Does your album simply have too much rock and roll goodness to cram onto one CD? Too much for even two CDs? Don’t fret; you have options. They make jewel cases that are standard sized, but have a hinged tray to store another disc. You can even store three CDs in one standard sized jewel case (you won’t have a tray card, though).
If you have even more discs to package with your replicated CD project, you can also use a quad box. The quad box is as thick as two standard sized jewel cases, and it can store anywhere from one to six discs. It’s also useful if you have a booklet that is larger than 28 pages, because that’s the largest booklet you can package with a standard sized jewel case and still get it to close.
Sales rep Adam Wachter shows the different multi-disc jewel cases available:
When ordering a CD replication package with jewel cases, you have a choice between using a clear or black tray. If you opt for the clear tray, you can also print on the inside of your tray card. Actually, you can print on the inside of your tray card if you opt for a black tray, but it won’t be visible.
Sales rep Adam Wachter shows some examples:
For more informational videos, please visit our YouTube page.
You can get jewel cases in two basic sizes: standard and slim. The slim jewel case is half as thick as the standard sized jewel case, which will make for a lighter package and save storage space. However, the slim jewel case can not display a tray card, so your package will have less print space.
Watch the short video below to hear Ricky Coles explain the differences between these two types of jewel cases:
Justin Kristal put together a video describing some different packaging options for a CD replication project:
Jewel Case with 4 Panel Insert - This is a pretty standard packaging option for CD albums. You get a full sized jewel case with 4 panels of print on your insert. Plus, you also have a tray card that can be printed on both sides. This gives you 6 panels of print space total. You can let your graphic designer go wild with their creativity and still have plenty of room for your credits, track listings, and even lyrics.
4 Panel Digipak - This is a popular choice these days for independent musicians. The digipak is made of cardboard stock that is printed in full color. The cardboard is then folded together to make a sturdy case. Finally, a plastic tray is glued inside to hold the CD or DVD in place. If you opt for a clear case, you’ll have 4 panels of print space. But if you opt for a colored case, you’ll have just 3 panels since the tray will be glued over the top of one.
Slim Jewel Case with 2 Panel Insert - This is similar to the jewel case, but it has one key difference: the slim jewel case has no room for a tray card. This makes it only half as thick as a standard jewel case. Slim cases are compact, lightweight, and great for protecting your disc during distribution. However, because there is no spine on these cases, they aren’t ideal for storage and organization.
Last week, we discussed the paradoxically annoying/useful top-spine stickers. I may have cast them in a negative light, especially when mentioning how difficult it is to remove those stickers.
The sun is shining here in Minneapolis this week, so we’re feeling a bit more upbeat and positive. With that can-do spirit running on high, we found ourselves an amazingly simple way to remove those stickers. It makes it easier than peeling a banana. However, it may take a little practice. COPYCATS Media sales rep Adam Wachter was still having some difficulty figuring it out. Watch the video below to see how to take those stickers off with ease.
I came across this very short blog post by Ted Pearlman about price shopping. Here’s my favorite line:
Price shopping is a disease that will lead you to ruin: don’t do it. I’m not talking about seeing if you can find a $1200 designer suit for $200. I’m talking about budgeting $200 for a suit and then going out and buying one that lists for $200 retail.
The point he’s making is don’t purchase a low quality Product A when you can get a high quality Product B. I would often pass this advice along to customers when working as a sales rep at COPYCATS Media. Customers would have a limited budget and want a CD replication project done with full packaging. Sometimes they would ask us price-match a quote from another company that was absurdly low. We gladly try to match competitors’ prices, but we also have to make sure we’re comparing apples to apples.
Getting something for a below market value is often for a reason (remember the epidsode of Seinfeld with the red dot on the cashmere sweater?). The first thing you want to evaluate is the quality of the product. You can always request samples from COPYCATS Media, and most other places will fulfill that request, too. If you come across a place that doesn’t give you a sample, then you already have a pretty big red flag (or red dot).
I came across this post in a music forum. Somebody was putting together a compilation CD that would be a 2 disc set. They were wondering whether it would be more cost effective to print them off themselves or to get them done professionally. I posted a brief answer on that board, but I’ll dig into it a bit deeper here.
Let’s first try to assess the cost of doing a project like this yourself. They mentioned purchasing a CD printer to do this project and others in the future. If they were to invest in a printer, I would hope they get a high quality thermal printer and not an inkjet. Inkjet printing can smear and smudge when exposed to moisture. If you check out this site, you’ll see that these printers can range from $2,000 - $8,000.
Let’s move on to the discs. If you are using a high quality thermal printer, you will need to buy blank CDRs that are compatible and absorb the ink correctly. If you look here, you’ll see that you can get them for $0.27 per disc. At 3000 units, that would be $810 total. This is assuming you go with silver discs that do not print on the center hub. If you want white discs or discs that you can print all the way to the center hole, it can cost up to $0.44 per disc or $1320 total.
Moving on to packaging, you have a few different options: double jewel case, double digipak, or double sleeve/wallet. Let’s keep it simple and just go with the standard, double jewel cases. I found a site selling them for $0.30 per unit. That would cost $900 total.
The last thing you would get is the printed inserts for your project. Let’s assume you just a plain, 2 panel insert and traycard. I found this place where you can get 3000 copies for $610.
Let’s add up all of these tangible goods:
Discs: $810
Cases: $900
Inserts: $610
Total: $2310
That’s a generous assumption for a few reasons. The first is that I assumed the most basic options (2 panel inserts, silver print-to-hub CDRs). If you wanted a larger insert or print-to-center CDRs, it will cost more. The second reason is that I didn’t include the cost of the CD/DVD printer. This is an investment, so you can’t allocate the total cost just to this project. Since I don’t know this piece of equipment’s lifespan, I couldn’t make a good estimate.
The last thing to consider is all the time and labor you put into this project. I really can’t put a price on ones time, but I’d imagine it’s valuable. You would have to burn, print, and assemble 3000 CD packages. Since they didn’t mention having any type of multi-drive duplicator, I assume their just going to be using the single drives on their computer. Once they are packaged, you’ll have to get them all shrink-wrapped or poly-wrapped. You could purchase a roll of the wrap and get a heat gun (or just a hair dryer).
This is a lot of time spent for some savings. You can get all of this done at COPYCATS Media or other professional duplicators/replicators (but I’d recommend COPYCATS Media). It will cost about the same, but save you all the time, effort, and frustration. You’ll also be getting higher quality, replicated CDs.
If you have a two disc project in the works, get in touch with our sales department to get a quote.
The headline gives 3 standard packaging options for CDs. If you are duplicating or replicating a music album, you’ll probably end up choosing one of these options. But how do you know which is the best for you? Let’s take a look at some of the benefits and drawbacks of each:
This has been the industry standard for years. It’ll make your album appear very official and legit.
The packaging is very inexpensive and gives you a lot of flexibility with your design. You can do a basic design with just the 2 panel insert and traycard, or you can add more graphics and text to fill up an entire 8 page booklet (or more).
You also have the option of getting a black or clear tray. With a clear tray, you can print more on the inside of the traycard to display even more graphics or text. For an added fee, you can also get a colored plastic tray.
Cons
The jewel case is the bulkiest of the three packaging options. This will require more storage space. Depending on your living arrangements, this could be an issue.
The plastic jewel cases are also brittle. When dropped, they can crack or shatter.
They give a unique, softer look than the regular jewel cases.
There is less plastic used in this packaging, creating a more eco-friendly case.
They are lighter and slightly thinner than a jewel case, but still have a spine. This helps when storing and organizing your CD collection.
Cons
They cost a bit more than jewel cases, and they also take slightly longer to manufacture with all of the printing, folding, and gluing.
Since the print is directly on the cardboard, there’s nothing to really protect the printed artwork. If a jewel case gets damaged, you can just transplant the print materials and CD to a new case. If your digipak gets damaged, then it’s finished.
These are very inexpensive and the lightest/thinnest packaging option.
They are easy to distribute and store.
Many music listeners store their CDs in a folder, so only minimal packaging is necessary.
Cons
Because this packaging option is often associated with CD singles, demos, or EPs, there is perception of lesser value with printed sleeves. If you release a full length album and package it in printed sleeves, consumers may be hesitant to pay a full $10-$15 for it.
With no spine, they are not good for organization.
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