The classic hardbound book has a few basic features:

• The cover is a lot heavier than the cover on a paperback.
• The pages are almost the same size as the cover, but not quite.
• 
  With a CD or DVD book, you can make a hard cover in a number of ways.

Chipboard with wrap is the traditional way to make a hard set of covers. Binding paper, binding cloth, fabric or other material is wrapped around a thick board core. two covers and the spine. The Inner panel covering is created separately from the outer wrap and is glued down to cover the ends of the outer wrap. Look below for some more info on this construction method.

Simulated Bookbinding is a good alternative approach if the budget will not allow for actual bookbinding. The use of heavy, coated board stock is by far the most common (and least expensive) cover construction method for CD and DVD book packaging. The main art for all inside and outside panels is printed onto one side of the stock, then, after die cutting, the cover is made by folding panels over and gluing, resulting in double thickness panels (aka: DOUBLE-WALL CONSTRUCTION). Of course, with this method, you can use the double thickness to create disc pockets, or (as in the case of the plum colored example below) a clever way to hold the book ion place you still allow it to be removed.

When you design your CD or DVD Book package, you'll need to determine the following features:

• What should the overall size be?
• How many pages in the book? How are the pages bound together and how will they attach to the package?
• How heavy should the covers be?
• How will the disc (or discs) attach?

A spec might look something like this:

Qty: 500+
Disc:
Packaging: 6pp Traypak with 5inch clear tray
(Double Wall Construction)
Printing: 4C / 4C (includes the reverse side of the paper, we call this PIPS Printed Inside Pockets and Spines....it gives you the continuous art flow and no white spines showing through. With bookbinding, the 4C Wrap is continuous across the inside, so this feature achieves that continuity)
Stock: 18pt uncoated stock
Booklet:12pp 4C/4C matte aqueous, glued to center panel
Assembly: insertion & shrinkwrap
Shipping: we'll include, let us know where
Proofing: PDF + Test Disc & Color Matchprint

We tend to see two basic sizes in cd and dvd books; 5inch and 7inch horizontal format. That doesn't mean you can't go larger because we can make any size you would like. However, if you want it constructed based on the plastic tray sizes you are limited to variations of 5inch and 7inch trays.

5Inch tray example:


7inch horizontal trays:

Keep in mind that everything we do is custom built. There are no pre-existing units sitting on a shelf, waiting to printed.....it doesn't work that way. These are manufactured to your spec so you can change most features. That being said, here are the number one requested specs for CD & DVD Books:

Most Popular Spec for CD BOOK
Qty: 500+
Disc: CD
Packaging: CD Book with 5 inch clear tray
BOOK BINDING CONSTRUCTION (chipboard core + 4C glued wrap)
Matte Lamination
Booklet: Perfect bound (28pages+), glued to spine
Thicker cover/Thinner pages, 4C/4C
Assembly: insertion & shrinkwrap
Shipping: we include
Proofing: starts with PDF, progresses to test disc (glass mastered & printed) & color matchprint for the CD Book and up to 22pages of the booklet pages.

Most Popular Spec for DVD BOOK
Qty: 500+
Disc: DVD
Packaging: DVD Book with 7 inch clear tray
and all the rest might be the same

Big variations: disc type, size of tray, type of tray (clear plastic, paper) or using a glued sleeve, book binding construction versus simulated book binding construction, number of pages in booklet, booklet construction, paper stocks and finishes, and of course special printing effects like embossing or foil on the cover.

Yes, we can also make a sleeve our of paper stock and glue it to the inside over. We can even do this as free swinging sleeve.

CD and DVD book covers can be made using the vintage LP packaging style, which is very similar to standard book binding / hardbound book construction. For a CD or DVD book project, we build in an LP pocket (one or two). The difference between a standard hardbound book cover and a vintage LP pocket is that the core material is two pieces of thinner stock. Forgot about that style of record cover? Take a look at one of your old 1950s or '60s Verve or Blue Note LPs.

For smaller booklets, one cover of a saddle-stitch (stapled) booklet can be permanently glued to the inside front or back cover of the main package. This is a very cost effective solution. The booklet is sized up from the standard, pocketed size, to better fit the panel.

For longer books—up to 100 pages and beyond—perfect binding and spine glue is the way to go. Perfect bound books are square-backed, with the edge of each page glued to a backing to form the spine. The book cover is glued on and anchored under the front and back inside covers, with relief to allow easy opening.

To simplify construction and to provide a more authentic experience, the booklet panels are usually cut larger than conventional disc inserts.

Companion booklets are cut the the exact size of the disc packaging, then are inserted alongside the packaging into a slipcase. These are usually perfect bound, which allows spine printing.

Saddle stitch is the traditional way to create booklets for disc packaging. Basically, saddle stitch means "stapled". Typical page count for saddle stitch is 8 to 24 panels*, but twice that is not uncommon.The page count for saddle stitch almost always includes the covers. If the cover needs to be a different stock, the inner pages can be run separately. Most of our booklets are full color throughout, including Pantones, although black-only is an option, too.

Perfect binding is the process of creating books by gluing a block of pages at the spine, which gives a square back. As any reader of Dune on paperback can confirm, a perfect bound book can have a nearly unlimited number of pages, but for CD and DVD projects, the higher-end page count is 100 to 200 panels. As an entry point, we'll say 40 panels and up make a good thickness for this type of construction. It gives a square spine and has at least a bit of bulk to it. Page count for perfect-bound books excludes the covers, as the covers are made from heavier stock and provide the spine.
*Note: "Panel" or "Page" both refer to one side of a printed sheet. A single print spread will typically contain 4 panels.

We can do your CD or DVD book with binding cloth and make you a stellar "Limited Edition" release. Printing on binding cloth or binding paper is a lot different from printing on standard paper. Ink is generally silkscreened, rather than offset printed, so solid-color designs are generally recommended over art containing halftones.

The inks available include the Pantone™ metallics, or you can even choose hot foil stamping!

There are basically four ways to hold your disc: trays, pockets, sleeves, and hubs:

Trays are the most popular way to hold one or two discs into a DVD or CD book. They allow a view of the entire disc surface, and since the trays are normally clear, you can see the art underneath. You have the option of aligning your disc art with the panel beneath. Trays can be used with any method of construction.

A variation on the plastic tray is the Natural Paper Tray. Paper trays are made from 100% recycled paper and have a cork hub. It's a very earthy look.

Pockets are a popular way to hold the discs in many types of CD and DVD packaging, since the standard jacket construction style inherently gives you both sides of a pocket. Pockets in a book package are generally up-facing or out-facing. The out-facing pocket style is also very popular in LP disc packaging / cd albums.

Sleeves are a variation on the pocket, being made from thinner stock, and either attached to an inside cover or made to swing freely like a book page. Multi-disc sets can be made this way, with two discs per page. You can make the sleeves from coated or uncoated stock. You can print them as you would your other book pages or you can have them a single color, like a vintage '78 box set.

Foam hubs are a great way to mount your disc, showing it off in its full glory. Hubs can stick on any surface and are available in black or white. We can also do clear gel hubs. Hubs are great alternative to plastic trays.

Your DVD or CD book can have any finishes we offer. For more detail on matte lamination, embossing, foil stamp and ore, check out disc packaging finishes and special printing effects.



Also check our the paper stocks section (matte uncoated stock, fiberboard stock, etc) , as this will have a big impact on the look.

Don't forget the disc can have fun effects to match! Here is an example of spot gloss on the disc (see disc varnish page) matching the spot gloss/matte lamination done on the packaging:

Slipcases can be as simple as slip-sleeves (TUBE, open at both ends), usually allowing you to slide the package in from the side. If you want your slipcase to open from one side, with a spine and be more like a BOX, we can do that, too.

Side-load box-style slipcases can be further improved by having printing on the inside surfaces. You can go with lining, in which flaps of the outer stock are folded in and glued, or you can opt to do 2-sided printing to the stock.

If you need the ultimate in protection and presentation, you can have your slipcase made in the hard bound style, made with heavy board, wrapped with fully-printed stock of your choice, including all the finishes and special effects you could ever want. Die Cut / knock outs are especially fun in slipcases!