With so many options, what should you do? There are a lot of factors to consider when deciding on which option will work best for your needs. In the end, it will boil down mainly to time and money.

A duplication service company can provide high-quality duplication with very little work on your part, giving you time to focus on what you do best. You don't need to worry about the process once the master disc is in their hands. However, it can be quite expensive if used routinely.

Doing it yourself allows you to duplicate your project within your own time frame. If you do enough duplication jobs, this can be a cost-effective investment and another arrow in your quiver. The main drawback is keeping track of your ink supply and maintaining and repairing the duplicator.

Okay, you've figured out which process will work best for your requirements. So what's next? Obviously, the neighborhood Giganto-Mart doesn't carry duplicators or offer duplication services. To help save you time, Videomaker has assembled a list of vendors that is a great place to start searching for the best company to meet your duplication needs.

Sometimes, using only one of these options is not enough. Consider using multiple duplication options. The company I work for has a manual duplicator we use for all our small jobs. Occasionally, for bigger duplication jobs (200 to 1,000 discs or more), we'll turn to an outside duplication service company to make our product look good. For jobs beyond that, we rely on replication, which is a whole new story. (In replication, the information is put onto the disc as it is manufactured, rather than burned onto an already-created disc.)

The next time you burn multiple discs from your computer's burner, consider the time you can save with duplication. Anyone who needs to burn and print discs will benefit from CD/DVD duplication services and/or home-use duplicators.

Stephen Smith is an award-winning producer and editor for Lone Peak Productions.

To download a PDF of Manufacturer's list, CLICK HERE.