Source for record covers/sleeves

[tape]

Possibly somewhat offtopic, but I'm looking for a source that sells good quality record covers / sleeves.

I have tried both protected.de and Juno records in UK - maybe I have had some bad luck but the quality of their products is not good.
A common problem seems to be oversized sleeves - when the records is put in it slips down in the cover, and is not centered correctly (sleeves with center holes) and they 'gap' in the opening.

Some of the ones I have received from the above companies also have problems with black paint peeling off, and raw edged center hole cuttings - all in all bad quality

thanks

[Simon]

Check out Covers33

[tape]

THANKS - looks good, but hard to tell the quality before you have the product in hand.
What puzzles me is that all companies tend to have the same type of covers: glossy black/white and the multicoulored ones.

I have not been able to find eg. brown or grey cardboard covers anywhere....

[UNIVOX]

www.bagsunlimited.com

i've never seen their vinyl packaging supplies, but their plastic cd sleeves are top notch.

[tape]

well I tried a black version of this: http://www.bagsunlimited.com/cart/browse.asp?subcat=28
some years ago - says it's made of 'heavy duty cardboard' actually it's thin flimpsy paper, coated with a material that leaves greese fingerprints when touched + the record sticks out 'discobag' style.

All in all I won't recommend these -
and again here: nothing but black and white

[Mod updated link, 6/2012:

http://www.bagsunlimited.com/c-206-jackets.aspx

http://www.bagsunlimited.com/c-235-jackets-printed.aspx

[mossboss]

Hey All
It is a case of cost in so far as record covers are concerned
You get what you pay for
The good quality sleeves with a coating so the finger marks do not show with 400-450 GSM heavy board costs money
People are not prepared to pay for them so no one bothers
The average cost of these sleeves with a four colour print on them both sides 3 coulors outside one inside a single blanket cover colour as well as a matt clear coat on the outside runs around $3.00 each for lots of around 500
They are printed in a four colour press coated once with a uv curring coat It is than punched out or forme cut as the printers call it Than they are hand glued
The four colour machine that prints them runs at around 10,000 sheets per hour or more but is the setting up charges that shoot the price up to that level
It costs around the $450 for the setting up and about $200 for the print run
The guy sets it up goes for a pee comes back and is done 500 units
Or if he has a cup of coffee in the meantime another 500
Not an issue
Than it is off to the forme cutters
Another setting up charge this time it is reasonable only $185 and another say $250 to punch the 500 out out
All good
So you go and pick them up and start gluing away Great fun
Boring as hell
So where is the cost
Send artwork one trip
Wait for proofs check them out Second trip
Pick up job Third Trip
Send to form cutters Fourth trip
Pick up job from them Fifth trip
Back to plant start gluing up
About 100 an hour if you are any good one a minute if you are slower at it which is the average person
So at an average of 1.5 hours per trip you done around 8 Hours
Gluing up 500 is another 8 hours a total of 16 hours
Fork out around the $1100 and spend 16 hours on a 500 cover run
What should be a reasonable hourly rate say $25 per hour at cost of labour
Great you spend 16 hours at a prime cost of $400 and another $1100 a total of $1500 for 500 covers that's it
Ah when the customer has an issue with the printing the process starts all over for NADA
A lot of money but it is what it is since auto album cover machines are limited to the "flimsy" type of paper weight at the cost of say under $1 or there abouts Yes they suck but it is what it is
Happy to take orders after you have digested the above and please allow some PROFIT please
Than it will be considered Alternativelly Who wants my orders?
Cheers

[tape]

he:-) I have to see some examples before making orders, but thank you for the insight in the process.

It's still strange that there are no more variation regardless quality - where do you buy eg. a 12" grey or brown cover?
These must be painted, not printed

[mossboss]

Hey All
Tape, you can keep looking as much as you want
Unless you are prepared to work with a printer or a pressing plant and go through the process you will not get a cover of the shelve that will satisfy you or most people for that matter
The ones the "paint" comes off are screen printed or the paper stock was not up to scratch to take the inks applied to it
Due to low Numbers screen printing on a standard white or black stock cover from the usuall sources is the starting basis
By the way
There are no samples here and we are not promoting it at all
It is a nightmare
There is nothing in it apart from the satisfaction of doing a bloody good job for some clients who want a damn good cover
This I can assure you is done at a subsidy or at cost if we get lucky
The sooner people would relise that the small orders that Vinyl calls for now days is ridled with these unrealistic cost's due to that
May be they will stop think and take into account what it entails prior to complaining about it
I am not saying that you should not expect quality, however it is hard to tell a dude that the cover he saw or he owns from such and such album by so and so is so great and he wants the same style for his work but only prepared to pay so much and not more
He forgets that the album he thinks so much off may had 200-300,00 copies pressed in it's day so the cost is right down as you can automate the process which was done quite frequently those days Imagine some of the Beatles albums that sold a few million each No one would glue that qty by hand and if as a manufacturer you made a few cents each it was good money due to the sheer numbers involved
But that is the world we live in today my friend and we should not forget that
Cheers

[emorritt]

$3 per unit? I just had 500 color jackets with UV run for $635 - about $1.30 each. Now that vinyl is being pressed more, and the demand has gone up I guess the printers are adjusting their prices??

[mossboss]

Hey
What's his address? sounds good to me Are they on good heavy stock say 400 gsm Sounds good Post him up so others can get to the man
Cheers

[emorritt]

The website is: http://www.iloveimprint.com/lp_jackets.htm the quality was excellent, customer satisfied. 500 color jackets $575 plus $50 upcharge for the UV coating. Larger quantities are cheaper, smaller quantities more expensive; I've researched several suppliers but they're the most reasonable. I've used them for other jobs as well.

[mossboss]

Thank You Very Much
Cheers

[TotalSonic]

For sleeves Bowers is one source that hasn't been mentioned yet - http://www.bowersrecordsleeve.com/

for jackets check out
Dorado Press - http://www.doradopress.com/
Ross Ellis - http://www.ross-ellis.com/en/item/cd-primapak.html
Stoughton - http://www.stoughtonprinting.com/
Stumptown (cool letterpress custom stuff) - http://www.stumptownprinters.com/print-services/

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[Moderator Edit: Updated links.]

[tape]

thank for the tips.
However I was a bit unspecific: I am looking for non-printed standard covers without printed imgaes for 12" and 7"

Those are usually black or white - low gloss or high gloss - but where to find grey or brown?

[Simon]

I just got colored 100 7" for £36

from covers33 http://www.covers33.co.uk/

They have great quality stock and ship for free in the UK

[emorritt]

I really had to shop around for a printer that did quality work at a reasonable price. I think many printers that offer record jackets are doing it as an "afterthought" now that vinyl is coming back and there's money to be made; they probably have to special order the heavy card stock, but it's really not that expensive. It helps to be pre-die cut which adds very little to the cost, but I'm sure there are suppliers out there who already have the dies that can supply the blank stock at a reasonable price. Finishing and UV coating are done to every day jobs so this is nothing special. There was one printer that wanted nearly $1200 for 500 color jackets. I just shook my head and thought, put down your crack pipe and call me when you're back in the real world...

[mossboss]

Echoes of my Thoughts Cheers

[Steve E.]

I just got samples of generic cardboard jackets with holes in the middle from Bags Unlimited.

http://www.bagsunlimited.com/c-206-jackets.aspx

I like them. They seem to be fine quality. I need to buy them in small quantities because of my current cash flow. (20 or 40 at a time, say.)

Does anyone know of any sources that are even cheaper? This seems to be it.