cover design software

[butterflies]

Would you have suggestions for some software that allows you to design a dvd or cd cover.
I mean, which has templates with the tables that show the feautures of the movie (subtitles, audio etc)??

[lordsmurf]

Use Photoshop

Templates for Photoshop DVD covers at http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/showthread.php/dvd-case-artwork-430.html
You can use anything from Photosop 6 to the newer Photoshop S3 or CS4.

edited to dvd templates link

[Bjs]

The gimp ... or check this out from cdrom2go ... giving their design software away ... 177mbs ... import templates as well

[hech54]

That's a big boy..

[T-Fish]

photoshop
templates can be found through google.
normal dvd case dimension is 3240x2175 pixels @300dpi (spine is 170 px).

[hech54]

I'm sorry guys but the plain and simple facts are that the price for Photoshop and the learning curve for Photoshop makes blurting out "PHOTOSHOP" every time one of these threads comes up completely ridiculous.
And learning curve for GIMP also makes blurting out "GIMP" every time one of these threads comes up completely ridiculous for a majority of the population.
ME included. It would take me days WITH a template and weeks without a template in Photoshop or Gimp.

[T-Fish]

k, mspaint for you then @hech54 :P

if he is serious about designing covers, he wants a serious tool. photoshop is
really not that hard. its very common, hence theres a ****load of tutorials
online. its not cheap, i give you that one.

[hech54]

k, mspaint for you then @hech54 :P

Close....Microsoft Image Composer....

[jman98]

k, mspaint for you then @hech54 :P

if he is serious about designing covers, he wants a serious tool. photoshop is
really not that hard. its very common, hence theres a ****load of tutorials
online. its not cheap, i give you that one.

I have to strongly agree with hech54 here. Yes, you can, in theory, learn to do Photoshop, but how many people are willing to spend days or weeks struggling with online tutorials until they finally reach a level of expertise high enough to do the job? Most people want something that can get them going within an hour or two at most.

Nothing is "hard" to people who already know how to do it, but again, how realistic is this suggestion? Depends on if the user can get access to Photoshop and wait to learn enough to do anything with it.

[T-Fish]

ok, but what do you recommend then ?
maybe it seems easy to me because im using it since v3.0.5. (around 94 iirc)
all you need to learn are the basic tools and understand how the layers work
which is very simple. i myself dont know half of what PS can do, but i never
needed it. if i do, i can look it up and i dont have to search for a new tool and
learn that allover again because the tool im using reached its limitation.

if someone asks for software to write a letter, then you dont
tell them notepad. lol

maybe thats just me..

ps: even if he would be a master at PS, that still wouldn't mean he can design
professional looking covers or all the nerds would be designers

[jimbucc]

Try SureThing CD/DVD labeler. It works with DVD printers as well as other label brands. I use it all the time and while the UI is a little funny, it does the job.


http://www.surething.com/ST/Category.asp?CatCode=ST5_HOME

Jim[/url]

[Denvers Dawgs]

I second Photoshop. Or even GIMP, it's not that hard to get the basics as T-Fish said.

[lordsmurf]

Forgot to mention that you can get templates for Photoshop DVD covers
at http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/showthread.php/dvd-case-artwork-430.html

[tin2tin]

Yeah, the graphics part can be done in PS, Gimp or Paint.net.

Fitting a template can be done nicely in Inkscape. Tutorial here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/22778348/Inkscape-Tutorial

And here are a bunch of templates for Open Office:
http://www.worldlabel.com/Pages/openoffice-templates.htm

And fo the disk, this might be useful:
http://discwrapper.sourceforge.net/index.html

[Denvers Dawgs]

also if your just trying to fit and print (not create) a cover, coverXP is free

[byteguy]

Don't forget Desktop Publishing programs

If you're talking about laying items out that include blocks of text they are so much easier than a graphics system and you get more "print oriented" layout guides.

Serif Software give away a smaller version of PagePlus at www.freeserifsoftware.com that, at least, used to include a bunch of DVD cover template examples. I upgraded to their paid version and just keep editing the same templates over and over.

[usually_quiet]

Acoustica CD/DVD Label Maker might work for this. There is a trial version that can be downloaded. http://www.acoustica.com/cd-label-maker/

[Bjs]

if someone asks for software to write a letter, then you dont
tell them notepad. lol

Funny ... Doing the cert 3 in IT they asked for a website with functions such as checkout with credit card ... and yes ... they restricted you to using only notepad

The insanity of it all

But I done it ... never again