subject: The 7 Dvd Packaging Requirements [print this page] If it is your first time to release a film, chances are it is also your first time to design a DVD packaging artwork. Here are 7 of the most important DVD packaging requirements of manufacturing companies. It is important you read this before you start designing your artwork to prevent additional charges and plenty of revisions.
RESOLUTION. The resolution of your DVD packaging artwork should not be less than 300 DPI (dots per inch). Anything lower than that looks bad on print. You cannot send a low-res image to your DVD manufacturing company and expect them to tweak it. They will send it back to you and you will do the revisions (if theyre still curable). Resolution is very important. You will start from scratch if you do not follow the 300 DPI rule.
FONTS: Are your fonts readable? Do they match the overall look of your DVD packaging? You have to make sure you chose good fonts. Ask opinions from many people before sending your artwork to your DVD manufacturing company. Note: Make sure you also send your DVD manufacturing company all the fonts you used.
SPELLING,PUNCTUATION, GRAMMAR. Theres no faster way to turn off customers than poor grammar and spelling so you better be extra careful. Hire a copywriter to make your text convincing and to ensure that there are no errors in spelling and grammar.
COLOR: If the artwork is sent to you for approval via email, there is a big chance that the colors would look different from the actual print. A computer monitor displays color using RGB mode whereas physical print is either CMYK or pantone color. You should request to have a sample of the printed artwork before giving them a go signal to manufacture thousands.
BLEED: Your DVD packaging artwork will not be trimmed one by one. It will be trimmed by large cutters, hundreds at a time, for better productivity. Because of this, there is a chance that there will be minor accuracy problems. That is why Bleed is necessary. Bleed is the extension of artwork beyond the cut line which gives the printers a margin of error when trimming the sheets. Make sure your DVD packaging artwork has 1/8-inch bleed on all sides.
SAFETY MARGINS: While Bleed is supplied to prevent showing white on the edges of the artwork, Safety Margin are required to prevent cutting off some important parts of your artwork (text, images,logos). Make sure all essential elements are within the safety margins, and not too close on the lines where the the artwork is supposed to be cut. The margins and the text and other important elements should have a distance of at least 1/8 of an inch.
BAR CODE and LOGOS: Is your bar code located on a viewable surface? Make sure the all the logos and the bar code are included and are placed correctly.
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About James Hill: James Hill has 14 years experience in the Music Manufacturing Industry. He has created CD/DVD packages and marketing plans for the likes of Stevie Wonder, Michelle Branch, and large companies such as Universal Records, Mattel, and Skechers. He is also responsible for the reproduction of vinyl for the Barrack Obama presidential campaign. For films, he has worked with well- known documentaries such as Tapped the Movie (nominated to be shortlisted for Best documentary at 2010 Oscars) and A10 - W.I.L.L.I.A.Ms brand new soccer documentary.
