Digipak: First Look

Digipak's are a style of compact disc or DVD packaging.
Digi-packs can flip open like a book, or it can have three parts, so that one portion of the packaging opens to the right and one to the left, with the CD in the center portion. The biggest difference between the jewel case (standard plastic case) and the digi-pak is that the digi-pak is usually made from a strong card instead of having a plastic casing.
                                                                                   

Digipacks were first created by MeadWestvaco, and their product, called Digi-Pak, is trademarked. However, as the format became more popular and began to be used by more manufacturers, the generic "digipack" came to be used to describe all soft CD packaging.





 Typically consist of..

• A gateway (Bookstyle) paperboard or card stock outer binding.
• With one or more plastic trays for holding CD or sometimes a paperboard pouch to store the CD.
• card stock or other heavy paper/cardboard material.

Typically used for..

• Used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums
• Tall DVD Digipaks

Pros & Cons

• They look nice, and many bands and labels like to use them for aesthetic reasons. The three section digipack sleeves opens up more design options because there is more room. However, they're more expensive than traditional liner notes and jewel cases.
• Digipacks don't crack like jewel cases do, but they will rip and eventually the paper begins to peel apart and separate.
• The trays in digipacks break much more often then in jewel cases. There's not as much protection since the outer portion of made of paper, so the teeth that hold the CD in place crack and fall out easily.
• When the teeth of the tray does break in a digipack, the CD falls out of the bottom of the digipack, because unlike jewel cases, there is nothing to hold it in.
• Digipacks can be more environmentally friendly than jewel cases because they can be made of recycled paper - however, they aren't always in fact made in this way.

Other information on Digi-paks:

•  Digi-paks have been described by some as a response to the decline in LP's, LP's use to be collectors ideas due to the artistic designs often found on the LP's and digi-paks have reignited the possible use of digi-paks as collecting items. 
• Digi-paks have often be designed as limited edition releases though infact now digi-paks are soon on track to be the more prominent form of release.