Any Ideas On Where To Print DVD Cover's etc (UK Only)

[KRC]

I've recently purchased a lot which contained over 200 loose cartridges and discs for Nintendo Sega Etc and wanted to know the best and cheapest place to print high quality covers on glossy photo paper.

I already purchased some DVD and universal game cases so I'm good to go.

[nullPointer]

Hmm ... If I were approaching this project, I would try to assess whether it's something that I could tackle myself. I honestly think that would be the cheapest route, but it depends on a couple of factors. So the first question is, do you have (or have access to) a color inkjet printer? If the answer is Yes, I would do a test run to see if the results are acceptable.

In terms of paper I would try something like this (something like that Zeppelin SemiGloss looks like a real winner)

This is an exceptional double sided semigloss photo paper can be printed on both sides. Zeppelin SemiGloss looks like high quality magazine stock or brochure.

Naturally the next step would be finding an acceptable layout for your covers / cases. As far as that goes, this tutorial over at MakeUseOf could be just the ticket.

[KRC]

I did a test with some photo paper on my dad's printer which was ok but when stacked on a shelf next to genuine boxes it stuck out like a sore thumb.

[nullPointer]

Yeah if I were to venture a guess, I'd wager that finding the proper paper will be the crux of the issue (should you tackle this as a home project). I'd imagine Glossy, Semi-Gloss, and Matte papers would all produce highly noticeable distinctions. If possible I'd try to track down some of the double-sided photo paper as I'd wager that it's not as 'sticky' as the single sided stuff (purely a guess).

OTOH, you'd probably run into a similar set of issues taking the job to a printer except you wouldn't have nearly as granular a level of control over the results. I'd imagine the cost of outsourcing the job would be similar to the cost of printing wedding invitations through a print shop? (at least the batch run sounds like it would be of a similar volume )

Ill be curious to hear what you decide. It's something I've always wondered about as well.

[KRC]

Just did a telephone enquiry with Ryman stationers and they charge £2 service charge and 60p per A4 colored sheet. Providing I use my own paper.

Not too bad but some of their stores don't allow this sort of printing.

[hansolo77]

I had to do a lot of reprinting of my dvd movies because of the fire we had a few years ago. What I actually did was use a Color Laser printer and standard white matte Legal (not letter) paper. Legal is just 14-inches long versus the standard 11.. gives more room for trimming without worrying about printing right to the edge. Granted the paper isn't glossy so it doesn't look AS nice, but the effect of laser toner/fuser on plain paper makes it have shine similar to glossy with inkjet. In fact, if I print on glossy with the laser printer, it actually burns away the glossy texture on the paper, making it look worse than regular paper. The benefit is that laser prints wont bleed and "shouldn't" fade over time. It looks ok on my shelves because EVERYTHING is replaced with that same style paper/print. The new stuff I get like blurays and stuff all for the most part come in slip covers on top of the actual case, so they don't really match any of the other cases on the shelf anyway. And personally, I got so many things on my 2 book cases now, that I can't even tell which ones are prints and which ones were originals that didn't need replaced.

Just tossing that out as another option. But I have heard in most cases, for small jobs an inkjet/gloss print is the better way to go.

[KRC]

I managed to finally get some cover's printed out, I used very basic £2 A4 glossy paper and used a Staples printer (even though the cashier guy was being a total prat, He was convinced that I was doing this to make money)

I'm very impressed with how they turned out, I don't have the original cover to compare it to but I can tell that they are excellent quality after scouring the internet for comparison's.

I'll upload some pic's when I get home later on today.

[hansolo77]

Cool. I was always afraid to do public print jobs like replacement DVD covers at a store or something. We have lots of stores like that, Staples, FedEx Kinkos, Public Library, etc. You just walk in, plug your USB with pictures into the printer and print away, then take your stuff up to the cashier and pay for what comes out. The problem with that is people are eyeballing you, curious as to WHY you have these. I have a lot of covers I've needed to print over the last few years to replace those from the fire, and I wouldn't have the guts to try and do it at Staples. They'd sure stop me and ask what I was doing. Like its any of their business; not like I'm not PAYING for it. But I'm glad you got them to print stuff for you and they turned out ok. If you plan on doing a lot of printing, you'd be ahead to buy a nice color laser printer like I did. The toner is a bit expensive (like $90 each color for mine) but you get something like 1200 prints out of it. I still had TONS of toner left in my carts but after the fire they became clogged or misaligned or something and I just got some replacements in. I bought some generics off a guy who no longer needed them, and he had like 8 of them still unopened that he included all for $60 bucks. Couldn't pass that deal up.