DVD Thinpak and other Slim Cases (1 Viewer)

[David Lambert]

They are not necessarily clear. That's just the example picture. They are usually black, like a keepcase. But, also like a keepcase, they can be any color the client orders.

Here are pics from Ron's Family Guy review:

 

[Randall Dorr]

I certainly hope these (or double Amaray cases) become the standard for multi-disc sets. I'm so tired of crappy cardboard cases that need to be folded out three or four times. And as you unfold it, the insert is turned over and over and keeps falling out!

 

[Karl F]

As a video store owner who is rapidly running out of room, I say, "thumbs up!"

On the downside, it does make it harder for browsing, for the customers. (The Herzog DVDs get kinda lost, now, for instance.)

--K

 

[Ted Lee]

those black ones are fugly.

i hope (and would think) that studios would take a little creative license and use something else.

 

[LarryH]

The thinpacks meet this criterion quite nicely.

I agree that if they are like the empty thin cases I've bought for my DVD-R's, they are quite functional and protective as well as saving a lot of space. I just wish we had one standard.

 

[Nathan McMahan]

I'm laughing at this one. With over 800 DVD's and no room left for storage, I've just recently converted my entire collection to thinpaks. It was just a matter of trimming 3/16th of an inch off each side of the original cover. The biggest problem was making color copies of all the snapper cases at Kinko's. (It wasn't exactly cheap, though). The spines for the most part aren't hard to read. Some, like The Natural, Charlie's Angels, Disturbing Behavior and To Kill A Mockingbird, turned out to be a little problematic. But I'm sure future studio releases will plan for that. The only downside is there isn't yet clips to hold the booklet in place. It just sits in the inside front cover.

The Thinpaks come in black or clear. I got clear and was able to put a lot of the chapter listings on the back side of the front cover (all of the snappers and MGM's no booklet line)

I also converted all my double sets (Abyss, Speed 5 star, Star Trek Collector's edition, Big Trouble in Little China, etc.) to the slim double cases (i.e. Minority Report, Stargate Ultimate, Mask of Zorro SE).

All of this literally reduced the amount of space taken up by my DVD collection in half. And I can honestly say, with the exception of new releases, I have every DVD I've ever wanted. Well, except for some of the non OAR titles (The Shadow, Timecop, Parenthood, The Jerk, McClintock, Hooper, Mr. Mom, Clean and Sober, A Midnight Clear, etc)

I completely understand not wanting to change to YET ANOTHER keepcase style, but trust me, you guys'll love 'em.

 

[Simon Basso]

I don't really care, but anything that keeps the disc from coming off in transit is alright with me.

 

[Gabe D]

I took a picture to show how the spines compare to more traditional DVD cases:



You can read the titles, but it's harder from a distance. I'm not complaining though. I need the shelf space.

 

[Craig S]

Nathan, that sounds like quite a project. Where did you get the thinpaks, and how much did you pay for them? And, perhaps more important - what did you do with hundreds of suddenly homeless keepcases???

 

[John Berggren]

I haven't the slightest idea what the three titles are before Panic Room. I can see Collectors Edition Volume 1-3, but not what they are collectors editions of.

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

In reply to Gabe D:

Papillon is from Warner in the USA? It is from CTHV in the UK. Great film.


Gordy

 

[David Lambert]

John, they are The Honeymooners. And no, I've never seen those boxes before. It just looks obvious to me (even with my bifocals).

 

[Nathan McMahan]

Email me if you'd like some good used DVD cases, most are amaray and are cased up in 30 unit lots. Just pay for actually shipping and a small fee.

The thinpaks I got from US plastics. They give you a 10% discount for orders more than 260. So 300 worked out to be about 108.00

Their number is 419 228 2242. They are out of Lima, Ohio. Direct link:
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/pro...tm%29+DVD+Case

Great company to do business with. Hassle free and real people to talk to.

 

[RobertCharlotte]

Sorry to dredge this up again, but with Futurama on my shelf now, this issue has me interested.

I think these cases make a great solution for multi-disk sets, but I think the Honeymooners-style spines (as above) are a mistake. I think the spines ought to be designed as if it was one thick spine, just sliced to fit each individual case, so basically you would have the title spread across the cases (kind of the way the illustrations on Ric Easton's ST:TNG and DS9 sets are, just on a much smaller scale).

 

[Edwin-S]

These cases seem to be fine for box sets with a slipcover. I find them to be a bit flimsy feeling and the closures don't seem to be positive enough. I am not sure that these cases would work well for single movie issues. They seem to be too light duty.

 

[MarkHastings]

With over 800 DVD's and no room left for storage, I've just recently converted my entire collection to thinpaks. It was just a matter of trimming 3/16th of an inch off each side of the original cover.

Nathan, I think a little bit of math might convince people here. Can you figure out how many more "thin" DVD's can fit in the same space as your 800 "regular" case DVD's. I'm sure the difference will be dramatic!

I'm at the point where I'm stacking DVD's in front of other DVD's to be able to fit them on my shelf and I don't like it at all. I'd LOVE to have smaller packaging.

 

[Neil White]

I share the concern about positive closing of the cases. I see this problem in Amarays - sometimes the case does not stay snapped shut. I would be concerned that this is a worse problem on the thinner cases.

And thank goodness they're plastic. I really dislike the packagin on Saturday Night Fever and Grease. I was worried for a minute these cases were like those.

N

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

I think these cases are great for boxed sets or season sets are great. I love the futurama discs and packaging and wish all of my tv shows on dvd's were like that, especially Sex and the City. I hate that packaging.

I don't know if I would like it for my entire collection. They could easily replace all of my snappers though.

 

[Will_B]

I'm laughing at this one. With over 800 DVD's and no room left for storage, I've just recently converted my entire collection to thinpaks. It was just a matter of trimming 3/16th of an inch off each side of the original cover. The biggest problem was making color copies of all the snapper cases at Kinko's. (It wasn't exactly cheap, though).

I am all for thin cases but I was afraid of this difference in cover art size. Why didn't they just make the darn case 3/16 of an inch deeper (not thicker, but deeper) so that the old covers could fit perfectly? That really bites that they aren't easily swappable.

 

[Will_B]

ThinPak doubles (2-DVDs) cover art is 268.29mm wide
ThinPak single (1-DVD) cover art is 265.11mm wide
A regular Amaray case's cover art is 10 3/4" wide, which according to an "inches to millimeters" conversion website is 273.05mm.

So even buying the 2-DVD size ThinPak (which is STILL thinner than an Amaray case) doesn't solve the mismatched cover art size problem.

All this and more is available on the manufacturer's website, nexpak.com