Snap Case
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A snap case is a type of
optical disc packaging Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case A ...
, used for
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
s and
CDs CDS, CDs, Cds, etc. may refer to: Finance * Canadian Depository for Securities, Canadian post-trade financial services company * Certificate of deposit (CDs) * Counterfeit Deterrence System, developed by the Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence ...
, also known as a ''paperback case'', ''Ivy Hill Snapper'', ''"snapper case"'', or ''FLP'' case. It consists of a
paperboard Paperboard is a thick paper-based material. While there is no rigid differentiation between paper and paperboard, paperboard is generally thicker (usually over 0.30 mm, 0.012 in, or 12 Inch#Equivalents, points) than paper and has certain superior ...
flap (where the
cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product, such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game ( box art), music album ( album ar ...
is
printed Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and Printmaking, images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabon ...
) which is held closed by a narrow plastic strip which has a "
snap Snap or SNAP may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Snap'' (film), the initial release title for the 2013 film ''Enter the Dangerous Mind'' * '' The Stanly News and Press'', a newspaper in Albemarle, North Carolina, US * "Snap" (''Duty Free'') ...
" closure. The strip is part of a single piece of plastic which forms the disc tray, and protective edges at the top and bottom. The "
hinge A hinge is a mechanical bearing that connects two solid objects, typically allowing only a limited angle of rotation between them. Two objects connected by an ideal hinge rotate relative to each other about a fixed axis of rotation, with all ...
" is simply created by the thinness of the plastic along the back right corner. The closure forms the right edge of the package and wraps as a single rigid piece around to the front in an L shape (as viewed from either end). Bumps on the inside of the top and bottom edges of the tray fit into notches on the end of the closure in order to create the snap. It was patented in 1992 by Ivy Hill Packaging, a
Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warne ...
subsidiary that made cardboard LP sleeves and CD longboxes. It allowed them to have an
eco-friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that c ...
case option which used little plastic and allowed the printing of graphics on the inside cover. It also made good financial sense as it repurposed cardboard-manufacturing machinery still onsite. It was originally used as a prestige format in a square case for
Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...
CD-Singles from 1993 to 1997 (when WMG was still Time Warner controlled), but was later adapted as rectangular case for video disc media, starting with
Video CD Video CD (abbreviated as VCD, and also known as Compact Disc Digital Video), (not to be confused with CD Video which is a type of Laserdisc) is a home video format and the first format for distributing films on standard optical discs. The f ...
in 1994, then DVDs from 1997 to 2004. The DVD case was mainly used by Time Warner's
Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...
unit, including releases from
Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film studio and distribution arm of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group division of Warner Bros., both of which are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex ...
, as well as sister companies
New Line Home Video New Line Home Entertainment (formerly known as New Line Home Video) was the home entertainment distribution arm of the film production studio of the same name, founded in 1990. It was responsible for the distribution of all New Line Cinema the ...
and
HBO Home Video Home Box Office, Inc. (HBO) is an American multinational media and entertainment company operating as a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. Founded by Charles Dolan and based out of WarnerMedia's former corporate headquarters at the 30 Hudson Yar ...
, as well as various associated labels;
MGM/UA Home Video MGM/UA may refer to: *Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, American film and television production and distribution company **United Artists, American film and television studio, now a subsidiary of Amazon MGM Studios *MGM/UA Home Entertainment MGM Home Entertai ...
also used this type of packaging for their first DVD releases from 1997, before switching to keep cases (MGM/UA's product was distributed by Warner Home Video at the time, but both companies ended their distribution deal in 1999 after legal battling{{Cite web, title=MGM REGAINS VIDEO RIGHTS; $225 MILLION DEAL TO HELP SELL DVDS. - Free Online Library, url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/MGM+REGAINS+VIDEO+RIGHTS%253B+$225+MILLION+DEAL+TO+HELP+SELL+DVDS.-a083605917, access-date=2016-09-09, website=www.thefreelibrary.com). The packaging was also used for companies who had third-party distribution deals with Warner, such as
Icon Film Distribution Icon Productions, also formerly referred to as Icon Entertainment International, is a production company founded in August 1989 by actor/director Mel Gibson and Australian producing partner Bruce Davey. Icon Productions LLC's headquarters were ...
in the United Kingdom. Time Warner gradually switched to DVD keep-cases in 2004 when they sold Ivy Hill to Cinram, who later dropped the format in 2005 due to a lack of interest. By the mid 2000s, Time Warner had switched to a new form of
keep case A keep case or poly-box is a type of packaging, most commonly used with DVDs and Blu-ray videos (and sometimes CDs). Besides DVD-Video films, keep cases are very common with most disc-based video games since the PlayStation 2, and they are also ...
, which reduced the amount of plastic used by removing some non-structural plastic which formed the
recycling symbol The universal recycling symbol ( or in Unicode) is a symbol consisting of three chasing arrows folded in a Möbius strip. It is an internationally recognized symbol for recycling. The symbol originated on the first Earth Day in 1970, created ...
in the case. The snap case also had an issue where the closure's glue could possibly separate from the case and proved to be less resilient in retail settings, with new product being more vulnerable to damage from shipping and unpacking (as the case and disc could easily be damaged by a
utility knife A utility knife is any type of knife used for general manual work purposes.Peterson, Harold L., ''Daggers and Fighting Knives of the Western World'', London: Herbert Jenkins Ltd., , p. 1 Such knives were originally fixed-blade knives with dur ...
or other retail unpacking tool, which a keep case could repel with only front case damage).


See also

*
Jewel case Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case A ...
*
Keep case A keep case or poly-box is a type of packaging, most commonly used with DVDs and Blu-ray videos (and sometimes CDs). Besides DVD-Video films, keep cases are very common with most disc-based video games since the PlayStation 2, and they are also ...


References


External links


IMDb's list of DVDs in snap cases
- dead link Packaging DVD Compact disc