DVD copies and production.
 

Hello,

I am not sure which way to go. I am doing a bird video of Sanibel Island, and hope to sell 100 to 200 DVDs a year. I also an getting roped into doing other video for groups than might have as many as 50 copies or more. I just am not sure of the volume. I do this for a hobby, but try and put out a professional looking product. (Maybe after I sell a few million copies I can break even)

So should I get a different burner and printer or send it out? I do all my work on a Canon XH A1 and use Apple imovie 09.

I have the time to wrap and package the disk myself, and shrink wrap them also. But I keep thinking of more equipment that I will need down the road. I am just getting good enough to know what I do not know.

Thanks for the help.

There are a couple different routes you can take here, depending on what direction you'd like to go in.

If you're getting more serious with video and think you have a good chance at making some extra money with it, you might want to look into purchasing a standalone disc duplicator. I think a few of this site's sponsors carry some models, but when I purchased mine I did it through Discmakers. For a few hundred dollars, you can pick up a small automated duplicator. For me, getting an automated unit was imperative. I load up the hopper with discs, set the thing up, and walk away until it's done. It's MUCH better than sitting in front of your computer loading discs by hand into the DVD Drive. Anyway, you can get larger duplicator machines that offer better throughput, but be prepared to shell out a chunk of change. If you do projects frequently, this might be something to think about.

Another option for you is look up some of the other video production businesses nearby and see if they offer disc duplication services. For a short run of a few hundred discs or less, it will most likely be more cost effective for you if you're only doing projects like that once or twice a year.

Hope this helps!

Kenneth,

If you think you can sell 1,000 in 2-3 years, I would go with professional replication. As an example I just had discmakers.com do 1,000 in DVD cases, with disc printing, slipsheet cover printing, assembly, barcode and shrinkwrap for $1,000 plus shipping to me. That came to about $1.20 per finished DVD. I must add that I did the artwork myself. Also with replication you are going to get a higher probability the DVD will play in different players. I have never had a reject yet and just don't want to deal with the hassels that duplicated dvds can have.

In my experience, once you hit 100 disks then outsourcing starts to make sense. I've seen pricing for DVDs in printed paper packaging for US$249 per 100 units. Now, the price will vary if you want a plastic hard case and four color printed insert.

Disk duplicator prices are getting friendlier and while the robotic stackers are the easiest for large volume production, they're still a bit dear unless you do large runs of many different disks. You'll need to do a little financial noodling to find your personal crossover point.

DVD copies and production
 

Thanks for the input. This is what I think I am going to do......

I will send the Birds Gone Wild Video out to be mass produced and buy 1,000 of them. This will make me become a salesman, and it is also become a lifetime supply of Christmas gifts.

I will also buy a single burner for the smaller runs. I think this will work out ok. If I become famous, I will revisit the issue.

What a great site, you always have the good answers!!!