Hey everybody:

I'm looking into getting some sort of device or machine that allows me to shrinkwrap my DVD cases like the pros do, so stuff will look professional and the case surface will be protected from scratching, etc. I have virtually no experience or knowledge about shrinkwrapping machines or plasticy strechy film for them. So, if anybody knows anything or has a system that works well for them, any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Tristan

Most commercial DVDs are overwrapped. A cheaper alternative is shrinkwrap. Overwrap has a neatly folded end. Shrink wrap is melted and has a coarser appearence. For example frozen pizza is shrinkwrapped.

www.ajminc.com sells shrink wrap machines and supplies. B&H probably does also.

Shrink wrapping on a small scale is labor intensive and messy. The machines tend to smoke and emit fumes. Each DVD has to be sealed on at least two ends, then heated with a gun on all sides. Due to imperfections, be prepared to redo up to 25 percent of the completed units. An alternative may be to use a sealable poly pouch with a pressure sensitive seal that the DVD is inserted into.

My company has sealed tens of thousands of discs using an AJM machine. Do we enjoy doing it? NO. But sometimes the clients demand it.

Most commercial DVDs are overwrapped.

Boy are you right! One of my pet peeves is removing the wrapping and seals from DVD's and CD's....

Even worse are those plastic containers that CF cards are in. I almost missed recording the second half of a live show because I could not open my SanDisk Ultra with my bare hands. i had to fish out my mag light and leatherman. Now i pre-open the bullet proof packages.

Boy are you right! One of my pet peeves is removing the wrapping and seals from DVD's and CD's....

Haha, no, the actual packaging product is called "OverWrap" but yes I do agree with what you mean...

Thanks for the information. I ordered a shrink bag starter kit from ajminc. I look forward to seeing how it works out.

Regards,
Tristan

just looking in on this post. be sure to let us know tristian

I ordered the 6x11 shrink bag starter kit from this website: http://www.ajminc.com/swspecial.htm. Only being able to order with a credit card via the phone was somewhat inconvenient but with UPS shipping, the package came the next day, which was pretty fast. The kit is basically 500 plastic bags, a heat gun, a sealer, and some spare parts. All you really have to do is put your dvd case into a bag, push it to the bottom, pull down the sealer over the bag near the top of the case, wait a bit for the heat to permeate, and then pull the bag free, thus cutting off the top portion and producing a clean seal. Afterwards, you just hold the heat gun over all the edges and the bag shrinks up all nice-like, just like professional shrinkwrap. But there is a small air hole in the front of the bag, which is necessary but may look bad to some people. Anyway, it took me about 10 minutes to get my technique down and produce a pretty good shrinkwrap appearance. Though I don't know much about shrinkwrap systems, so far, I'd reccomend this kit. The first photo has a DVD case in a sealed bag and one in an un-altered bag, the second photo is the kit itself, and the third photo features the first three DVD's I sealed. I got better each time.

Regards,
Tristan

That site looks like someone's nightmare. They need to update from a 1995 Geocities page and add a shopping cart. Good source for starters though. I bookmarked it.


OT: Tristan, did you make that DVD covers yourself? If so, can you give a brief explanation on what you did?

Adam,

I did make the covers myself. After being frustrated with cheap, terrible software that came with some blank Memorex DVD case inserts. I copied a screenshot of their template, pasted it into Microsfot Publisher and then made text boxes and drew various lines over template boundaries after pasting in all the images I decided to use. I used cropped photographs taken with a Canon EOS-20D and screenshots from my editng program. I then printed the covers on basic 8.5 x 14 inch paper and cut them out by hand with scissors. But, I've been trying to change my methods since that technique can be inefficent and time-consuming.

Regards,
Tristan

I found that ULine has a system just for this purpose. The sell a box of 500 shrinkbags (not shrink wrap) made just for DVDs for about $25. You need a sealer, which they also sell for about $88. Slide the case in, seal one side and blow-dry it. Finished. The wrapping is thin enough to shrink very fast (with at least a 900 watt dryer) and thick enough withstand lots of handling.

uline.com

Since I live near their southeast distribution center I was able to go and pick up the stuff after calling it in. They sell stuff in bulk for larger companies, so don't expect to get small quantities of stuff.

-Michael

thanks for that tristan.
how are you finding it now?
just so i have a better idea about the
actual plasic involved. is it the elastic type plastic that stretches
or is it the noisy type that breaks?

Ger,

The plastic is more to the noisy type that breaks. It's not as soft and stretchy as some types of plastic, such as food wraps. I haven't used the machine since my first few test runs, so I don't well it would hold up in the long run.

Regards,
Tristan