Min. 100 units · 3–5 days
CD Sleeves
Custom Sleeves
Specify thisCustom Sleeves
Custom black CD Sleeves produced to your size and substrate, with printing and finishing handled in one run.
No obligation
Name, email, phone and what you are packing. Attach artwork if you have it. We reply with a specification and a written price, usually within one business day.
Black CD Sleeves hold a disc where a black sleeve suits the release aesthetic. That is the starting point for the specification, because a matt laminate on black resists fingerprints considerably. Uncoated black shows every touch.
In service they are used for independent music releases where the sleeve is part of the artwork.
Black CD Sleeves are specified for independent music releases where the sleeve is part of the artwork. A matt laminate on black resists fingerprints considerably. Uncoated black shows every touch.
Dyed-through black board with a smooth inner face, matt laminated if handling is expected.
The options we would consider for this format are below; a matt laminate on black resists fingerprints considerably. Uncoated black shows every touch.
White and metallic inks read strongly on black. Fine detail in light ink tends to fill in, so keep it bold.
Offset lithography, Flexography, Digital press are all available for this format. Run length usually decides which is cheapest: digital removes the plate cost on short quantities, offset and flexo overtake it at volume.
White and metallic inks read strongly on black. Fine detail in light ink tends to fill in, so keep it bold.
The finishes below are quoted line by line. Each is an additional pass, so dropping one is a real saving rather than a rounding difference.
Standard 5 in square; the substrate colour is the decision.
Send the contents rather than a box size. Black is chosen for the look without accounting for how much handling marks show on a dark uncoated board.
Four things drive a quote more than anything else: the quantity, the print route, the board grade and the number of finishing passes. Dimensions matter too, but usually through how efficiently the shape nests on the press sheet.
Prices start from $0.30 per piece for large-volume orders. If a cheaper route exists we say so at quoting rather than after the invoice.
Measure the circumference of the filled product, not the empty one, and add 10 mm for the glue lap.
Supply a print-ready PDF or vector file with fonts outlined and images at 300 dpi. Our prepress team checks every file before a proof is issued. The check that catches most files is type sitting too close to a crease, which is easier to move at layout than at proof.
Tell us what goes inside, how many you need and when. Those three answers are enough for us to specify and price the job properly.
You approve the quote, we send the dieline, prepress proofs it, and production follows. The proof stage is where changes are still free.
A plain structural sample is the cheapest way to find a fit problem — far cheaper than finding it across a full run.
Sample costs are normally credited against the production order.
Reference
| Product | Black CD Sleeves |
|---|---|
| Category | Custom Sleeves |
| Construction | Wrapped band, glued or flat-supplied |
| Fit | Sized to filled product circumference |
| Ships as | Flat, banded bundles |
| Materials | Uncoated kraft board, C1S paperboard, Corrugated E-flute, Greaseproof paper |
| Printing | Offset lithography, Flexography, Digital press |
| Finishes | Matte lamination, Uncoated natural, Spot UV, Foil stamping, Emboss |
| Minimum order | Minimum order is 100 units on any format, and unit cost falls sharply as the quantity rises. |
| Lead time | 3 to 5 business days after artwork approval |
| Shipping | Across the US, UK, Canada and Australia |
Specification builder
Set what you know, leave the rest. Everything here travels with your request, so nothing gets retyped.
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What you get
Standard 5 in square; the substrate colour is the decision.
Black board shows every fingerprint and scuff, so sleeves look handled before they reach a customer.
Specified for independent music releases where the sleeve is part of the artwork.
A matt laminate on black resists fingerprints considerably. Uncoated black shows every touch.
This format sits in our custom sleeves range, alongside 23 other made-to-order formats.
Answers
Specification, minimums and lead times for black cd sleeves.
On offset and flexo we hold the ink formulation, which gives a tight match run to run. Digital has a wider tolerance. If exact consistency across repeat runs matters more than short-run economics, we will quote the litho route.
A flat 100 units on any format. Most sleeves in this range are quoted from 100 units upward because unit cost falls sharply above that, but the minimum exists so you can validate a structure first.
3 to 5 business days after artwork approval, plus freight. Sleeve runs with applied finishes can take longer because each finish is a separate pass, and we confirm a firm date in writing with the quote.
Prices start from $0.30 per piece for large-volume orders. For this format the biggest levers are quantity, print route, board grade and how many finishing passes are involved. We quote each element separately so you can see where the money is going. Finishing passes are the lever buyers most often underestimate: each one is a separate run through the line.
Yes. We can send a plain unprinted sample so you can check the fit and structure, or a printed prototype for colour and finish. Sample costs are normally credited against the production order. A plain sample answers fit and structure; a printed one answers colour. On black cd sleeves it is usually fit that is worth checking first.
Send the current specification or a physical sample and we will quote to match it rather than proposing an alternative you would then have to re-approve internally. A physical sample tells us more than a specification sheet — board caliper and coating are usually described loosely and measured exactly.
All 50 US states, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, on the same timeline everywhere: 3 to 5 business days of production after artwork approval, then 5 to 7 business days in transit. Every run is made to order and shipped directly to your address rather than pulled from stock, so you receive current production rather than whatever has been sitting in a warehouse. Freight is costed separately by weight, volume and destination. Tell us at quoting if the delivery point cannot take a pallet, and we will break the consignment into cartons instead.
Every run is cut to your dimensions — there are no stock sizes here. Send the product measurements rather than a box size and we will build the sleeve around them, then send a dieline template you can design onto.
We issue a dieline template sized to your product, prepress checks your artwork against it, and a proof comes back for sign-off. Nothing runs until you approve that proof, and sleeves then take 3 to 5 business days.
Yes. Once a first run is approved we hold the board, structure, dimensions, print method and finishes against your account, so a reorder references the same specification exactly rather than being re-derived. That includes the ink formulation, which is what keeps a brand colour consistent between runs rather than drifting a shade each time.
Recycled grades are available across most of the substrates we run for sleeves. Recycled content, kerbside recyclability and certified compostability are three different claims though, so tell us which one you intend to print.
A print-ready PDF or a vector file, with fonts outlined and any raster images at 300 dpi at final size. We supply the dieline to design onto, and prepress checks bleed, safe area and crease clearance before issuing a proof. The dieline we supply carries the crease positions, so keeping type clear of a crease is easier to solve at layout than at proof.
Related formats
Next step
Send the dimensions and quantity you need. We reply with a full specification and a written price, usually within one business day.