Optical discs are manufactured in bulk by first creating a die that contains the pattern of pits and lands that represent the data. This pattern is then transferred to the disc by "stamping" it onto the die.

Standards
Optical media are governed by standards that are referred to as "Books," like The Orange Book, The White Book, The Blue Book, etc. The Red Book, the original standard, specifies the requirements for Audio CDs. The White Book specifies the requirements for Video CDs.