CD Jewel Case Printing Tips

CD jewel case printing can seem a daunting task to the uninitiated, but it's actually a breeze for even amateur designers. As professional and experienced graphic designers know, there are certain details you should keep in mind whenever you're going to print CD jewel cases. To bring the amateurs up to speed, or even first-time CD-designing pros, the following CD jewel case printing tips practically guarantee your project will be smooth and easy.

Start with a good template

To guarantee a smooth project it's best to start with a preformatted CD jewel case layout template. They're free to download, and they include helpful guidelines for your safe printing area, cutlines and background bleed lines. In addition, such templates already have the correct size dimensions and resolution as well as color mode. Employing preformatted CD jewel case layout templates save time and hassles, allowing you to make more money.

Have your CD jewel case paper scored

Front panel folds and back panel inserts can be tricky to fold by hand, since proper alignment requires precision folding that takes a lot of time. Instead of wasting time, you should take advantage of scoring services offered by your printing company.

Choose the right paper

If your CD jewel case paper is too flimsy, it won't hold well in its jewel case. If it's too thick, it will crack when folded and crowd the case. And if you don't have a good paper finish, your entire CD jewel case design will look bland and uninspired. To ensure the right fit and help your colors brim with brilliance, opt for a premium quality 100-pound gloss text stock with glossy sheen on both sides.

Consider a foil stamp

One of the coolest ways to set your CD jewel case design off is to employ a foil stamp. When you outline your text and graphic elements with a foil stamp, your designs appear elegant. When you fill your block text and graphic elements with a foil stamp, your designs appear fun.

Print in quantity

As with many other printed materials, the more CD jewel cases you print in one run the cheaper they are per piece. The reason is because offset printing requires a static setup fee that is applied every time the press is turned on for you. If you have to make two runs, you'll have to pay the setup fee twice regardless of your total printed quantity. But when you print all of your CD jewel cases at once, you only have one setup fee and the more you print the less your price per piece. That's why it is important to assess how many CDs you'll actually need before you go to press. If you need 10,000 CDs, it is far better to run them all at once than to make two runs of 5,000 each. This isn't to say that you should print more for the sake of printing in quantity; but that you should print as many as you'll reasonably distribute at one time to cut down on your CD jewel case printing costs.