| CD Baby DIY Musician Podcast |
 Nov. 13,
2008
Ep.38 : Pandora Radio
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| posted by Charles on Monday June 25 2007 @ 10:28AM PDT |
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I am about to finish my debut recording project. If i had my druthers, I'd rather releases it as digital only
release. However, since I play gigs, I think it's imperative that I have a product to sell at shows.
But I'm also torn between having a "product" and the un-Godly amount of non-biodegradeable waste we generate as musicians. Mostly plastic. It's a strange paradox.
So I was wondering if anyone here has a recommendation for eco friendly CD (or otherwise) music packaging.Links and contacts would be much appreciated.
Thanks much in advance.
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Mirror Image Media is a great company to find eco-friendly packaging for replication and small run duplication. The ink is linseed oil ink and they use a Forest Stewardship Certified printer for all printed recycled board packaging. Pricing is very competitive and music artist friendly.
Conrad Romo
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| by
on Monday June 25 2007 @ 07:45PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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Hey
Yes, I've read that article. It sounds good but alas way over my budget. Almost $3K for a 1000.
The Oasis products look like the best alternative. But the spine thing is again an issue. Arrggghhhhh....
Charles
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| by
on Monday August 04 2008 @ 01:34PM PDT [ reply | parent ] |
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Ekodisk Sucks, don't use them. The product was substandard and when we asked for a refund, which they agreed to, it has yet come. We've tried to reach them multiple times to reach them and ignore us. Save yourself the trouble and use another company!
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What a good idea! But what a bad company! Our music group tried do do the responsible thing by going with an Earth-Friendly CD pressing company for our second Album. We found EcoDisk on-line and thought, "what a great concept". So we committed to going with Dave Phillips company and sent him our payment in full in the form of a cashiers check.
Everything after this point was an absolute disaster. Every timeline we set was very delayed on Dave Phillips end. Our cd release date was not met. When we finally received 50 of the 1000 units 3 weeks after our CD release date, the Cd cases themselves were of very poor quality, and did not come close to meeting industry standards. The Screen Print on the CD itself was not what the proof's said it would be and had a mistake that was overlooked on their end that had been previously addressed during the "proofs" stage.
Dave Phillips told us to return the 50 CD's and said he would return our money per the warranty agreement. We mailed back the 50 CD's with confirmation of their arrival, and that's the last we heard from EcoDisc and/or Dave Phillips. We sent out emails and phone calls for the next 3 weeks, but no response. I looked on-line for other consumer complaints, and Low and behold found some other people in the exact same boat (http://www.tangleweed.org/blog/tag/ekodiskcom-sucks/).
So to our utter dismay, we have no other option but to file a law claim to hopefully get our money back. We invested everything we had into this release so we have nothing left to move forward with while we wait for some sort of resolution with this unresponsive company. I've never had to sue anyone in my life, and can't believe that I'm even in this situation.
My goal is to warn anybody who's considering doing business with this company to PROCEED WITH CAUTION, or at the very least prepare a contract of your own for Dave Phillips to sign and agree to legally. And for God's sake, don't pay this guy with cash/cashiers check.
Sincerely,
A very dis-satisfied customer
The Freedom Movement
http://www.freedommovement.org
http://www.myspace.com/thefreedommovement
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What about Digipacks at Discmakers. They are at least not entirely plastic.
The only real packaging solution is downloads.
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Charles, you sound like you are ridden with a lot of guilt about your impact on the earth. Let me lift that guilt from your shoulders and tell you "paper or plastic, it's all good".
There is nothing you can do to hurt the earth. Don't give humans more credit than is due, we are not as powerful as you think.
One little belch from a good sized volcano will let loose more so-called pollutants into the atmosphere than anything a bunch of plastic-using musicians could think of doing.
Enjoy your life Charles, and wonder at the magnificent power of nature.
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Hey Mike
You're right in a sense...The earth I think is pretty elastic...It's us people, I'm concerned about...;-)
I have a four year old and want to be sure I'm not a hypocrite. I write socially conscious type stuff and want to be sure I make conscious decisions on packaging. It's a delicate balance to be sure - both in terms of our impact and cost/benefit.
A dear friend of mine once told me that Armageddon isn't gonna be anything spectacular, just land sinking into the sea from the weight of all those unsold CDs in our closets & garages.
I think he may have been on to something...;-)
Thanks,
Charles
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Hey Charles I might have just the answer for you. My Company Triple Disc offers tons of eco-friendly CD packaging.
I have cardboard sleeves made of recycled 40% post consumer content, the rest in industrial scrap. We also print using soy inks.
I can get you 100 pieces done for way less than $3000.
Check these out
http://www.tripledisc.com/Audio4panelCardboard.html
Give me a call at 800-414-7564 ask for Rick or simply check us out on the web at www.tripledisc.com
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Wish I would've known about Triple Disc before I ordered my Eco-Wallet packaged CD's from elsewhere. I couldn't find any company that did short runs on this particular style packaging. Plus, I too like the idea of eco-friendly materials being used. Next time I will very strongly consider Triple Disc!
Michael
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hey Jim
Precisely! I don't know much about printing. But in the digital age, why does the initial setup cost so much? I mean it's not like there's blocks and plates anymore. Maybe I'm wrong...
We're now entering into the era of the single again as opposed to albums. So unless I gig like a mad man, 1000 units are just overkill.
The other thing is some of the bulk CD cases yiu buy are just cr*p...Half o them break when they get in the UPS truck and the other half breaks when they get them off the truck...WTH?
So, this makes the one off CD-R burning thing or self assembly a total rip off to your customers.
Still searching...
Charles
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Hi Charles:
I designed an origami-inspired jacket that uses a single sheet of
paper (card stock) that can be printed on both sides and
requires no cutting - you can do it yourself.
Since I don't have the time or money to patent this special way
of folding paper (tee-hee) and because I think sharing an eco-
idea should be free for the common good anyway, I'm willing to
send you a how-to - or - if you wanna compensate us for
sharing the idea by buying our "The Citadel Star Tracks" cd...
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/citadel3
...you can just get the idea from that jacket. It's simple but
totally NON-PLASTIC and our customers so far are pleased with
the aesthetics – we did use shrink wrap and an inner sleeve as
well but the sleeve doesn't have to have a clear plastic center,
you can get those with paper on both sides and use a paper
circle sticker instead of shrinkwrap to seal the flap.
With that said, I'm currently drawing a blank on how to put
digital data on anything besides plastic...working on it now ?
We think everyone should be eco-conscious but we also follow
the "everything in moderation" mantra to guard from becoming
the same as extremists (on either side) who do more to hurt the
cause than to help...
Rejyna
Citadel®
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hey Rejyna
This is such a cool idea. I'm a disciple of the "everything in moderation" movement. ;-)
One of the solutions currently being floated by music marketeers is music on a flash drive. But it is still too expensive to make it worth the while of smaller indies.
But that's the direction I think things are going in.
Charles
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Digipacks from Discmakers. Also, less expensive for mailing and for carrying to shows
www.myspace.com/fiorenzadowlin
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Hi Charles,
Our company, Groove House Records, offers cardboard products that are created with 100% recycled paper stocks and soy-based inks. Sounds like you've already found an option for your current order, but please keep us in mind for the future.
Take care,
Bryan Kelley
Tel. 1.888.GROOVE.8
URL: http://www.groovehouse.com
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Charles, I think you're right on going eco-friendly. The problem isn't just the material, it's that everybody in the repro biz makes any run under 1000 prohibitively expensive. I don't want to sell my band short, but as you say, in this digital-download era, our chances of moving 1000 units is slim. I'd like to save 700-800 shrinkwrapped discs in jewel cases/digipaks/eco-wallets/etc from the landfill 10 years from now. I wanna just do 200-300 CDs myself, for sale at shows and for giving away as promo. I can pick up a screenprinting kit for about 200 bucks, but what I'm looking for are blank Eco-wallets to print on. I've found blank Digipaks (at bagsunlimited.com) but not the all-cardboard kind, which would be the easiest to work with.
Can anybody out there find these?
Continue to rock,
Jim
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We did well w/ the digipacks @ Discmakers
also, they cost less to ship
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Stumptown is excellent. I also love the idea of offering blank CD wallets and their arigato paks! Thos arigato paks look hot and are completely eco friendly. Not to mention cute as all get out. They I think will make your CD stand out among the cardboard/plastic heavy rest. The pricing makes sense and if you feel creative can order just blanks and go to town. thank you for this link.
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I found a great place to get environmentally sensitive packaging done:
Mirror Image Media Solutions (www.mirrorims.com or Tory at 916-939-9927) offers digipaks in brown recycled and white recycled and other board packaging products such as wallets and jackets and mailers and have small run packaging that is adorable. The little brown sleeves with a window inserted into a matching brown envelope made a perfect presentation. No printing was needed on the envelope since the CD label shows through the sleeve; a savings on printing costs right there!
I highly recommend them...here's some of their promo info:
1. All inks are vegetable based. (Linseed Oil, which is mild and ecologically sensitive.)
2. Blanket wash fluid has the lowest VOC content available.
3. Varnishes are all water based.
4. All paper and board purchased come from FSC Certified sources. (FSC-Forest Stewardship Council.)
5. Paper: Enviro 100 – Over 100% post consumer waste. Chorus Art -50% recycled-Over 15% post consumer
6. CCNB Board-100% recycled
We recycle 100% of all paper and board waste
All ink and fountain solutions are disposed of in a controlled manner
We have a company wide recycling program for paper, plastic and metal products and we will continue to provide more ecology sensitive solutions as our industry provides new technology in that arena.
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Also, has anyone tried this on their own? Ie, purchasing their own duplicator etc.?
C
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Now you can Go Green with Groove House Records!
In an ongoing effort to lessen our impact on the environment, all of our booklets, folders and traycards are now printed on FSC-certified 50% recycled paper with soy-based inks at no extra charge! FSC certified means that any virgin paper or board used in our products comes from responsible forest operations.
We also offer low-cost eco-friendly options when packaging your project in Digipaks, 5" sleeves or eco-wallets. For just pennies extra, you can choose from two different 100% recycled card stocks: earthy brown 18 pt chipboard for a funky, homemade look, or a dazzling white 18 pt card stock that is outstanding for full-color printing. And meet the newest addition to our eco-friendly family: 100% recycled clear trays for Digipaks!
For more information, please give us a call toll free at 1-888-476-6838 or visit us at http://www.groovehouse.com
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Triple Disc wants to help you go green with our New 100% recycled Digipaks!
Check out our Green CD and DVD packaging
http://www.tripledisc.com/greenecofriendlycdpackaging.html
Triple Disc has answered the call. You asked for it and we are delivering. Triple Disc now offers a 100% recycled plastic Digipak tray that holds your disc securely in place. They are good for the environment and allow your CD or DVD project to maintain a major label look and feel. In our never ending quest to bring our CD and DVD manufacturing customers the greenest packaging options available. We are pleased to announce that our CD and DVD Digipak trays are now available in 100% recycled plastic with a minimum of 35% post consumer waste content.
Triple Disc is proud to offer Recycled CD packaging. We offer packages that have a minimum of 30% post consumer recycled material up to 100% post consumer recycled material. Triple Disc even use soy based inks. Triple Discs green CD packages are as earth friendly as possible. The CDs have to be plastic but your packaging does not have to be. Jewel boxes are not eco friendly and contribute to landfill waste because they don't de grate and are normally not recycled.
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Print your own cardboard cd sleeves! They are only .17 each and
come on a perforated 8.5 x 11 sheet! Print front and back on your
laser printer. Been doing this for short runs for a couple years! WAY
economical!! Here's a link to the folks who sell these..
http://www.effectuality.com/store/item.php?
catid=5&itemid=18&product=view&store=us
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What have you been using for adhesive when you print your own sleeves?
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If you are in need of cardboard sleeves or Eco-Wallets, check out www.iamdcd.com they offer a large range of cardboard products. Offering short-run's with or without CDs.
866-814-5589.
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There's a company called orbis Digital based in the UK who can produce 1000 CD's in card wallets made from eco friendly card, with full colour printing on the disc and the wallets, for under 1000 US dollars (500 quid)... They even give you free design... I'm not plugging them for no reason here, they give a great service http://www.orbisdigital.co.uk
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There is a website called www.digipakicreate.com. They provide blank digipaks in sets of 10. Additionally they provide 12 blank labels that you can use on your printer. I think a complete set costs about €12 or so. I have used them a couple of times and they have always delivered within a couple of days, no hassle.
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