You can package your product in a simple white paper sleeve or paperboard mailer and we can help you with that. There are lots of projects that this type of packaging is perfect for.

However when you are talking about products for the retail market, either on-line or at a bricks and mortar store, movie and music enthusiasts choose the physical product over a download for one reason… The Packaging.

The following is a short list of movie and music reviewers and their thoughts on the packaging and the value it adds:

Rev/Views DVD & Television blog

Review of the first season of the TV series “Chuck“:
“Now I am a bit of a packaging enthusiast, mostly because I feel I’ve invested money in purchasing DVDs and as such I want them to look nice on the shelf and work well.”

Creative Review blog

Review of “Glastonbury The Movie“:
“At a time when you can get online and simply download music and films, really it’s down to the packaging of albums and DVDs to make the tangible music or film product a viable option to the consumer.”

Pulse Wrestling blog

Review of the WWE “Randy Savage Ultimate Collection“:
“As someone who collects a lot of disc based stuff (hardcore video game collector here), I like it when the stuff occupying my shelf looks good.”

MamaPop blog

Review of “Wilco (the album)”:
“certain bands, you need to buy the physical recording, because there’s packaging that speaks to what the album is and isn’t.”

NSRMTB blog

Review of “Tipping Point“:
“To all those out there that would rather download a DH DVD than buy one you are going to miss out on some cool packaging and shame on you.”

Bring on Mixed Reviews blog

Review of “The Dear Hunter“:
“The album’s packaging is also something to behold. The time and effort put into the old timey photos that double as track lyrics/notes, is simply amazing. If you have The Prize Fighter Inferno‘s album “My Brother’s Blood Machine” then you know what I am referring to, it returns my faith in the CD medium, where so many have abandoned it for hollow digital downloads.”

These are just some of many comments that prove that the packaging adds value to an album or movie.  You could decrease piracy and downloads by investing in custom packaging that is creative and eye-catching.  By doing this, you are making the physical product of your album or movie a must-have for every fan.

According to the New York Times, many studio companies are now using DVD cases that are smaller and lighter in weight to reduce their environmental impact, as well as save on costs.

Warner Home Video, the largest distributor of DVD entertainment, just started releasing all of its new and library titles in cases with 20 percent less plastic.  Some feature a thin layer of plastic, while others have cutouts in the walls.  One of the main forces is to lessen the load on the environment; it will reduce Warner’s home entertainment division’s carbon emissions by 31 percent.  Not only do these improvements help the environment, but they also cut costs for companies by using less raw materials and by spending less on shipping.  Companies are looking to save money wherever they can, especially in this struggling economy.

Warner is not the only studio making changes in DVD packaging.  Just last month, Sony Pictures Entertainment released their own 20 percent reduced DVD cases.  Walt Disney Company is also coming up with their own green home entertainment ideas.  And don’t forget that Disney, Century Fox, and Sony were the ones to really push the shift to Blu-Ray discs, in which cases have a 30 percent smaller impact on the environment.

Using lighter DVD packaging helps the environment by reducing waste and carbon emissions, while still storing and protecting your DVDs.  And don’t forget about the money you’ll be saving on raw materials and shipping!  Lighter DVD packaging could include DVD cases with cutouts in the walls, Blu-Ray cases, slim DVD cases, c-shells or square-shells.

The other day, I had the opportunity to visit local CD/DVD replicator and duplicator, Next Generation Media. We walked through the plant and saw the whole process in which your CDs/DVDs are copied and mass-produced. It was very interesting seeing the discs being created and to see all of the machines going at once. They do both replication and duplication, and since many people do not know that there is a difference between replication and duplication, so I will try to briefly explain it.

When you duplicate a disc, you “burn” the data from your master disc or hard drive onto pre-manufactured recordable CDR or DVD-R discs. If you only need a small number of discs copied or just a few at a time, this will be your quickest and least expensive option. You can still make the disc look just as good as a replicated disc with high-quality printing, design, and packaging.

Replication is much different than duplication. When you replicate a disc, there is a manufacturing process involved. Each CD or DVD is injection-molded from polycarbonate pellets and shaped into a disc. They are then physically stamped with the data. They go through the whole process of premastering, mastering, electroplating, injection molding, metallization, spin coating, printing, and advanced quality control. These discs are more durable and are of higher quality than duplicated discs, but they are very expensive if you only want a small number of discs. This is because it takes time to set-up the machines, so there is a high initial fixed cost. But if you are doing a larger project (more than 500 copies), replication may be the best option for you.

I personally enjoyed watching the machine that did the four color printing on the discs. It was a quick way to vamp up the look of the disc for brand recognition, as well as give it a professional style. Now that you can decide on duplication or replication for your next project, don’t forget about all of your CD/DVD packaging options!

Libraries are trying to continue to stay up to date with the current times. With this comes the increasing demand for the new Blu-ray technology format.

Since Blu-ray discs are able to hold 25GB (single layer), rather than just 4.7GB with a standard DVD, it brings major improvements to the image quality, audio quality, and special features.

Blu-ray discs can deliver up to 48MB per second, while DVDs only bring 8MB per second. This is a huge jump for picture quality! It is no doubt that people would prefer to watch Blu-ray movies, if they have the capabilities.

Libraries see this demand and want to meet it to satisfy their customers. As they increase their media collection to include Blu-ray discs, they need authentic, high-quality Blu-ray cases to replace their old ones. These electric blue cases are eye-appealing and are a reminder of the higher quality that comes with the Blu-ray format.

Don’t know where to get them? We now offer authentic Blu-Ray cases here at Sunrise Packaging! You can visit our store at http://shop.sunpack.com.

You know that you need cases to package and store your CDs or DVDs, but do you know which case is the best fit for your needs? We came up with a few questions to help you analyze your situation, in order to determine which case is the best fit for you:

Are you looking for a standard size case to match the rest on the shelf or are you attempting to save space?

If you want your case to be the same size as a standard DVD case, there are a few options available for you:

• Premium Quality. If you are looking for a durable case that will last, the premium quality DVD case is for you.  This case is available in black or white in either one or two disc capacities.  Black cases are also available in four disc capacity. White cases are perfect for Wii gaming discs or wedding DVDs.  These cases feature literature clips and a clear overlay to display your artwork.  If you are looking for strong cases that will protect your discs, stick with the premium quality DVD cases.
• Standard Quality. If you are looking for a case offered at a lower cost, the standard quality case is for you. This black case is available in either one or two disc capacities and features literature clips and a clear overlay to display artwork.
• Blu-Ray. The new Blu-Ray technology is a much higher quality than the standard format. This needs to be displayed in the packaging by making it obvious that it is a Blu-Ray disc and showing the higher quality. It is the norm to package Blu-Ray discs in blue cases, so it is important to follow the trend. This will help to avoid confusing customers, as well as have it match the rest of the Blu-Ray cases in their collection.

If you are looking towards saving space with a thinner CD/DVD case, there are even more options:

Are you looking for a case to store CDs or DVDs?

• CDs are typically packaged in jewel cases or paper sleeves. It would be best to stick with these techniques to avoid confusing the customers. These come in more of a square shape, rather than the taller DVD cases. The jewel cases are clear to display artwork and can come with either a clear or a black inner tray. The paper sleeves have a clear acetate window to display the disc and a flap to keep it from falling out.
• If you are looking for a space-saving way to package and store your DVDs, there are clear, slim DVD cases in one or two disc capacities that are 7mm thick. If you are looking for an even smaller case, try clam-shells and square-shells, which are clear and only 4.2mm thick. Artwork can be displayed through all of these clear cases. Paper sleeves could also be used for DVDs if you are looking for your packaging to be especially thin.

Know what you want, but don’t know where you can get it? Sunrise Packaging now offers all of these styles of CD/DVD packaging! Visit our stock CD/DVD products page for more information or go to http://shop.sunpack.com/cd-dvd-albums.html

The new Blu-Ray technology format can be confusing for some. While most know that it is a superior quality format to enhance the entertainment experience, not all may know that a specific player is required for it to work. Blu-Ray discs can only be played on Blu-Ray Disc players, Playstation® 3, or Blu-Ray Disc drives on computers. Blu-Ray discs cannot be played on DVD players. DVDs, however, will play on Blu-Ray Disc players. They just won’t look as nice as the high definition video available with Blu-Ray discs.

Since Blu-Ray is different than DVDs and is not compatible with regular DVD players, there needs to be a way to differentiate these discs. Packaging can do that easily.

Many major studios have adopted blue cases for their Blu-Ray discs that are slightly different in size from standard black DVD cases.

Criterion, on the other hand, just released some of their titles on Blu-Ray, but not in the traditional Blu-Ray discs. They use standard black DVD cases with a small Blu-Ray credit on the back and a small blue sticker on the shrink wrap. The engadgetHD blog mentioned the different packaging on their movies. After reading some of the discussion, it seemed like many people were not happy with the standard black DVD cases. They found them confusing. It is harder to recognize on the shelf and some customers may accidentally buy the Blu-Ray version, rather than the standard version. Some did not like that the cases do not match up with their current Blu-Ray collections.

When customers see the signature blue Blu-Ray cases on the shelves, they know that they are purchasing a high definition movie. This is why it is important for Blu-Ray discs to be differentiated from standard DVDs. Avoid the mix-ups and confusion. Read more about our new Blu-Ray cases that will be available next week!

We are pleased to announce that we have expanded our line of DVD cases. These new cases make it even easier for you to put together your movies, videos and DVDs.

We now have Machine-Loadable Black DVD cases with machine sealed clear overlay. Why is a machine-sealed overlay important? It ensures consistency in size of your cover artwork and helps make inserting the artwork easier. You can print and cut your cover artwork all together and when you are ready to insert your art into the case, it will easily fit into place. There is no re-cutting and no guesswork.

In addition, these cases come in sizes to hold 1 or 2 discs and the outsize dimension of each case is the same. That means that you have 1 artwork template for both styles! There is no keeping track of which artwork template goes with which case.

Our premium machine-loadable cases are made from over 50% recycled materials making these cases more environmentally friendly.

We also have white DVD cases that are great replacement cases for Wii gaming discs. And for your budget conscious projects, we have standard quality DVD cases.

We have more information on our DVD Cases. You can purchase our new DVD cases in our on-line store.

It is Friday night and you are gazing at the DVD shelf trying to decide which movie to watch for the night, but I doubt you are thinking about all of the different kinds of DVD cases that are available. DVD cases come in a variety of different sizes, grades, and colors. If you need to purchase DVD cases for your business or personal use, it is good to consider the different factors to decide which cases best meet your needs.

DVD cases are available in many different sizes. Typically, the standard DVD case has a depth of about 14mm. Some people may like the look of a smaller case better, or they may want to save on space or shipping. For those, there are options of 7mm or 5mm in depth.

There are also different grades of quality for DVD cases. There is a standard grade made out of recycled materials or a premium grade made out of 100% raw materials, which would last longer. There is even the option of cases made from a mixture of recycled and raw materials. Your choice depends on if you want to focus on price or durability. Some DVD cases are also machine grade, which means that they are machine loadable. This could save an enormous amount of time if you have a machine that can load the DVD’s in the cases for you.

The majority of DVD cases come in black, but you may want to invest in color to stand out on the shelf. Special occasions, such as weddings may prefer white cases over black cases. DVD cases may come in a variety of different colors, such as red, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, clear, frosted clear, white, or the traditional black. There is also the option of Blu-Ray cases if you would prefer that for Blu-Ray discs. Some video game cases may break easily, so there is the option of buying these DVD cases to replace them. Standard DVD cases are compatible with many video games, such as the Nintendo Wii.

Injection molding also allows suppliers to provide high-quality, durable DVD cases at a reasonable price. There are more options in choosing DVD cases than one might think. It is important to determine your needs and then figure out which DVD cases best suit your needs at a reasonable price.