CDs in Cardboard Boxes

[Vlad Soare]

There are few things in life that I hate more than CDs that come in cardboard boxes. They look and feel so cheap, so ugly, it's such a blatant sign of cost reduction that I find it simply revolting. And to add insult over injury, or in this case injury over insult, it's always a struggle to take a CD out of a cardboard envelope that's exactly the same size as the CD itself, trying hard not to leave fingerprints on its surface and not to scratch it.
I hate it, hate it, hate it. I deeply hate the people who devised this abomination, and even more deeply those who perpetuate it. There must be a special place in hell for them.

So, I usually solve the problem myself. I'm saying "usually", because sometimes it's just not possible, at least not in an efficient manner, like when the box is a collection of, say, ten CDs. Other times it's just not worth the trouble, e.g. with CDs I don't particularly like and don't use to listen to, but which I keep in my collection for sentimental or historical reasons.
All it takes is a photocopier, a color printer, a good paper trimmer, and a bit of trial and error. And, of course, spare jewel cases.

Here are my most recent efforts.

This was before:






And this is after.

 

[Vlad Soare]

And the second one.

This was before:









And this is after:

 

[Gigantic]

There are few things in life that I hate more than CDs that come in cardboard boxes. They look and feel so cheap, so ugly, it's such a blatant sign of cost reduction that I find it simply revolting. And to add insult over injury, or in this case injury over insult, it's always a struggle to take a CD out of a cardboard envelope that's exactly the same size as the CD itself, trying hard not to leave fingerprints on its surface and not to scratch it.

For what it's worth, cardboard enclosures (not mere sleeves) are quite a bit more costly than jewel cases, or at least they were in the 90's when I ran an independent label and did business with Disk Makers. For all of your vitriol at cardboard, I'd levy the same piss and vinegar at polystyrene jewel cases, which scratch easily and break at the hinge if you look at them sideways. The centers are also easily damaged and the CD's are easily scratched by the plastic surfaces. Paper,, at least, is softer than the polycarbonate used in compact discs and less apt to scratch the surfaces as deeply. To paraphrase Winston Churchill: "cardboard CD cases are the worst possible system for storage, after all of the other ones."

 

[Vlad Soare]

I'd levy the same piss and vinegar at polystyrene jewel cases, which scratch easily and break at the hinge if you look at them sideways

They do, but who cares? I couldn't care less if the jewel cases had small surface scratches that can be visibile when they're lit sideways. They're not supposed to look pristine. They're meant to keep the CDs in pristine condition, not themselves.
And if one of them breaks at the hinges (something that doesn't really happen all that often anyway), then you can just replace it with a better one. I've only had a handful of jewel cases break, out of hundreds. Once replaced with better ones, they never failed again.

The centers are also easily damaged and the CD's are easily scratched by the plastic surfaces.

No, the CDs don't touch the plastic surface. Except in those stupid slim cases, which are indeed crap and shouldn't have been invented. I don't use those.
Standard jewel cases don't touch the surface of the CDs. They can't scratch them.
The centers? Yes, they do break sometimes. But you just replace the case and you're done.
What's it worth to me that the cardboard doesn't break, if merely getting the CD out of it is a maddening experience that's bound to fill the surface of the CD with fingerprints and potentially scratch it? I'll take the risk of a broken plastic center any time.

Some jewel cases can indeed be cheap crap that breaks easily. But that doesn't mean the concept is flawed. High quality jewel cases do exist, and they have no issues whatsoever.

 

[OBMG74]

The intent, of course, is to reduce the use of plastic.
The implication is that the artist cares about the environment.

That said, even though cardboard is better for the environment, I prefer the plastic jewel cases and dislike the cardboard.

 

[Vlad Soare]

That's even more reason for me to hate it. I'm sick and tired of all the crap that's being shoved down our throats in the name of perceived environmental awareness. A plastic case that resides on a shelf in my study has absolutely no effect on the planet. It's not like I'm going to throw it into the ocean, or grind it and feed it to the fish. It's one of the most benign things you can use plastic for.

 

[DesertRatt]

I don't mind saying that every possible means should be employed to REDUCE or eliminate the use of PLASTICS.

It might just happen that the epitaph for humanity might simple read: KILLED BY PLASTICS

 

[Vlad Soare]

I'm pretty sure I will not be killed by a plastic case that just sits on a shelf. Nor will anyone else. Nor will coral reefs or polar bears. As long as it just sits here, its total effect on the planet or life is exactly the square root of nil.

 

[KeithD]

I'm pretty sure I will not be killed by a plastic case that just sits on a shelf. Nor will anyone else. Nor will coral reefs or polar bears. Its total effect on the planet or life is exactly the square root of nil.

Well, not really true. The issue isn't the plastic itself, it's the fact that it's made from oil. So, in many people's minds making things from plastic perpetuates the extraction of fossil fuels. Some plastics leach out components that are harmful to health, though I doubt the polystyrene that CD cases are made of do that.

Having said that, I too much prefer the plastic jewel case for CDs and other digital disk formats. The cardboard sleeve reeks of cheapness to me as well, including the added difficulty to remove the disk. I recently received the new Blu-ray multichannel version of Phil Collin's No Jacket Required. It came in a folded piece of thin cardboard with a slot on each side for the disk and booklet! It was shocking they could not bother to put this audiophile disk in some kind of Jewel case. In contrast, how wonderful to receive an SACD from 20 years ago that is housed in a "Jewel Box"! Now that's a statement of quality.

 

[GChief]

I prefer cardboard for the reasons already given. The first time I got one I was like WTF. After a few I saw the improvements over the jewel cases, moslty something always broken on many over time.

 

[Vlad Soare]

Well, not really true. The issue isn't the plastic itself, it's the fact that it's made from oil. So, in many people's minds making things from plastic perpetuates the extraction of fossil fuels. Some plastics leach out components that are harmful to health, though I doubt the polystyrene that CD cases are made of do that.

CDs themselves are made of plastic. So are DVDs and BDs. And vinyl records for that matter. And magnetic tapes. If we want plasticless music, we need to go back to wax cylinders or shellac records. The insulation of our audio cables is plastic. Our entire hobby as we know it would be impossible without plastics.

Besides, if we're talking about leaching, cardboard is by no means as inoffensive as it may seem. Cheap cardboard can leach chemicals, which can affect the things you store in them. My other hobby is photography, and I know how harmful certain paper or cardboard containers can be to silver halide photos and films, due to leaching acids that react with the silver image. When using paper sleeves for your negatives, it's very important to make sure it's a very high quality, photo-grade, acid-free paper. Same when you pick the mounting board for the finished print - cheap cardboard will ruin the print over time.
I've no doubt whatsoever that the cardboard that the CD sleeves are made from is the absolute cheapest possible. Will the acids they leach harm the CD? Maybe not, but we don't know for sure.

Almost everything around us is or contains plastic of one sort or another. Plastics aren't going anywhere. They will be with us in one form or another for a very long time to come, possibly forever, whether we like it or not. Losing sleep over it is pointless. Just keep them out of the oceans, recycle as much as you can, and call it a day.
An inoffensive plastic case is the last thing in the world I would ever feel guilty about. After all, my daily driver is a five-liter V8 Mustang, so using a case made of oil is by far the least of my sins. If I go to hell, it won't be because of that.

Having said that, I too much prefer the plastic jewel case for CDs and other digital disk formats. The cardboard sleeve reeks of cheapness to me as well, including the added difficulty to remove the disk. I recently received the new Blu-ray multichannel version of Phil Collin's No Jacket Required. It came in a folded piece of thin cardboard with a slot on each side for the disk and booklet! It was shocking they could not bother to put this audiophile disk in some kind of Jewel case. In contrast, how wonderful to receive an SACD from 20 years ago that is housed in a "Jewel Box"! Now that's a statement of quality.

Yup. My point exactly.

 

[DesertRatt]

The plastic case is an END PRODUCT of a long complicated industrial process to make plastic as a feed stock. That process produces dozens of pollutants that are not well managed.

• Plastic doesn’t biodegrade; it fragments into microplastics and nanoplastics that pollute air, soil, water, and oceans (19–23 million tonnes leak into aquatic systems yearly).


• Production enables this cycle, as virgin plastic floods the market faster than waste is managed (only ~9% ever recycled globally).


• Habitat disruption, biodiversity loss (e.g., marine life ingestion/entanglement), and reduced ecosystem resilience to climate change result.


In summary, plastic production isn’t just about end-of-life waste—it’s an energy-intensive, toxic, fossil-fuel-driven industry that significantly pollutes air, water, and the climate from the start. Reducing virgin plastic production, shifting to alternatives (e.g., reuse systems, truly sustainable materials), and improving regulations are key steps to address these harms.

 

[restorer-john]

And the second one.

This was before:

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View attachment 3697736

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View attachment 3697738

And this is after:

View attachment 3697739

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Excellent work! I too despise nasty cardboard digi-packs.

The CD jewel case is a work of art, designed specifically to protect the Compact Disc, unlike stupid cardboard sleeves which are not remotely fit for purpose.

 

[Vlad Soare]

I'm not necessarily against cardboard, as long as it's used reasonably and without affecting the functionality of the case. I just hate cardboard sleeves.
For instance, I have this set from Deutsche Grammophon, which doesn't bother me at all. Because despite the outer shell being made of cardboard, the CDs are still stored in a normal manner and can be easily retrieved and put back.

The case unfolds to reveal plastic receptacles for the three CDs, along with some nice photos. I like it.







This looks and feels really nice. And as a bonus, it takes up less space on my rack than a standard triple jewel case.
If this is how cardboard is supposed to replace jewel cases, then by all means, bring it on.
But cardboard sleeves.... ugh! Whoever invented them should burn in hell for eternity.

 

[Mystic]

There are few things in life that I hate more than CDs that come in cardboard boxes. They look and feel so cheap, so ugly, it's such a blatant sign of cost reduction that I find it simply revolting. And to add insult over injury, or in this case injury over insult, it's always a struggle to take a CD out of a cardboard envelope that's exactly the same size as the CD itself, trying hard not to leave fingerprints on its surface and not to scratch it.
I hate it, hate it, hate it. I deeply hate the people who devised this abomination, and even more deeply those who perpetuate it. There must be a special place in hell for them.

So, I usually solve the problem myself. I'm saying "usually", because sometimes it's just not possible, at least not in an efficient manner, like when the box is a collection of, say, ten CDs. Other times it's just not worth the trouble, e.g. with CDs I don't particularly like and don't use to listen to, but which I keep in my collection for sentimental or historical reasons.
All it takes is a photocopier, a color printer, a good paper trimmer, and a bit of trial and error. And, of course, spare jewel cases.

Here are my most recent efforts.

This was before:

View attachment 3697725

View attachment 3697726


And this is after.

View attachment 3697727

View attachment 3697728

View attachment 3697729

View attachment 3697730

I prefer the "mini LP" cardboard covers/holders to so-called "jewel" cases, which I'd hated from the outset of the Compact Disc revolution.

 

[Vlad Soare]

Good for you.

 

[Vlad Soare]

Another one.

This was before:





The box doesn't look too bad at first glance, but inside, the CDs were crammed in some measly, extremely tight cardboard sleeves. Horrible.
Luckily, I happened to have a triple jewel case on hand.

This is after:










Because the detailed track lists were printed on the back of each sleeve, I made copies of those to keep in the box.
There's also room for the original booklet, but that's not visible here because it's underneath the track lists.

 

[Doghouse]

In the past, I've bought some jewel cases and printed off a new sleeve using a copy of the original cover. It's a bit of a pain. It was annoying as I'd made a rack for CDs out of one and a half units for each, that exactly fitted the space available above the sheet music books I have for my electric piano, in our small front room.

I like uniformity.







But I eventually couldn't be bothered buying the CD if it were in just a cardboard sleeve. I just found the tracks from that CD that I liked on YouTube and ripped them. So the "economy" was self-defeating in my case.

 

[GChief]

First world problems are the worst ever...

Edit to give this "problem" its due:

First World very mirror annoyances are the worst!

 

[Vlad Soare]

First world problems are real problems when you happen to live in the first world.