ODME'S DSR mastering systems Turns Replicators into one-stop CD/DVD shops - direct stamper recording

Emedia Professional, June, 1999 by Debbie Galante Block

By now the importance of quality mastering as a means to a "perfect" disc is well-known While most replicators will "handle" the mastering side of production for their customers, many don't own the appropriate equipment and must broker out the service--a fact which may or may not always be clear to the customer. This can be particularly inconvenient for customers during the busy season, as some replicators fight for the time and attentions from their competitors (to whom they must broker their mastering).

Why don't all replicators have their own mastering equipment? The bottom line is money. For a smaller replicator, putting out as much as another $2.5 million for mastering equipment is sometimes simply not in the budget. But now the Netherlands-based manufacturing division of Toolex Europe--called ODME--has a solution: a new type of mastering system called Direct Stamper Recording (DSR).

Without data processing configuration costs and test equipment, DSR prices begin at $1 million--about 40 percent less than traditional photo-resist mastering equipment costs, according to Rene Jansen, ODME marketing manager. Although DSR was shown at REPLItech Asia in 1997, the company had only sold four systems since its announcement. Indeed, DSR didn't appear to have practical use in the field until September 1998, when Minneapolis-based Vaughn Communications, Inc. purchased the first system sold in the U.S. Since then, ODME has sold two more systems, and expects sales to increase concurrently with DVD's growing popularity.

GIVING GALVANICS THE HEAVE-HO

Photoresist and non-photoresist are the traditional methods of mastering. ODME also provides conventional photoresist mastering equipment. During the photoresist process, information is taken from a tape and put onto a glass disc by means of a laser beam. This glass disc contains the light-sensitive layer, also known as the photoresist layer. In this photoresist layer, pits have been formed, which contain the information. Next comes the galvanic process (otherwise known as electroforming), during which a nickel layer is grown onto the glass master at a thickness of 0.3mm and later separated from the glass master. This nickel plate is the stamper and is the opposite copy of the master. Thus, the master's pits form bumps on the nickel plate. It is here that replication begins.

With ODME's DSR, metalization and electroforming are eliminated from the production cycle. Mastering adds the information directly to a nickel plate of 0.3mm density and makes the galvanic step after mastering unnecessary. The nickel plate contains the bumps already, automatically making it a stamper and ready for molding. Since the nickel shell already contains photoresist, the first step within the DSR is recording. The information is then written into the photo layer by exposing it to a laser beam. During development, the photoresist is removed, except for the remaining bumps which contain the information; the remaining bumps must be hardened because photoresist-is too soft for molding. The shell is then baked, and after punching, the finished stamper is ready for the injection molding process. The nickel substrate is purchased elsewhere, rather than made by the replicator.

SHATTERING CONVENTIONS THE DSR WAY

The difference between mastering the conventional way and mastering with DSR is in the length of the stamper's life. While DSR is guaranteed for 5,000 shots, conventional stampers can last for up to 50,000 or 60,000 shots. The limited life results from adhesion of the bumps to the nickel plate.

Vaughn--which at presstime was in the final stages of being acquired by Allied Digital Technologies--is quite satisfied so far with its purchase. "Purchasing DSR was our first venture into mastering," according to Darrell Watkins, director of engineering. As of March, the company had already made more than 2,000 stampers, and the machine's performance, says Watkins, was "virtually flawless."

"Our current replication capacity is 120,000 discs per day, and we expect to increase that to 180,000 discs per day in this calendar year," Watkins continues. "Ninety percent of what we replicate is CD-ROM. Our average order size will be 3,800 discs, and with DSR's guaranteed stamper life at 5,000 discs, it is very compatible with our business profile. It satisfies 93 to 94 percent of what we do. If we have a very large job, we produce three or four DSR stampers so we can begin replicating and, at the same time, commence work on a classic stamper so we may produce larger volumes of discs," he explains.

Certainly, the initial cost savings factored into Vaughn's decision to purchase the DSR system. According to Watkins, Vaughn probably saved $700,000 to $1 million when it bought ODME's DSR system, but cost savings continue beyond that. Staffing requirements, for example, are not as technically demanding. "In a classic mastering situation, you need chemical engineers, water purification technicians, and others to do the job," he says. With DSR, these duties are unnecessary, giving customers an additional cost savings. "Our mastering staff right now consists of one manager and one technician per shift," he marvels.