Eco Friendly Packaging on the Increase

There is an increasing demand for environmentally friendly packaging by consumers. Many companies are now working to meet this demand for their products. The most eco friendly way to download music and films maybe digital but many customers still prefer to own a physical CD/DVD with artwork and packaging to match.

One of the first eco friendly CDs to be release was Pink Floyds guitarist, David Gilmour, when in 2006 release his first carbon-neutral CD “On an Island”. The album was release under eco-friendly guidelines and was produced using biodegradable cardboard packaging, environmentally friendly inks, and water-based lacquer.

Since then a multitude of albums and films have been and are going to be released using eco friendly packaging. At HDC media group we can provide you with a complete eco friendly CD/DVD solution for your media project. We have available packaging that is both recyclable and reusable and you can choose from

Recycled board, recommended ranges from 250gsm to 350gsm
Paperfoam tray, benefits including :
designed for use with Digipack
replace a clear plastic tray in your existing designs
100% paper recyclable
proven to be very valuable in preventing counterfeiting
recyclable with paper
100% biodegradable
available in any colour
choose to have your logo embossed into the tray
dust and scratch-free
excellent fitting and protection.

Softpacks, our range of Softpacks all carry a dynamic design which do not require a disc holding tray and can be made from 100% recycled board

To compliment your green packaging we also offer an eco disc, this Green Eco Disc is a unique and truly environmentally friendly product. While offering the same functionality as a standard DVD5, the Green Eco Disc uses 56% less Carbon emissions, 50% less polycarbonate, is 50% thinner, 50% lighter, and doesn't contain non-biodegradable bonder resin.

Green Eco Disc Features - compared with standard DVD5
Is compatible with all standard ejectible tray DVD playars and computers, with the exception of slot drives.
Has a 4.7Gb storage capacity, which is the same as a standard DVD5
Has the same playability as a DVD5
100% recyclable
100% flexible
56% less carbon emissions
50% less polycarbonate
50% thinner
50% lighter
Doesn't contain non-biodegradable bonder resin
DVD-Video and DVD-ROM formats available

If you have an order to create an eco friendly album/film then HDC media group have the products, knowledge and creative flair that can offer the social responsibility of an eco friendly product to attract customers old and new.

CD Duplication by HDC Media

Eco Friendly Packaging on the Increase

CD Media News - GE nears 1TB storage (CD size Media)

Imagine storing 200 DVDs on one disc? GE Global Research is working on it. Specifically, GE is designing a next-generation optical data storage technology that will fit at least 1 terabyte (TB) of information on a standard CD-size disc.

This is not only equivalent to 200 DVDs, but also 40 Blu-ray Discs. GE's approach to this next-generation technology is called single-bit micro-holographic data storage and uses microscopic holograms throughout the volume of the plastic disc to store information.

The GE technique goes beyond the traditional surface-based storage technology to use an entire volume to store data in 40-50 layers, Todd Alhart, a spokesman for GE Global Research, told One to One. Potential applications for this technology extend from the individual consumer to professional domains.

In the consumer space, high-definition video formats and high-resolution entertainment continues to grow and expand. "As a result, consumer-generated content proliferates the corresponding requirements for content storage and distribution," said Alhart. "In the professional segment, information is increasingly generated in bandwidth-hungry native digital format."

High-definition broadcast and motion picture video generation creates new demands for long-term, high-density archival storage systems. In addition, "medical imaging techniques are moving away from static-information film to dynamic digital detection and storage that can generate thousands of petabytes [1PB = 1,000TB] of electronic medical records data each year," Alhart added.

Commercialisation for professional markets is targeted for 2011, and some GE technology may start to penetrate consumer markets as soon as 2012.

CD Duplication by HDC Media

CD Media News - GE nears 1TB storage (CD size Media)

Green Eco Friendly Packaging – (Sustainable Packaging)

Green packaging isnt just about buying recycled packaging, we now need to consider the miles the package travels from the source point to the source of purchase. Not only this but we need to take into account how we can design the packaging to minimise the carriage space on palettes/parcels. So to have a truly green packaging we need to consider more than just its recyclability.

HDC can design your green packaging by taking these factors into consideration and thus being able to maximise the number of products you can fit onto a palette/parcel whilst also addressing the needs of its recycability.

HDC Media Group is the first manufacturer of optical media and flash memory who can offer a complete Green Packaging service.

For help and advice on Green Packaging or to order a free sample pack please email info@green-cd-dvd-duplication.co.uk or phone us on 01274 656565 and speak to one of our helpful account managers.

CD Duplication by HDC Media

Green Eco Friendly Packaging – (Sustainable Packaging)

Sony develops new audio CD format

The internet has been buzzing lately with stories of Sony's announcement in Japan that it is launching a new audio CD format - the Blu-spec CD. Apparently the format uses Blu-ray laser diodes and advanced polymers in order to improve on the standard CD format (reduction of jitter) while operating within the format parameters.

According to one report: "A roughly translated Japanese press release about the new technology claims the new CD cutting machines 'eliminate vibration', thus improving the quality of the laser beam and bringing sound quality closer to that of the master tape".

Apparently Sony Music Entertainment has announced plans to release 60 titles of classical music, jazz and other genres in the new format for 2,500 yen (715 yen more than a conventional CD). The first releases will be ready for launch in the Japanese market on Christmas Eve, including albums from Miles Davis and ELO. There is no indication of when or if the technology will be released in Europe.

For more information http://www.sony.co.uk/section/home

CD Duplication by HDC Media

Sony develops new audio CD format

Tin Tin - A Hollywood Story

Screen heroes never go out of fashion. And movie production studios have responded to our fascination with heroes by releasing a succession of epic motion-pictures to expectant new audiences. But whilst the movies themselves continue to get bigger, the audiences are getting smaller. From last year, movie-theatre attendance has been cooling off by around 7% on previous years, in favour of an increase in DVD sales.

In this climate, the movie industry is relying heavily on DVD sales and the protection of the perceived value of DVDs. Studios have partly closed this gap by ensuring that DVD releases are loaded with additional disks of extended footage and extra features. Yet with steep competition from rental companies and movie download Web sites, the DVD has to present a value added format that encourages a physical sale.

The industry has long been aware that the standard plastic Amaray cases aren’t compatible with the ‘Collectors’ Edition’ feel they are increasingly looking to generate. Studios are enhancing packaging and branding. When they hit our shelves, DVDs have to sell themselves. They have to say more than ‘watch me once’. The message needs to be: ‘keep me forever’. Media packaging has to add value to the DVD purchase. It needs to create an experience and make the product a must-have collector’s item. The humble mass-produced disk can be turned into a prize possession through impressive packaging.

Increasingly the market has recognised that tinplate is a dynamic packaging solution. Tinplate boxes and cases can provide very unusual DVD packaging. Tinplate is highly flexible so that designs can accommodate multiple disks or box sets, they can be dramatically over-printed and embossed. Tinplate products can be formed into a huge number of shapes, sizes and formats. This makes them ideal for the presentation of collections and special release box-sets which need to be functional, attractive and built to last.

Tin has also deftly solved the other great issue facing media packaging: the environment.
As Hollywood has become more environmentally aware, studios have realised the pressing need to reduce the environmental cost of DVD packaging and transportation. Powerful retailers, such as Wal-Mart, are now marketing individual media in-store according to its carbon footprint and the industry is responding. At the time of writing, after two recent industry-wide summits on green media, standards for green DVD packaging are imminent.

The music industry has combated the issue by packaging CDs in edgy, grassroots styled cardboard, but card simply doesn’t have the longevity needed to market DVDs. The good news is that the industry is willing to invest in high quality, green packaging. Tinplate is often produced from recycled tin and can be recycled again when the product becomes redundant. Unlike plastics, tin isn’t compromised by the recycling process and so can be recycled again and again. The only problem is that people rarely part with impressive tin storage boxes, preferring to keep and reuse them at home.

Of course ‘the can’ is not a new concept in Hollywood. The use of ‘cans’ for its precious film reels is an indelible part of Hollywood history. The cans may now look different, and their contents have changed, but there is something appropriate in the industry’s return to its roots. Tinplate has come back to the fore and this time it provides cutting-edge solutions for today’s media packaging challenges.

CD Duplication by HDC Media

Tin Tin - A Hollywood Story

It's official: consumers like their packages

Rather than discarding DVD and video game packaging, consumers overwhelmingly store their DVDs and video games in their original cases, according to a joint study commissioned by the Content Delivery and Storage Association (CDSA) and the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA), and conducted by The NPD Group.

No surprise to packaging companies who have been saying this all along.

The study also found that when consumers no longer want to keep a particular DVD or video game title, they rarely throw it away or recycle it, preferring instead to give it away or sell or trade it. Eighty-nine percent of DVD owners and 88% of video game owners store their DVDs and video games in their original cases.

Five percent of DVD owners and 8% of video game owners store their discs in plastic sleeves but save the original cases. Only six percent of DVD owners and 5% of video game owners said they throw away or recycle the cases. When they no longer want to own a title, 45% of DVD owners give the title to someone else, as will 24% of game owners.

Fifty-four percent of video game owners will trade it in or sell it; for DVD owners the rate is 27%. Twenty percent of DVD owners and 17% of game owners store the discs. Only 2% of DVD owners and 4% of video game owners recycle or throw the product away.

CD Duplication by HDC Media

It's official: consumers like their packages

Memorable Marketing Solutions - USB Flash Drives

Your Brand Awareness
Expose your company by distributing a USB Flash Drive to your clients as a gift or incentive, printed with your corporate logo. Partition the USB drive, which protects your presentation showcase or movie showing your products or services leaving the remaining memory on the USB to be used by your client as storage. Your partitioned data cannot be edited or deleted.

USB Uses

1. Conference handouts
   
   
2. Electronic catalogues
   
   
3. Multimedia presentations
   
   
4. Offline versions of websites



5. Video showreels
   
   
6. Music
   
   
7. Games
   
   
8. Software
   

Build brand awareness with a Promotional USB Flash drive and distribute important data at the same time.




USB ports are now a standard interface on all PCs. The USB flash drive has become the portable storage solution of choice. With no drivers required, the user can access their data anytime, anyplace, anywhere.

Branded USB flash drives are a powerful marketing tool, which can help to build your organizational brand. HDC can customise each USB flash drive to your individual requirements with logo printing, pre-loading data files, packaging options and branded neck straps.

Help satisfy the increasing demand of users wanting to retain business and personal data. Whether it is music, video or data files; a pocket size branded USB flash drive is the ideal solution.

Benefits
Your customer can use the USB everyday to conveniently store their own files along side yours. This means your company name or web address will be in front of them every time they use it.

Sizes
64MB, 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB (Now in Stock)
Please request details of styles and costs.

Free USB Sample

Click here to order your free (non working) USB sample.

Useful links:
USB Flash Drive Product Page
Protect your USB content
Autorun files
Quick quote form

Creative packaging
Take advantage of HDC's creative packaging service and let us create a bespoke packaging solution tocomplement your Flash memory project. Printed card boxes, plastic boxes and metal tins can all be branded as per your project requirements.

Want a Quote?
We continually strive to bring you the best quote on the market. Please call us on 01274 26 26 11 and quote reference HDC 154 to get a competitive quote.

USB Gallery - http://www.hdc.uk.com/flash_memory_usb.shtml

CD Duplication by HDC Media

Memorable Marketing Solutions - USB Flash Drives