Jewel cases broke my spirit

[David Ayers]

I'd been thinking it had been simply surfeit of recorded music that had caused me to stop buying CDs, but a couple I took out to play recently reminded me of something else. Both had been new purchases; the one which arrived by mail order had broken teeth, the other bought in store had a cracked cover from carrying it home. So, although new and premium price, these CDs had been transformed into tat before I even played them. It happens all the time of course but...how long are people going to go on paying premium prices for pre-broken plastic? We all know that old CDs just look like a pile of junk, but so do the new ones...

 

 

PS Freddie Starr did not eat my hamster

[BFrank]

Jewel cases were one of the worst packaging designs ever! All that plastic nonsense for a product that was originally hyped as indestructible and scratch-proof. I'm happy that many newer releases come in cardboard covers - much like vinyl. Should have been packaged that way from the beginning.

[JSngry]

Ya' know, you see all the stuff about people going out in the woods and blowing shit up or popping off a gazillion rounds into it and having a big laugh about it, and you think, oh, what repugnant souls these be, and yeah, perhaps, but i tell you this - gimme a mountain of jewel boxes, a clear spot out in the woods, and any number of ways to lite 'em up, hey, I'm gonna be at least initially one happy man, longer if I wear goggles than if I don't.

[David Ayers]

I'd like to do it with a steamroller. 

[JSngry]

How about blowing it up and then running over the debris with a steamroller, and then melting it all in a liquid goo to pour into molds to make devil christmas ornaments for devil christmas trees?

Don't tell me you'd not go for that if you had the time...

[David Ayers]

I'll MAKE the time....

[king ubu]

you, sir, must be of weak spirit

[Scott Dolan]

What's with all the jewel case hate? Yeah, I've got the odd few with broken teeth and or cracked faces. But that would account for less than 1% of my collection. 

I wish I didn't have them around these days, but it has nothing to do with the type of case...

[jazzbo]

My only real beef is plastic toothed inserts in digipaks. They are often broken, and they are irreparable. ARGH.

[Kate]

I confess puzzlement at the OP's sentiment.  Broken plastic at arrival is a sure sign of selfless performance in the line of duty while protecting precious cargo during combat with rogue Visigoth handlers at USPS/UPS/FedEx (I certainly don't wish to lay down a blanket indictment (Trumpcusation?)).  I purchase slimline jewel cases by the centipack for the presumed need to eventually replace every plastic holder as well as provide a safe home for cds that arrive packaged in cardboard so they're (presumably) chafed only twice:  once upon production insertion and then removal by my surgeon's hand :) ./peace and a spiffy vrijdag to ya, K

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I have always thought the jewel case as an elegantly designed protective box for CDs if only for the fact that if one breaks, it's a matter of seconds to replace it with a new one. Try that with a digipak or cardboard LP sleeve. Don't waste your time, it can't be done.

I love the jewel case.

[HutchFan]

3 hours ago, jazzbo said:

My only real beef is plastic toothed inserts in digipaks. They are often broken, and they are irreparable. ARGH.

I agree.  Yes, jewel cases break. But at least they're replaceable.

One thing that I've noticed: Jewel cases these days seem to be flimsier -- made with thinner plastic -- than they used to be. So they break more easily.

THAT, I don't like.

[felser]

This seems like the right place to bring up the original CD packaging, which put the  jewel case in this senseless foot-long cardboard box which you had to wrestle the jewel case out of and then dispose of the box.  Senseless murder of many trees.  I'm OK with jewel cases, though I agree the new ones are flimsier and more breakable than the old ones.  I'm also OK with digipaks as long as the teeth don't break. but really am annoyed when they do.

[Scott Dolan]

Yeah, but to the record company's credit, the cardboard sleeve didn't stick around all that long. They quickly gave way to the reusable, locking plastic deelywobs.

[JSngry]

7 hours ago, David Ayers said:

I'll MAKE the time....

HELL yeah, Self-Determination in full-blown action.

A man who cannot make time is a man without real options.

[BFrank]

My other beef with jewel cases is removing the shrink wrap - our should I say, ATTEMPTING to remove the shrink wrap. 

[Scott Dolan]

I actually developed an uncanny knack for removing the shrink wrap. Though, it's been so long since I've bought a jewel case CD, I'm not sure I would remember how I did it. 

No, wait! I remembered as I was typing that. 

I would run my thumbnail back and forth across the spine of the cd where the lid connected. It would create a slice from top to bottom, and then it was easier to peel than a perfectly boiled egg. Sometimes I had to run my nail back and forth a few times depending on the quality of the plastic. But it worked beautifully. 

[BFrank]

Dolan, do you sharped your fingernails in the morning? 

[Scott Dolan]

Nah, give it a try next time you buy a CD. Works like a charm. There's a lip in the case right there and the plastic usually cuts quite easily. 

If you need more explicit instructions just let me know. 

For the double-sized jewel cases for holding 2/3/4 discs, I did the same thing, only in that gap in the spine between the from and rear cover. 

[rockefeller center]

4 hours ago, Scott Dolan said:

and then it was easier to peel than a perfectly boiled egg. Sometimes I had to run my nail back and forth a few times depending on the quality of the plastic. But it worked beautifully. 

Better way: http://i.imgur.com/f0hJcIr.jpg

If you need the parts list just let me know. 

[Scott Dolan]

Hahaha...is that good for engraving as well? 

[Brad]

I keep a steady supply of replacement cases but that's usually for used CDs, not new ones. 

[Scott Dolan]

Having gone nearly 100% digital (the rare box set being the exception), I'm no longer doing the jewel case shuffle. And since I never touch the CDs I have anymore, I don't worry about anything happening to the existing cases. 

[king ubu]

8 hours ago, Scott Dolan said:

Having gone nearly 100% digital (the rare box set being the exception), I'm no longer doing the jewel case shuffle. And since I never touch the CDs I have anymore, I don't worry about anything happening to the existing cases. 

See, the jewel case itself is perfect. It's man that's the problem (same with communism, I guess )

Edited December 12, 2015 by king ubu
Typo

[BFrank]

On 12/11/2015, 4:57:04, Scott Dolan said:

Nah, give it a try next time you buy a CD. Works like a charm. There's a lip in the case right there and the plastic usually cuts quite easily. 

If you need more explicit instructions just let me know. 

For the double-sized jewel cases for holding 2/3/4 discs, I did the same thing, only in that gap in the spine between the from and rear cover. 

That may be, but you shouldn't even have to do that. Just one more annoying aspect of the dreaded jewel case.