Short short run Digipaks?

[DrummerMan]

Does anybody know of a decent place to get a super short run of digipak cd's made? I'm talking like 50. I just released an EP. The only reason I want physical product is for passing around to get gigs and promotion and stuff, so I don't need many BUT I'd like them to look as good as possible.

I saw some older recommendations for Furnace, but it looks like 100 is their minimum. Money's tight right now so if I could just get 50 that would help my situation.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Geoff

[ChrisNW]

Have you checked out http://www.kunaki.com/? I haven't personally used them but a few of my mastering clients have mentioned good things.

[kevin206]

I keep getting stuff from DiscMakers and they seem to have really good prices...especially considering what they used to charge! I can't imagine that you will find a "deal" on 50 discs. Have you considered a DIY approach? You may end up with more money involved than what you want, depending on your expectations. I have done some cheap things. I price out every item separately, buy in bulk as money is available, and use as needed. I print my disc labels and covers in black & white using a laser printer. You can make it look very professional if you get creative.

[kevin206]

I just googled Discmakers and a few sponsored sites popped up. Looks like 100 digipacks will cost about $300, 50 for just over $200. I've used Diskfactory and liked them. You could probably do 100 nice looking discs in cases yourself for under $100.

[Gregg Juke]

Hi All,

Just to shamelessly self-promote myself (is that redundant?), I can do short runs for very reasonable prices. I can't provide digi-packs though (at least not for reasonable prices; you'd be better off ordering them yourself). But for short-run disc replication, I can provide decent service at low cost. Feel free to contact me here, or at RhythmGJ at Yahoo dot com.

Thanks,

GJ

[chris harris]

I think you should take a hard look at whether anyone really wants to get a CD from you before you waste money on it. The only promotional people I know anymore who care at all about getting a physical copy of a record are at college radio stations. And, they don't care if it's a digipack or a burned CD-r.

Nobody EXPECTS you to have a nice CD package anymore. Tons of records come out and are promoted effectively with no CD release at all.

If you're not doing a real physical release, then spend the money you save from not doing digipacks and hire a good publicist to promote your record.

[DrummerMan]

Chris, I understand what you're saying. When I say "promotion" I meant more in sense of promoting myself to venues or other LA industry people, like music supervisors and such.

LA, for all the great things that are here as well, is still such an image-y town. You order a burger and it comes with headshots. The bookers at places that I've been trying to get gigs right now still are asking for something physical and I feel like homemade cd-rs with computer printed labels tend get filed under "doesn't have their act together", at least that's what I get from the looks on their faces. Unfortunately, something that draws the eye and looks interesting is just another way to get someone to think about checking out your music.

If I could spend a couple hundred bucks and have something to hand to somebody that looks professional and good when I need it, I'd be willing to do that, but that's why I'm not looking for 100 (or 300 or 1000).

Who knows, I might try to find someone with a better printer than me and see if I can make something halfway decent on my own, but if I found a place that could do a fully decent job for a reasonable price I feel like it'd be worth it.

[dfuruta]

Mobineko isn't bad, and they'll do real cds in runs of 100. The one thing I had out that was made there didn't have great printing quality on the package, but I'm not sure it was their fault and not the label's.

[jgimbel]

I highly recommend Sire Press (http://sirepress.com). They're in Philadelphia (where I am) so I found out about them from being local, but they're a great company. Passionate about what they do and their products are really beautifully done. Screen printing or otherwise, just overall great quality, and great guys. Their website lists 100 as the minimum but every project I've done with them personally has been just 50 CDs and they've never had an issue. I'd email them about it. I doubt they'd have an issue with it but feel free to mention me, I've brought a number of projects their way so that could help if it was even needed. Regardless, great products, great people, on top of things, and their prices are maybe the best of all.

[DrummerMan]

Thanks for the reference Jesse. I'll look into them!

[steviejingles]

Indiepool in Canada is a great company, and they offer all sorts of great packaging. I'm not sure what their shipping prices would be to the States, but I was always happy when dealing with them.

[dfuruta]

Just want to say, the samples I got from Sire Press looked really bad - the printing was fine, but the packages weren't cut or glued very well at all.

[Waltz Mastering]

But for short-run disc replication, I can provide decent service at low cost. Feel free to contact me here, or at RhythmGJ at Yahoo dot com.

Thanks,

GJ

Are you doing short run replication or duplication?
Do you have a site?

[Gregg Juke]

Hi Tom,

Ah, sorry! I do that all the time; I just did it again. I meant to say duplication, not replication. I don't have a manufacturing plant, just a Microboards Orbit unit-- CD's and DVD's. I can do about 50 at a time, so I've been using it as a value-added service for studio clients. The handful of jobs I've done so far have already paid for the unit-- a lot of people still want CD's, despite what we often hear on the web.

I have a decent talent network-- simple packaging with good graphics (usually thin-line cases, but also full shells if needed), on-CD printing or labeled are all available, or for DIYers short run/bulk burned CD's with no printing or artwork. For a reasonable cost, folks can have a very short run or/up to several hundred CD's without spending a week or two in front of their one-off computer burner. But I did not mean to give the impression that I could do the glass master, 100,000 per day type of runs-- this is for clients on a very tight budget.

I don't have a site up yet, but if you have any further questions, feel free to PM me here, or to contact me via e-mail at RhythmGJ at Yahoo dot com.

Thanks for asking,

GJ

[Waltz Mastering]

I meant to say duplication, not replication. I don't have a manufacturing plant

Just checking.. It's hard to find replication in the states for anything under 300 units.