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Digipak

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File:Digipak.JPG
A compact disc in Digipak-style packaging; seen here: Boards of Canada's 1998 release Music Has The Right To Children

Digipak is a patented style of compact disc or DVD packaging, and is a registered trademark of MeadWestvaco, Inc., which acquired the original trademark holder, IMPAC Group, Inc., in 2000. MeadWestvaco licenses the name and designs to various manufacturers around the world. Digipaks typically consist of a gatefold (book-style) paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside. Since Digipaks were among the first alternatives to jewel cases to be used by major record companies, and because there is no other common name for Digipak-style packaging made by other companies, collectors have long been using the terms digipak, Digi-Pak [1], and digipack generically, even when the media holder is merely a hub rather than a full plastic tray.

Digipak-style packaging is often used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums. Since the packaging is less resistant to abrasion than jewel cases, it tends to show signs of wear relatively quickly. However the card based packaging is not at all brittle, so it is not vulnerable to cracking if dropped or trodden on, unlike normal Jewel cases. Nevertheless, digipak-style packaging appears to be growing in popularity among record labels and recording artists since the late 1990s and early 2000s.

References

  1. ^ reflects Walmart.com usage as seen: [1]