What is a digipak?

A digipak is a very peculiar name that we don't come across very often. However, we come across them in the music industry almost every day. By definition digipaks are "a type of packaging for CDs or DVDs, typically made from cardboard with an internal plastic holder for one or more discs."

These are basically in all terms, the alternative to a CD jewel packaging.

Digipaks were first created by MeadWestvaco, and their trademark was for the term digipak. However as the style of case grew in popularity, the term digipak was turned into a short term name, just like Hoover is now used to describe vacuum , and Velcro is used to describe easy stick on material.

As I said before, the digipak is made up of a heavy paper material , unlike the jewel plastic material , And it is usually able to fold out into more than one compartment, as shown below

This could mean more than one CD, or special lyric sheets or signed merchandise.

PROBLEMS

Because they are not made of plastic like their jewel counterparts, they can easily rip and be damaged which is not really the best for an expensive packaging. Water is very dangerous to them as well, as they are only made of cardboard.

Usually in current times, Digipaks are usually used for special edition packaging, so song lyrics or other merchandise can go in another compartment.

One digipak that we can analyse is Gorillaz demon Days

Demon Days has the normal front cover which is the same as the jewel cover, however, when it folds out, the digipak folds out into showing all four members of the band in an animated style which they are known for. Furthermore, On the flip side there is yet another version of the four characters, but this time they look more demonic, with razor sharp teeth and long snake like tongues. This digipak then acts as a special edition album, with exclusive artwork of the band.