Criterion Packaging: Clear case vs Digipak

[MifuneFan]

Update #2:

They're finally here guys! Pro-B has posted pictures of the upcoming releases for L'Eclisse, and All that Heaven Allows, and both will feature the new 3-disc case. The cases are slightly thicker than the standard case, as you can see in a pic below. I'm so happy to see this become a reality. Our votes no doubt helped this happen (at least quicker than it would have), so I want to thank everyone once again for voicing your input here.







Credit to Pro-B for the first two pics, and Judex for the 3rd
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[SIZE="3]Update #1[/SIZE]:

I'm extremely happy to announce that Scanavo has listened to our Feedback, and will be creating a 3-disc case coming out later this year

Thanks so much to everyone here who voiced their opinon about this. It's great to see a company listen, and build on that feedback so quickly

Hi Michael,

It's my pleasure to officially be able to inform you that we will be building a 3disc full-sleeve Blu-Ray case that will have room for a Criterion booklet. It will look like the current 2/1 case but with an extra disc hub under the booklet.

The case has been designed with form and function in mind and will stay true to the philosophy of allowing Criterion to display their beautiful artwork without the interruption of a Blu-Ray bar while maintaining our focus on quality and protection of the contents of the package.

We expect our cases to start appearing on retail shelves either in late spring or early summer 2014.
Thanks again for the great feedback. It's really a gift to have such enthusiastic fans be a part of the fabric of this movie community. You're the reason that we continue to be able to make beautiful cases and SteelBooks for the industry.
Very best,
Nick Coughlan

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With the introduction of the Dual Format edition, Criterion has also increased the amount of digipaks they've released. Any release that has more than 2 discs will come in a digipak, or some other custom packaging. These cardboard packages are used because the standard clear cases made by Scanavo can only hold up to 2 discs.

I've seen so many people complaining about this in Criterion threads, and I wondered if anything could be done about it. I decided to contact Scanavo directly yesterday, and I received a promising response a few hours later:

My name is Nick Coughlan and I'm the Sales and Marketing Director for Scanavo Americas. I really appreciate your message.

It's fans like yourself who keep this industry in business.

I've worked with Criterion for a long time on bringing their current Scanavo cases to market and I continue to work with them, always hoping to come up with great new designs for cases that hold more discs etc.

For the purposes of my ongoing discussions at Criterion, is there a large percentage of their fan base that would like a new Scanavo case which can hold the 3rd and 4th discs?

Best,

Nick

I decided to create this thread to have a centralized place for people to voice their preferences. There are pros and cons to both of course, and it'd be great to hear what the community has to say. I've created a poll to make that easier as well.

For me personally, I like the plastic cases because:

-They're thinner, and thus take up less room
-They're less prone to damage
-They look nicer and more uniform when lined up

I do think the digipak looks nice aesthetically however, and gives the product a premium/specialty feel.

Scanavo seems willing to discuss this, but as of now, Criterion has voiced no intentions of seeking a new plastic case (if it's even possible). Hopefully with some feedback, both Criterion, and Scanavo can decide on the best approach going forward.

Some visual references:

Clear plastic cases (random google image query):



Digipak (courtesy of Pro-B):



Both types lined up on a shelf (credit: Al_The_Strange's gallery)

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