The Digipak You Will Always Lack
Ever wonder why you can’t buy blank digipak cases for your CDs or DVDs? How come the jewel case rules the roost of blank media packaging? Well wonder no longer, some crack investigative reporting unravels the digipak conspiracy…
The other day I thought it would be novel to put some of my CDs in blank digipaks. So I looked around, you know London Drugs, Staples, Future Shop, the usuals. But alas there was none to be found. I talked to a few clerks and they knew about as much as I, which is to say nothing. Yet again, I had been defeated.
A few days later I got in touch with Canada Disc & Tape, a company that does CD printing and pressing for whoever. I thought this would be a for sure win, buying from the source on the sneak tip! So, I called them and was surprised to learn that they could not supply me with the 20 blank digipaks I wanted. And here’s why…
Turns out Digipaks are patented. PATENTED! By a group of scoundrels calling themselves MeadWestvaco (that is a terrible name). Anyways, MeadWestvaco runs a pretty good scam. To get your hands on digipaks you need to have one of their Limited Edition printers which cost way more than any Bjork box-set I’ve ever seen. The rumour goes that there are only 4 in Canada. Then of course, upon initial investment, you can get access to the blanks. But once you have paid all your money for the buy-in to this little pyramid scheme, you don’t want to be shelling out your digipaks to any old Terrell. You want to make those dollars. So you tell people you will print them digipaks, but you will only print them in batches of a thousand, and it will cost them premium.
So I guess we are left with a few key points:
- The common man will never hold a blank digipak in his hands.
- MeadWestvaco are a bunch of hoarding crooks.
- Patents never helped anyone.
- If you can get in on this now, you might just become a millionaire.
October 31st, 2006 at 9:09 am
Physical Media distribution is in it’s final death throes.
June 13th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
The scarcity of retail digipaks has to do with the market, not oligopolistic collusion. Buy your blank digipaks here.
August 5th, 2008 at 2:04 am
Move away from mediocrity
How many bands have already been down the road of contacting disc replicators to publish their new album and have heard that any halfway decent packaging solution can only be bought with a minimum quantity of 1,000 pieces? So you revert back to the plastic jewel case, but is that going to get you in the limelight?
If you are ready to step out of the shadows of mediocrity, then cast away the shackles of conventional media packaging and say hello to a new era in which your creativity is the only limit as to what you can accomplish; digipak i-create™.
About i-create
Digipak i-create has been developed by AGI Media, a leading global provider of media packaging solutions and creative services. For many years, AGI Media has been one of the key solution providers to major international music labels and film studios all over the world. Our main Digipak® product has been the basis of many highly specialised and creative cardboard packaging solutions in the media industry. You probably already own many of our products without even knowing it!
High quality packaging
The digipak i-create is composed of a cardboard base and a CD or DVD tray and comes in white, black or kraftliner. A standard digipak i-create set is packed in a stylish box that contains 10 digipak i-creates of your choice. We’ll even throw in complimentary blank labels! If you want, you can also complete the pack with a set of 10 high quality CDs or DVDs.
The hand of a da Vinci?
Just using the blank digipak i-create as it is creates quite an impression. Nevertheless, if you feel you want to go the extra mile, just go for it. If you’re lucky enough to have the hand of a da Vinci or know your way around Photoshop, share your creativity! Simply go to our ‘get inspired’ section and amaze the world with what you can do with digipak i-create! Curious about what other i-creators already have done with i-create? Click ‘get inspired’ and be amazed!
http://www.digipakicreate.com
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AGI Media is a leading global provider of media packaging solutions and creative services. For many years, AGI Media has been one of the key solution providers to international music labels and film studios all over the world.