Research - Digipak

What is a DigiPak?

Digipaks are a form of packaging used for DVDs and CDs, containing a cardboard gatefold piece which is printed with album art and then covered by a plastic outer case which supports one or more DVD of CD disks.
The packaging serves as a marketing technique/selling point used by record labels to promote new singles or a new album - which would advertise the artist and the single in order to attract an audience.

What are the contents of a Digipak?

A traditional Digipak would contain;

• A Track list - which is printed onto once face of the Digipak, a list of all the songs/tracks  available on the CD. 
• Graphics and Images - which would include album art, typically following a theme of the artist or the style of music of the album. It may also contain still images from the single's music video.
• CD Holder - Within the internal packaging, it is common to find the CD holder, which is a single panel on the case that holds the CD in place. This panel is designed to protect the disk from impact and preserves the quality of the reading film - protecting against scratches and dust which would effect the quality of the media when read by the lasers in a player. 
• Information Leaflets - On another panel of the Digipak, an information leaflet can be found containing information about the artist, messages from the artist to fans, the context of the music and further information about the production of the tracks and album. 
• Other additional accessories - this may include; lyric sheets, posters, reversible album art, postcards and other images of the band/artist.

What is the layout of a Digipak?

Traditional digipaks consist of 6 panels which includes; a front/ main cover, a back cover, the spine, the internal panels which contain the insert and the disk. 

Examples of some Digipaks

The Digipaks above are examples that have six panel- the conventional size digipak. Other Digipaks can vary in size from eight to twelve panels depending on the requirements of the company.

The additional panels allow for extra features to be included in the Digipak. This would include addons such as posters, a second disk; which would include addition sound tracks, discount vouchers and coupons that can be used to purchase more albums and special edition merchandise. Some examples of larger Digipaks can be found below.