie film circles. …

Every marketing or communications team will brainstorm on the development of new and interesting ways to deliver content. That’s pretty well what it comes down to. In the golden age of advertising and communications, you had television, print, and radio. These were predominantly the ways that companies communicated their products or services and maintaining awareness of their brands. They were beaming what they did into the heads of consumers and hoping that the designed message was effective enough to do the chosen medium justice. The thing of the hour are widgets…and I have to say, I think they’re awesome. The thing is now…how do you get a widget to compliment a greater communications initiative in a good way so that a potential client sees the ROI? We’re talking in a marketing capacity, here. Widgets are interesting marketing tools, and they have many practical applications if you …

Another common misconception in the industry: There are no environmentally friendly ways of doing CD or DVD these days. This couldn’t be further from the truth. True…yes….the optical media portion of a project is plastic. It’s all plastic. It’s not generally considered recyclable, however, I’ve heard that there are a few companies working on a way to reprocess the plastic back down without harming the environment for reuse in blank media production. I usually tell my clients that the best place to start when considering an environmental approach to producing a CD or a DVD is the packaging. A standard jewel case, while a cost effective option, is all plastic, however, you can get versions of them that utilize recycled plastic. Same thing with the plastic trays in Digipaks, which is something that we offer our clients. If you want to avoid …

I’m writing a blog entry about this for a reason. Having worked in the industry for a while, and hopefully our website reflects this, I think there a lot of misconceptions about what CD & DVD Production Services are, especially in the National Capital Region that is Ottawa. Every communications company or media broker seems to be offering this service to clients, and if you type CD & DVD into Google, you’ll come across a bevy of companies who do CD & DVD like it’s selling oranges. It seems like optical media services are everywhere.

What is the state of CD & DVD? You talk to some people, and they say that the CD-ROM or CD-R medium is fast losing it’s appeal as everything is migrating to the web. That’s such an easy answer. Well, they said the same thing about print 5 years ago. …

Marketing wise, there’s an interesting example in Steve Stoute, the founder of Translation, a company that he sold half of to Interpublic for 15 Million Dollars last year. I could comment for a while in this post about this guy’s brilliance. A former music executive, most people know Stoute from his melee with Sean “Puff Daddy-P.Diddy-Diddy” Combs back in 1999 when he was managing hip hop artist Nas. What is Translation? It’s a company, in it’s own words, that connects Fortune 500 companies with the urban and youth demographic. It’s not easy to do this as any communications executive might tell you. Translation was contracted by General Motors to connect with urban audiences and realize the equity in some of their car models with the urban demographic. He did a lot more than that. He came up with …

…It’s a term affectionately thrown around for automobile CEOs.

We were involved in some work about 2 years ago with a company that developed dynamically interactive communications pieces for 2 of Detroit’s big auto players. It was very interesting, and I found myself fascinated with the kind of ideas that were being brought to the table to market some of the cars and heavy trucks that they were focusing on. They were fresh, and they were media driven. It began a renewed interest in the auto industry for me. Lee Iacocca’s biography is one of my favorite books, and I count it as one of those reads that I needed to absorb cover to cover. Needless to say, the current state of affairs of the domestic auto industry is equally as strained as during the gas …

So I had the privilege of meeting Saul Colt and Michael McDerment of FreshBooks yesterday. Standard Media Services uses FreshBooks as it’s invoicing and estimating system, and we swear by it.

FreshBooks, for anyone who operates a small business, is a great way to invoice and provide estimates to your clients, not to mention track sales and expenses. It’s a new perspective on what many small to medium sized enterprise owners find tedious and time consuming. It’s a concept called Software as a Service, and it’s a fresh new take on operating in the land of receivables and generating revenue. The applications are endless, and it’s a model that companies like Google and Salesforce are changing the industry with. These guys have …