CD Books are usually requested in a 5inch height to go along with the 5inch tray. We can of course make it any way you'd like! Here are some examples of cd books with clear, plastic 5inch trays

DVD Books are usually requested in a taller, 7.5inch height and we use the clear dvd trays. Of course any variations are possible!

Paper Trays are eco - friendly substitute for plastic tray. They are 100% recycled paper stock with a cork hub. They look like this:
See also Paper Tray Packaging

Foam trays are made to your spec and size. They are great for holding extra items lime USB thumbdrives.

Keep in mind that everything we do is custom built. There are no pre-existing units sitting on a shelf, waiting to printeries doesn't work that way. These are manufactured to your spec so you can change most features. But, the "classic" hardbound book has a few basic features:

• Thick Chipboard Core
  The cover is a lot heavier than the cover on a paperback or a jacket. We use a thick chipboard core. Construction can be one pice or three piece depending on the other features and wrap material. Thickness can be 390gsm, 24oz or 32 oz.. It all has to work together!
  
• Inner Pages / Booklet
  The inner pages can be flush with the book or smaller. They can be stapled and attached to the spine, or glued to a panel. They can also be part of the sleeve mechanism, If you have enough inner pages, you can do a perfect bound book so the booklet has a spine. You need at least 28pp to have a perfect bound book.
• 
  Outer Wrap
  The outside material that covers the chipboard can be a paper wrap (120gsm) printed 4C with a matte or gloss lamination, kraft paper, uncoated paper, or fabric. Fabrics come in many different types and textures. Linen, leatherette, hemp, etc etc etc. Printing on fabric can be silkscreening, metallic inks or foils depending on how well the fabric can take the print.
  
  Holding the Disc
  Lots of options here:
  Trays, plastic or paper
  Hub, foam or cork.
  Sleeves, glued or swinging.
  LP style Pockets
  
  Dimensions
  Don't they vary! As a very general rule, cd books are about 5inch and dvd books are about 7.5 inch.
  

Simulated Bookbinding is a good alternative approach if the budget will not allow for actual bookbinding. Actual bookbinding uses a chipboard core which is very rigid and a 4C wrap is glued to it. An alternative is to use a heavy stock (18pt or 21pt) and make double wall panels. The main art for all inside and outside panels is printed onto one side of the stock, then, after die cutting, the cover is made by folding panels over and gluing, resulting in double thickness panels (aka: DOUBLE-WALL CONSTRUCTION). Of course, with this method, you can use the double thickness to create disc pockets, or (as in the case of the plum colored example below) a clever way to hold the book in place you still allow it to be removed. If you want to, you can put the inside border that looks like the 4C wrap into your art, like our "Natural Sound of Japan" project!

Simulated Book Binding
(the burgundy Edge is in the artwork)

spec for simulated book binding project might look something like this:

Qty: 500 (min order)
Disc: CD or DVD
Packaging: 4pp Traypak (Double Wall Construction) with 5inch clear tray, or a Jacket with swinging sleeve(s), LP sleeve, or stationary sleeve
Printing: 4C / 4C (includes the reverse side of the paper, we call this PIPS Printed Inside Pockets and Spines....it gives you the continuous art flow and no white spines showing through. With bookbinding, the 4C Wrap is continuous across the inside, so this feature achieves that continuity)
Stock: 18pt uncoated stock
Saddle Stitched Booklet: No minimum page count 4C/4C or 1C/1C printing, matte aqueous finish, stapled to center panel or glued in.
Perfect Bound Booklet: Minimum 28 pp inner pages, 4C or 1C with reverse printing + Covers 4C or 1C with reverse optional.
Assembly: insertion & shrinkwrap
Shipping: we'll include, let us know where
Proofing: PDF + Test Disc & Color Matchprint, Unprinted Mock up is recommended as well

We can do your CD or DVD book with binding cloth and make you a stellar "Limited Edition" release. Printing on binding cloth or binding paper is a lot different from printing on standard paper. Ink is generally silkscreened, rather than offset printed, so solid-color designs are generally recommended over art containing halftones.

The inks available include the Pantone™ metallics, or you can even choose hot foil stamping!

binding paper and cloth samples:
fabric, leatherette, and patterned styles

Check out our Fabric Wrapped CD / DVD Book Page!

Fabric wrapped hard bound book packaging can give your release just what it needs to get the attention it deserves! (Fabric can also be printed on)

Saddle stitch is the traditional way to create booklets for disc packaging. Basically, saddle stitch means "stapled". Typical page count for saddle stitch is 8 to 24 panels*, but twice that is not uncommon. The page count for saddle stitch almost always includes the covers. If the cover needs to be a different stock, the inner pages can be run separately. Most of our booklets are full color throughout, including Pantones, although black-only is an option, too.

Perfect binding is the process of creating books by gluing a block of pages at the spine, which gives a square back. As any reader of Dune on paperback can confirm, a perfect bound book can have a nearly unlimited number of pages, but for CD and DVD projects, the higher-end page count is 100 to 200 panels. As an entry point, we'll say 40 panels and up make a good thickness for this type of construction. It gives a square spine and has at least a bit of bulk to it. Page count for perfect-bound books excludes the covers, as the covers are made from heavier stock and provide the spine.
*Note: "Panel" or "Page" both refer to one side of a printed sheet. A single print spread will typically contain 4 panels.

See more examples at our Perfect Bound Book and Spiral Notebook Page

For smaller booklets, one cover of a saddle-stitch (stapled) booklet can be permanently glued to the inside front or back cover of the main package. This is a very cost effective solution. The booklet is sized up from the standard, pocketed size, to better fit the panel.

Another we can attach a stapled booklet, is to the spine:

Perfect Bound Books in Traypaks:

4pp 2-disc traypak - 40pp booklet,
Perfect bound, glued into the spine

For longer books—up to 100 pages and beyond—perfect binding and spine glue is the way to go. Perfect bound books are square-backed, with the edge of each page glued to a backing to form the spine. The book cover is glued on and anchored under the front and back inside covers, with relief to allow easy opening.

To simplify construction and to provide a more authentic experience, the booklet panels are usually cut larger than conventional disc inserts.

If you would rather not use a tray, we can make you a book with a sleeve or a hub.

Sleeves can be glued on or free swinging:

See more examples here:
CD DVD Books with Glued on Sleeves
CD DVD Books with Swinging Sleeves

Hubs are available in black or white foam, or in cork material.