Best Way To Label Jewel Cases for DVD's? Ideas?

[defense]

I am one of the people that put my DVD's into Jewel Cases. I prefer them because they save much more space then the regular DVD cases. I still leave all of my originals in their original case though. Anyway, I have thought about a couple of methods to labeling those jewel cases so that when they are in those storage boxes, I can read the label without having to actually pull each movie out to see it's title. Most of my Jewel Cases are the super slim ones by Imation. They seem to work perfectly, and they do save a ton of space. I have a good amount of the "dual" jewel cases where I can put two movies in one jewel case which I like to. Those are good for sequels, etc.

Anyway, what I decided to do was just basically print out on plain white computer paper, a list of all the movies in those super slim jewel cases in 9 font. Then I cut them out one by one and placed tape on them in a way that I could fit them in each jewel case. It was VERY TIME CONSUMING and very difficult, because I am not one for patience, (although I have been learning lately with DVD BACKUPS) and it was a real pain in the ass to say the least.

I had to take off each top/cover of the jewel case, cut the tape small and thin enough to allow the jewel case to close, and yet make sure there was enough tape to make it stick as close to permanent as possible. After it was all said and done it took about 16 total hours for all of my movies. Just doing one movie is a pain in the ass, but doing them all over a few days, that was a nightmare.

Note, I put the tape and movie titles on the "inside" of the jewel case so they were not exposed. It was a little easier with this method on movies that were in regular size or dual jewel cases because the font could be bigger and I had room to get the title taped in.

That got me to thinking that there must be an easier method, maybe with avery labels or something. Anyway, if anyone else that labels their jewel cases and has a better idea, please share it so others can see if it works for them and follow suit.

[drew22to375]

Why not just use one of the printing programs for jewel cases. nero and roxio cd creator has them built in. When I was printing jewel cases I could have them printed and in the jewel case in about 2 minutes.

[MOVIEGEEK]

defense,
I'm afraid there is no way around the scissors and tape my friend.I use a freeware program called CDLaboratory(search Google),it offers text,M3U,TWAIN support and it is very easy to use.

[ghoster]

get neato's media face and then go to www.cdcovers.cc for the labels.

[defense]

thanks for the replies, I don't think ghoster and drew understood my question...I am not looking to make my jewel cases nice or even have a label on them at all. I just want a way to identify my disks when they are in the jewel cases. Mainly the ultra thin jewel cases are the ones that have the most trouble. MovieGeek, what's up buddy? Thanks for the info and I'll check out that site. It sounds like you use a similar method of storing your DVD's in Jewel Cases huh? If so, do you use the ultra thin ones as well? They are great because for every space for a regular size jewel case, you can fit two ultra thin jewel cases in the same spot.

Anyway, thank you all for the response and information.

[ZippyP.]

If all you want is a label with the name of the movie then you can try a dedicated lable maker. Brother makes several and there are others available at most office supply stores.

[defense]

If all you want is a label with the name of the movie then you can try a dedicated lable maker. Brother makes several and there are others available at most office supply stores.

That sounds like something i'm looking for...the only "label" I would need though is one that would fit on one of the ultra thin jewel cases. Do you know by chance if they have labels that are desinged for the sides of those cases?

[doctorstrobe]

Hi,

I had exactly the same problem...

I found a label printer from Casio: KL-P1000
(They call it the Mouse pad Label Printer. It comes with a strange plastic mouse pad which is easily removed from the printer and thrown out...)
It's USB.

It prints directly onto a thin tape ribbon.
Then you just peel off the backing paper and stick it on the CD Jewel case spine. The label tape is made of some kind of thin plastic. It's strong and nice and sticky.
You can get the stuff in all kinds of colors also, like Black Ink on Yellow tape, etc... The ink ribbon is built into the tape cartridge.
I'm using the 9mm wide tape that came with the printer. It works
good but it is slightly wider than the CD spine so you might want to us
6mm tape.

I bought it driectly off of casio.com
For only $20 it was worth it.
Also, if you buy it, look for the upgrade software for it.
It's hard to find on Casio site. I just went to Google and searched
for: FA-B30
That's the name of the software...

[defense]

@doctorstrobe, see, now this is why when I posted this question, I told myself it may be a stupid question but I have to ask..now look at this, you've found something. That sounds EXACTLY like what i'm looking for! Can you verify if these paper thin labels/ribbons are good for ULTRA THIN jewel cases? Meaning, will they fit perfectly on the jewel case itself? Or are these labels for regular sized jewel cases only? If so, it still sounds interesting and something to purchase as I have several dual normal sized jewel cases this would work for. But the majority are in ultra thin jewel cases. Please let me know when you get a chance. Thanks

[doctorstrobe]

I'm using it to label the 'hinge edge' of a standard Jewel case.
I have a bunch of the thin jewel cases which I use for CD-R discs, but I buy DVD+R and +RW discs in standard jewel cases not by the spindle...

The hinge edge of the thin jewel cases are very thin. I haven't tried labeling one of them, but I suppose it would be possible.

The thinnest tape for the label printer is 6mm, but I suppose you could
print in a very small font size and just fold the excess over the top or bottom edge of the jewel case... The tape material is very flexible.
It reminds me a lot of the stuff they put on the edges of a DVD or a CD to prevent people from stealing them in a store...
I just tried it with some 9mm wide tape... It works, but the text is kind of small.

[defense]

sounds like i'm gonna have to get that Casio software then. Yea, I know the text will be small, but that doesn't both me. All I care about is being able to identify a disk while it's in the compartment and not have to pull the disk out half way to see the name of the movie I have written on it. Thanks for all the info..it was helpful

[eric.townsend]

I just came back from office depot and i saw that NETO/FELLOWES came out with some new jewel case inserts for SLIM jewel cases, the item number was 99997.

[defense]

I just came back from office depot and i saw that NETO/FELLOWES came out with some new jewel case inserts for SLIM jewel cases, the item number was 99997.

WOW..now that REALLY sounds like what i'm looking for! Thanks for the lead on that and i'll be sure to purchase those if they are what you are saying they are! Thanks

[eric.townsend]

here's a link

http://www.fellowes.com/store/index.cfm?selectProductCategory=144,1,143&pCat=241

[defense]

Eric, thanks for the link. Did you purchase these? They sound EXACTLY like what i'm looking for. THAT'S GREAT! No more tape and shit...do you happen to know though..because it doesn't say it on the site..but it appears it makes an ENTIRELY nice label for the FRONT of the case..maybe even the back..but my BIGGEST concern is to be able to have the title of the movie on the slim little "side" of the case so when it's in the storage compartment..I can read the title.

If it does all of this well having a flap which is small enough with a small enough font to be able to fit perfectly in these slim jewel cases I am getting it within the next day or so. Let me know when you get a chance if the "sides" will be labeled. In the meantime I will continue to read and see if I can find out.

[eric.townsend]

I haven't bought any since i only use full size cases but i went back to office depot to take a close look at it. You can make a insert that will cover the full front and it has a area (the little side you refer to) where you can put some writting to identify the content in the case; you can read it (tho' the writting will be small) when the cd's are stored in a rack or something. It does not do a back insert. You will also have to download their software (mediafaceII) to be able to make the inserts.

I'm confident this is what you're looking for; go get some and save yourself the agravation of doing it the way you do now.

Eric

[defense]

Eric, your first three posts on this forum have all been excellent ones! Your link to those labels was a big help. I'm going to get them tomorrow or the next day. I'm looking forward to see how well they work. Thanks again for the info!

[eric.townsend]

Glad to help. At 600+ posts, i'm sure YOU have helped many.........including me. Thanks.

[Gritz]

Just an idea of a different method of labeling/storing that might be considered. I too, have discs all over the place: games discs, picture discs, movie discs, OS discs, Utility discs, Magazine discs, etc .... and I'm always wondering which cd notebook to open to find what I want. A few days ago in Walmart I saw a "Disk Drawer" by Fellowes that holds 60 cds, separated into 4 sections and see through disc envelopes front to back. Push lightly and it clicks open, and you can fold the discs forward as you browse through. No pages to turn. Since I put labels on all my discs I can just look through the see through front to select the disc I want. It's also weighted so when you push on the drawer it doesn't move ........ $14.95, less than many cd notebooks. I wish it were 100 discs. Fred Meyers also sells a little plastic snap case in different colors that is nice to store all the install discs that go with each system, if you happen to be a system builder. Just a couple of ideas that might work in some situations.

Cheers

[defense]

Gritz, that sounds interesting, at least the "disk drawer." Seems like FELLOWES is on the ball. Let me ask you a question..u think you could describe what you are talking about a little better. Are you saying that this drawer holds DVD's or CD's "WITHOUT" the case? You can see the title of the disk through some see through window of "ALL" 60 disks? If so, how big is this thing? That sounds like an even BETTER idea for what I want to do and MUCH LESS time consuming. Please advise as soon as you get a chance. Thanks

[Gritz]

Defense,
Sure .... but since a picture is worth a thousand words ... :P You see only one disc at a time as you shuffle through them but the front of the envelope is clear plastic, as well as the outside. The unit is 11" long, 6" high, and 6" wide ... roughly.

[Gritz]

Sorry .... picture was too big ....... here it is again.
Well .... sh*t ........ maybe I'll get it this time. I was thinkin' user friendly.

[defense]

Humm..I was thinking it was something else. That would be something I am NOT interested in. First, I would be concerned about the DVD's themselves being exposed to dust, scratching, etc. Also, that would almost be equivalent to having no label on a DVD at all and pulling each DVD case out to see the title of the movie. That is what I was trying to avoid. Thanks for the info though, but that product isn't for me. I will check office depot out for the other FELLOWES product Eric mentioned. That is what I am looking for I believe. Thanks for the info though..others may want that 60 disk holder for themselves.

[Gritz]

You bet. There's also a USB connected motorized tower that holds 75 cdroms from www.kdsusa.com you might be interested in. Kinda spendy, ($139) but it looks interesting.

PC Controlled CD Organizer [CDM-751]

The CD Organizer allows you to store and organize all of your CDs (Music, Video, DVDs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, Game CDs and more). With the CD Organizer, no more stacks or scattered piles to sort through and jewel cases to store.

[defense]

You bet. There's also a USB connected motorized tower that holds 75 cdroms from www.kdsusa.com you might be interested in. Kinda spendy, ($139) but it looks interesting.

In one of the last PC magazines towards the back where the advertisements are, I saw the same thing you are referring to but the difference is that the one in the mag holds 150 cd's or dvd's and is $99! Much better deal, however, something like that i'm not interested in, even if it were free.


eric, thanks once again for your info. I didn't get the "complete" NEATO/Fellowes kit, but I downloaded the 77 MB Media Face II 3.0 software which is "freeware" and purchased the "slim line" inserts from Office Depot for $12.95 for 50 of them. I purchased 100 just to test them out and they are THE BOMB TO SAY THE LEAST! No more of that TAPE CRAP which doesn't always hold....these LOOK PERFECT and although the font "obviously" isn't as big as a normal jewel case, it is still CLEARLY VISIBLE and I conserve an ample amount of space! Man, I wasted about 14 TOTAL hours with that tape method crap and about 30 minutes taking all the tape and those taped labels off. lol.....But this method is simple as hell and I have choices for the front from pictures to text to all sorts of other things....or I can just leave text on the front and save my printer's ink...lol....it depends on the movie I guess. I really don't care about the looks so much, but now my options are much more as well as the most important thing which is to be able to identify the movie from the "spine" while it is in it's storage compartment. Thanks again

[alucard2050]

an empty cdr spindle is all i need...i do like the little drawer from wal-mart though...

[monoxide77]

i like having my DVDs in fullsize DVD cases. it makes me feel like i have more or something. VCDs and stuff like that, i keep in an empty spindle like alucard2050 said. all my data cds/dvds i keep in a binder. all my slim cd cases have all broke over the years. i still need to figure out how to store my laserdiscs. any suggestions?

[defense]

I just came back from office depot and i saw that NETO/FELLOWES came out with some new jewel case inserts for SLIM jewel cases, the item number was 99997.

eric..if you are still around...thanks once again for this info...that was EXACTLY what I purchased. Then I got the Media Face II 3.0 software..and WHOALA! I used the ultra think Jewel Case Template and it was a real pain in the ass at first to get the title PERFECTLY printed in the middle of the "spine" because there isn't much room..but once I got it PERFECT, I saved that template and all I do is change the title of the movie so each and every spine is PERFECTLY centered.

The font is an 8 font..but it really looks great...one of the things that makes this method MUCH better then the taping garbage..is that if one of the "taped" jewel cases ever broke..I would have to re-tape it....but with these labels..I can just simply take the label out, and put it in another jewel case. Neato/Fellowes really made a hell of a product here..and to sacrifice a little smaller font to be able to put 2 jewel cases where I would normally be able to put only 1..is a VERY small sacrifice.

It really isn't that bad because the entire spine is "white" because of the "white" label paper..and the jewel case is black and the font print is black..making it black on white and VERY EASILY seen. I can't even believe how perfect these are. Had to just say thanks once again..this is what I was looking for!