Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Blu-ray, DVD, Streaming Video and Digital Downloads › DVD › DVD Thinpak and other Slim Cases
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

DVD Thinpak and other Slim Cases - Page 28

post #811 of 1013
1/25/06 at 6:59pm
Whew, I am all done.

Over 220 cases converted. My shelves look awesome!

Thanks again for recommending this technique.

Andy
Reply
post #812 of 1013
1/25/06 at 7:26pm
Another satisfied customer!

Andy: That's great. And its even easier to keep the collection maintained once you've converted the existing part of it over!
Reply
post #813 of 1013
1/25/06 at 7:56pm
Hey gang, I have considered this (1200+ collection) a couple of times but a. don't have time to search and print and b. am reluctant to cut inserts. Does anyone make a thin case that accommodates the extra 1/8" front and back? I mean makes a case that would stick out 1/8 inch further than a standard issue case making it unnecessary to do any trimming. I would guess not; but I can dream right?
Reply
post #814 of 1013
1/25/06 at 8:35pm
Quote:
I would guess not; but I can dream right?


Keep dreaming!

I don't even trim them. I do a Photoshop adjustment for each and every conversion. I've got it down to probably about 10 minutes for the easiest ones. Out of my 800 plus collection, I've probably got about 200 of them converted. And it's about time to do another 200 as I am running out of space again.
Reply
post #815 of 1013
1/26/06 at 6:28am
Ric:

If you've answered this for me before, forgive me...but I forget. Since you don't trim...what do you do with the original cases/covers? Store them?
Reply
post #816 of 1013
1/26/06 at 7:59am
Ric,

Thank you so much for all your work. Now that I am done with my movies, I am turning to my TV series to see where I can save room.

I have just downloaded your ultra slim Star Trek TNG set made for the 1 inch spine. What size paper would you recommend printing out on? I am think 8x14 would be the best but wanted your opinion.

If you ever do anything similar(ie get the covers to fit in the same 1 inch spine) for the TOS 3 Season Box set, I would jump all over that.

Thanks again,

Andy
Reply
post #817 of 1013
1/26/06 at 8:01pm
Mike, most of them, I store, although I sure wish I could find my original Vertigo cover. Might be easier getting rid of the Hitchcock's (to buy the new Universal set) if I had the original cover! The snappers, I tossed out.

Thanks for the complimenr regarding my original covers, Andy. As you know, my specialty has been expanding spine shots, and three one inch spines for ST:TOS, just wouldn't be enough of a canvas! I'll certainly let you know if I ever come up with something, though!
Reply
post #818 of 1013
1/27/06 at 9:44am
Quote:
Thanks for the complimenr regarding my original covers, Andy. As you know, my specialty has been expanding spine shots, and three one inch spines for ST:TOS, just wouldn't be enough of a canvas! I'll certainly let you know if I ever come up with something, though

Whoops, sorry I misspoke/mistyped. I was talking about DS9 which would have 7 one inch spines, like the one you made for ST-TNG.

Your slim version of ST-TNG looks AWESOME on my shelf!

Andy
Reply
post #819 of 1013
1/28/06 at 6:31am
Andy, I'll put it on my endless to-do list. In the meantime, you could always use the DS9 section of The Captain's Collection. I think it works pretty well as a stand-alone.
Reply
post #820 of 1013
1/29/06 at 2:46pm
I haven't read the whole thread, so I hope I'm not asking something already answered, but is a thinpack what is being used for the Seinfeld DVDs?

Are all thinkpacks the same?

The ones for Seinfeld are clear but are attractive. Being clear you would want printing on both sides of the paper.
Reply
post #821 of 1013
1/29/06 at 3:31pm
I've been converting to slim packs, and would like to do my snappers. I have about 50 of them (10% of my collection). I see the DVDCoverart site is no longer functional. Is there any other place to get snapper cover art on the web?
Thanks.
Reply
post #822 of 1013
1/29/06 at 5:35pm
Quote:
I see the DVDCoverart site is no longer functional. Is there any other place to get snapper cover art on the web?

Terry: Just go back one page in this thread and you'll find a discussion about places I was not aware of until they were posted here.

Check out this post in particular.

Quote:
I haven't read the whole thread, so I hope I'm not asking something already answered, but is a thinpack what is being used for the Seinfeld DVDs?


Johnny: Yes.

Quote:
Are all thinkpacks the same?


Yes...and no. Similar...but not exactly the same. There are many different brands out there. Clear, black and neon colors. And, even the clear ThinPaks (which is a mis-use of a brand name--much like Kleenex) come in a variety of different brands which all seem to be slightly different. They feature different hubs, some have clips for inserts, some don't. Some have rings on the side opposing the hubs to "lock in" the discs. Some vary slightly in size...but most are the size of the Seinfeld cases...just about HALF the size of the standard DVD amaray case.

Quote:
The ones for Seinfeld are clear but are attractive. Being clear you would want printing on both sides of the paper.


Again, Johnny...go back just one page and you'll see a couple of shots I had posted much earlier in the thread as an example. Its my conversion of my Saving Private Ryan disc. You'll see how you can slide the insert between the cover and the inside of the case and view its contents from the inside of the case. Many of the ThinPaks now (such as the Memorex brand cases I'm using right now) seem to have clips to hold inserts. But depending upon the insert, I still oftentimes prefer to slide the insert behind the cover.
Reply
post #823 of 1013
1/29/06 at 7:25pm
I don't know when I will move onto to converting the collection to Thinpaks, but it will be a tough choice if I do.

I am happy to say I am getting rid of my snappers (10 or less in my collection)and converting them to keep cases that I got online from GenysisDTP. Some really show their wear! Superman, Horror of Dracula, X-Men digipack to say a few.

I have totally cleared out my CD collection right into a nice leather Case Logic portfolio and then took a leap and bought some thinpack jewels for the albums I want to keep the entire art for.

Thanks to Mike and others for the pics and websites. You've created a cult here on HTF!
Reply
post #824 of 1013
1/29/06 at 8:42pm
Quote:
I don't know when I will move onto to converting the collection to Thinpaks, but it will be a tough choice if I do.


I (and others) thought it was a tough decision, too, Timmy. But as many others have agreed...once you get started, you can't wait until you get it all done! They look terrific and the space savings is incredible. Really, if it wasn't for space considerations (and most of us have 'em), I doubt this thread would even exist. There's just no reason for most DVD cases to be as thick as standard Amarays or double-Amarays.

The other cool thing is...everybody's ideas for accomplishing this are different. I trim the artwork. Others photoshop the artwork and shrink the spine. I have kept most of my digipaks intact...others haven't. It's all very customizable (which isn't really a word).

Thanks for the kind words...I think...(cult?!)
Reply
post #825 of 1013
1/30/06 at 4:52am
As more and more of my collection seems to be showing up in the sales papers for $7.50 or less, I seldom regret trimming my inserts. For that price dvd's are almost disposable. I Did save a few things like my matrix boxes becausew I know I will be buying them again soon on blu-ray, and a few where I really like the lenticular covers (underworld, usual suspects, the thing, etc.)
Reply
post #826 of 1013
1/30/06 at 5:43am
Ok, I must be not gettting something here...I've downloaded the photoshop template, and dragged a DVD cover into it (Red Eye), it seems to not quite want to align exactly where I want to place it, it like 'snaps' over a hair....Red Eye's spine text is HUGE, I printed a test print of the cover, and the spine test is so big, it's unreadable sandwiched between other DVD cases...I read someone resizes their spine text in photoshop...can you tell me how you do that exactly?...also, I just got a new HP all in one printer,and am using premium print paper (tho not HP paper, another brand), using windows XP, and with the default printer settings the colors are rather muted. The red's are nearly as red as the original...maybe print it in another app? I thought the default printer color settings would work fine, but maybe stuff needs tweaking?
Reply
post #827 of 1013
1/30/06 at 6:24am
Quote:
I've downloaded the photoshop template, and dragged a DVD cover into it (Red Eye), it seems to not quite want to align exactly where I want to place it, it like 'snaps' over a hair.

In the Photoshop View menu, unselect "Snap". This will give your more granularity on your movement.

Quote:
Red Eye's spine text is HUGE, I printed a test print of the cover, and the spine test is so big, it's unreadable sandwiched between other DVD cases...I read someone resizes their spine text in photoshop...can you tell me how you do that exactly?

You have to do it in the following steps

1) Create a ThinPak template
300DPI
2175 Height
1535 Back Cover
1535 Front Cover
80 Spine (assuming single ThinPak)

Save this and you can use it for every ThinPak conversion you do.

2) Copy DVD back cover to template using a fixed size of 1535x2175

3) Copy DVD front cover to template using a fixed size of 1535x2175

4) Copy spine using the "normal" selection and paste into template.

5) After copying spine, hit cntl-T. This will allow you to resize the piece. Then change the %'s in the upper menu to make it look the way you want. I usually reduce the width to ~48%

6) Zoom way in and make sure your front and back covers cleanly match up to the newly reduced spine

Andy
Reply
post #828 of 1013
1/30/06 at 6:39am
Here is a quick question for all of the ThinPakers out there.

What do you guys use to help hold up the ThinPaks on shelves in terms of book ends? I am looking for something with a home theater theme but have not found anything useful yet.

Andy
Reply
post #829 of 1013
1/30/06 at 6:46am
Andy thanks for the reply....not sure exactly how to go about setting the template sizes...is the back, spine and front seperate layers? are these each seperate templates? I guess I need a step by step for making the template....once I get the template made, I have the DVD cover as a single .jpg ...not sure how you mean to put in the back, spine and front seperately...
Reply
post #830 of 1013
1/30/06 at 6:56am
Hi Marc,

I am not sure if you need to be a member, but the following link has a step by step (with pictures) tutorial of how to do a thinPak conversion. I can do one in under a minute now.

Go to the 4th post in this thread.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Andy

http://www.generetic.org/cover-help/...erting+thinpak
Reply
post #831 of 1013
1/30/06 at 6:59am
Quote:
Yes...and no. Similar...but not exactly the same. There are many different brands out there.
One thing I like about the Seinfeld thinpacks as that the hubs grip the dvd firmly but don't hold onto it for dear life. There are some hubs you nearly have to break the dvd to remove it.

Do any of the thinpacks have the "deathgrip"?
Reply
post #832 of 1013
1/30/06 at 7:03am
I have kept most of my digipaks intact...others haven't. It's all very customizable
...

Mike, I hope to keep mine intact as well. All my Warners and Fox 2 discs are in really good condition. I looked at what needs to be replaced and lo and behold my original X-Men digipack. (And my snappers). Plus, if I put it in a keepcase, then it matches X2!

Any digipacks I do change, with custom covers, it would be Harry Potter. I think r1db.com has a set of really nice custom covers that look like the LOTR EE book packaging. Those titles really need to be uniform and I'm not buying them again on standard DVD.
Reply
post #833 of 1013
1/30/06 at 7:35am
Fantastic Andy, the tutorial makes it all clear, thanks so much!
Reply
post #834 of 1013
1/30/06 at 9:41am
Quote:
What do you guys use to help hold up the ThinPaks on shelves in terms of book ends?

It's very easy, with other ThinPaks!
Reply
post #835 of 1013
2/4/06 at 2:59pm
Thought this might fit here since they are for the new 12 disc cases available at GenesysDTP These were made for the LOTR: EE's



I made a bunch of different versions available. Mainly because during the creation process, everyone in my forum wanted a different combination of pictures. Unfortunately, after I got the cases, I discovered that the inserts and booklets would not fit. I also didn't have anywhere to store the extra discs that came woth the giftsets. So, if you scroll down to the bottom of this page, there is a two cover solution for everything, including the Theatrical versions. Anyway, it's quite a space saver.
Reply
post #836 of 1013
2/5/06 at 8:49am
Talk about space saving, there are standard size keepcases now that will hold six discs! The entire LOTR trilogy (theatrical and extended) in three standard size cases! That's 18 discs! I've actually converted most of my boxed sets into these cases now, and have trimmed down my shelf space by about 60+%.

mike.
Reply
post #837 of 1013
2/10/06 at 6:54am
I have a question for the group.

Is there anywhere you know of that I can buy very low qty DVD cases?

I am looking for a (QTY=1) standard size DVD case that holds 3 discs. There are a million places that sell them online but they all either want a large shipping charge or to buy in bulk.

Ideally I would love to find one at a brick and mortor store but I have no idea where to start.

Any suggestions?

Andy
Reply
post #838 of 1013
2/10/06 at 7:08am
Andy:

I don't have a direct answer to your question. That is one of the reasons I have not transferred some of my bigger sets into slim-packs--because I have not purchased the proper-sized cases. The reason I haven't purchased 3-disc, 4-disc, 6-disc cases is because I don't need 10 or 20!

That said. I bet someone will chime in with an answer...maybe Ric. He seems to do a LOT of bigger set shrinkdowns.

There have been a couple of occasions I can think of where posters in this thread have done a "group buy" where one member places the order and distributes to the others who are interested in those particular cases.

Or, maybe there's someone reading who's got a spare 3-disc case and will contact you. Here's hoping!
Reply
post #839 of 1013
2/10/06 at 8:02am
Hi Mike,

Yah, thats pretty much my situation. It was easy for things like the thinPaks when ordering in bulk since i needed so many.

But for something as simple as the reduction of the large BTTF set into one standard DVD size leaves me looking for onesies and twosies.

Hopefully someone can think of a solution here.

The only place I found online that allowed you to buy individual charged such a high shipping and handling fee, that they make it not worth it to buy in low qty's.

Andy
Reply
post #840 of 1013
2/18/06 at 2:42pm
Interesting industry article on the increasing use of slim cases for DVD releases from Video Business Online:
http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6308533.html

A few blurbs from the article:
Quote:
With the looming introduction of two new high-definition disc formats threatening to create a space crisis on retailers’—and consumers’—already crowded shelves, several suppliers are slimming down their disc packaging.

This month, Nexpak launched a multiple-disc tray improvement that fits 10 discs into a case just 1¼ inch wide. Since August, the company has offered a three- to six-disc package that is 1 inch wide.

Starting with its Lucy & Desi Collection on May 9, Warner is re-configuring all of its catalog box sets with super slim Amarays.

Although details are still being hammered out, high-def titles are shaping up to be tinier than their standard DVD counterparts. It’s estimated that packages for both HD DVD and Blu-ray single-disc titles will be 11mm thick apiece, down from standard DVD’s approximately 15mm package.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: DVD
Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Blu-ray, DVD, Streaming Video and Digital Downloads › DVD › DVD Thinpak and other Slim Cases