How to make an informational cd to sell?
August 13, 2007 2:02 PM Subscribe
How to make an informational cd to sell?
We're in the process of making a cd to sell that instructs the buyers how to set up a dosimetry program at their own vet clinic. The pieces include instructions on the process of setup, form letters (.docs), & state & federal regulations applicable to the buyer's locale.
How do we put all that on a cd that has a dressier interface than windows explorer? Do we create a local website on the cd? If so, what if the cd drive of the buyer isn't C or D? Since it isn't really software, it's really dragging & dropping files, how do we handle this? Do we make some kind of autorun.exe file? If so, how? And how do we address the mac/pc thing, if at all?
One reason we opted for the cd and not a web tool is that many potential buyers may be on dialup and not terribly tech savvy.
I'll try to answer any additional questions to help figure out the next steps. Apologies for my ignorance - this is a first time thing for us, if that's not already obvious.
This is the last mystery piece before we submit to a print-on-demand house.
We're in the process of making a cd to sell that instructs the buyers how to set up a dosimetry program at their own vet clinic. The pieces include instructions on the process of setup, form letters (.docs), & state & federal regulations applicable to the buyer's locale.
How do we put all that on a cd that has a dressier interface than windows explorer? Do we create a local website on the cd? If so, what if the cd drive of the buyer isn't C or D? Since it isn't really software, it's really dragging & dropping files, how do we handle this? Do we make some kind of autorun.exe file? If so, how? And how do we address the mac/pc thing, if at all?
One reason we opted for the cd and not a web tool is that many potential buyers may be on dialup and not terribly tech savvy.
I'll try to answer any additional questions to help figure out the next steps. Apologies for my ignorance - this is a first time thing for us, if that's not already obvious.
This is the last mystery piece before we submit to a print-on-demand house.
I'd suggest a local website on the CD, that way, it doesn't matter what drive letter the CD-ROM is, and it doesn't matter if they use mac or PC, and it doesn't need a specialist to implement.
Lots of CDs that take this route come with the installer for a web browser, but in your case that seems to me to be more trouble than just making sure the web pages are simple and compliant.
In addition, using helpful informative names for folders, combined with a simple logical structure, will allow people to browse using explorer even if they don't have a web browser (which these days is pretty much unheard of).
posted by -harlequin- at 2:54 PM on August 13, 2007
Lots of CDs that take this route come with the installer for a web browser, but in your case that seems to me to be more trouble than just making sure the web pages are simple and compliant.
In addition, using helpful informative names for folders, combined with a simple logical structure, will allow people to browse using explorer even if they don't have a web browser (which these days is pretty much unheard of).
posted by -harlequin- at 2:54 PM on August 13, 2007
Response by poster: Arch1, what is a ballpark price for such a service? Also, did the development company also market your product, or did you go elsewhere? We already have a print-on-demand in mind, but if we can kill 2 birds, etc etc.
posted by yoga at 2:55 PM on August 13, 2007
posted by yoga at 2:55 PM on August 13, 2007
Response by poster: Going with the local website on the cd-rom, do we need to tell it somehow to autorun in the user's browser, or is that a local setting over which we have no control? I dont' want to hijack their machine, but I'd like it to run on its own as much as possible.
posted by yoga at 3:24 PM on August 13, 2007
posted by yoga at 3:24 PM on August 13, 2007
Best answer: An alternative is to create a pdf file, or collection of files. Pdfs can do pretty much everything a website can do (deliver multimedia, use custom buttons to link internally and externally, do roll-overs, have working forms, etc., and are much easier to design, and to control the look of that design, than are html or css docs, if you’ve never done either. You’d use a page-layout program such as InDesign to create your docs and all related forms, and Acrobat Professional to add the interactivity; a couple of hours watching the how-to videos at lynda.com will get you up and running. I do this for part of my living and would be glad to answer more questions (don’t want the job; too busy!); email’s in profile.
As for the local website idea, if site building is already easy for you, sounds like a great idea. Don’t see why any autorun mode would be necessary; in either case, all you need is to include simple instructions on the cover, case or label about how to open the files on the disc: “double click index.htm, or Intro.pdf,” or some such thing, along with a listing of system requirements, like “web browser” or “Adobe Reader,” and a tech-support number for the really clueless. If they’ve bought your disc, they’ll have the incentive to figure it out, and will feel warm and cosy about you if you need to walk them through it. At least, that’s the way it’s been for my end-users, some of whom are NOT computer savvy. Nobody buys a CD-ROM without also signing up to use a computer...unless they think you’re selling a DVD (which, admittedly, some will!).
posted by dpcoffin at 7:10 PM on August 13, 2007
As for the local website idea, if site building is already easy for you, sounds like a great idea. Don’t see why any autorun mode would be necessary; in either case, all you need is to include simple instructions on the cover, case or label about how to open the files on the disc: “double click index.htm, or Intro.pdf,” or some such thing, along with a listing of system requirements, like “web browser” or “Adobe Reader,” and a tech-support number for the really clueless. If they’ve bought your disc, they’ll have the incentive to figure it out, and will feel warm and cosy about you if you need to walk them through it. At least, that’s the way it’s been for my end-users, some of whom are NOT computer savvy. Nobody buys a CD-ROM without also signing up to use a computer...unless they think you’re selling a DVD (which, admittedly, some will!).
posted by dpcoffin at 7:10 PM on August 13, 2007
Best answer: For the menu interface Menubox and Demoshield are often used, although the latter seems to be discontinued. I think you can also use autorun.inf to automatically launch a web browser.
If you just use "CLICK HERE TO START.html" you can still accomodate for different cd drive letters by using paths like <a href="/index.html"> instead of <a href="d:/index.html"> .
For the actual manufacturing of semi large quantities you can use Lulu.
posted by lodev at 5:06 AM on August 14, 2007
If you just use "CLICK HERE TO START.html" you can still accomodate for different cd drive letters by using paths like <a href="/index.html"> instead of <a href="d:/index.html"> .
For the actual manufacturing of semi large quantities you can use Lulu.
posted by lodev at 5:06 AM on August 14, 2007
Response by poster: Thanks so much everybody! I hadn't thought about teh PDF approach, but I will now. I've made lots of websites, so I was leaning that way, but I'll peek at the PDF route before I jump.
Yes - we were going with lulu - I know a couple of people there, and they are also just down the road if I need to pick their brain in person. Again, thank you!!
posted by yoga at 6:59 AM on August 14, 2007
Yes - we were going with lulu - I know a couple of people there, and they are also just down the road if I need to pick their brain in person. Again, thank you!!
posted by yoga at 6:59 AM on August 14, 2007
Perhaps more detail than you wanted, but here we go (and I'd be happy to send you a copy of the HSA guide I produced, as it happily shows the tech but has no content in your line of work).
The cd-rom we produced is genuinely interactive... self-loads and runs, and I had an environment created that looked like a magazine so that the user automatically knew how it worked. Characters would animate, moving the cursor over objects would animate them, but only briefly enough to keep the user engaged but not distracted. I set up three chapters so the user self-selected the relevant approach, and they didn't have to waste time in a linear presentation: 1st chapter is 40,000 foot overview, 2nd details to the nth, 3rd illustrations and calculators. And I included a "PDF library" also available at the front that contained all of my usual collateral... but this time we went paperless. (Saved a LOT of money.) Also, you can hyperlink from the disc to web sites, so you can wisely make sure your time-sensitive content doesn't go stale (but then you'd need a web site, which I would highly encourage).
Sorry for the length, but I think it merits full description.
posted by Arch1 at 7:03 AM on August 14, 2007
The cd-rom we produced is genuinely interactive... self-loads and runs, and I had an environment created that looked like a magazine so that the user automatically knew how it worked. Characters would animate, moving the cursor over objects would animate them, but only briefly enough to keep the user engaged but not distracted. I set up three chapters so the user self-selected the relevant approach, and they didn't have to waste time in a linear presentation: 1st chapter is 40,000 foot overview, 2nd details to the nth, 3rd illustrations and calculators. And I included a "PDF library" also available at the front that contained all of my usual collateral... but this time we went paperless. (Saved a LOT of money.) Also, you can hyperlink from the disc to web sites, so you can wisely make sure your time-sensitive content doesn't go stale (but then you'd need a web site, which I would highly encourage).
Sorry for the length, but I think it merits full description.
posted by Arch1 at 7:03 AM on August 14, 2007
Oh... ballpark price? Depending on complexity, the projects ran from 20K.
posted by Arch1 at 7:04 AM on August 14, 2007
posted by Arch1 at 7:04 AM on August 14, 2007
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Arch1 at 2:32 PM on August 13, 2007