No matter which way you choose to say it... Eco-friendly, Eco-conscious, Green, Environmentally Conscious, Sustainable, or scores of other monikers... it's about the same thing: Playing an active role in reducing the negative impact we have on our environment. As a good community and global citizen CDman is proud to be be offering an ever-expanding selection of products that promote low-plastic, no-plastic, recycled and even bio-degradable content. To put it more simply... "greener products".

CDman Goes No-Plastic With The 'EcoCase'

CDman is proud to offer a completely plastic free packaging alternative for CD and DVD. The EcoCase!  Take one of our standard Digipak designs printed with vegetable-based inks on CCNB recycled content boardstock, then slap our EcoCase tray onto it and what have you got? The most environmentally friendly CD/DVD package in the marketplace with all the form and function of a regular Digipak but with absolutely no plastic.

Our EcoCase tray is completely biodegradable and 100% paper recyclable. Available in several colours (clear is not available) the EcoTray weights 50% less than plastic trays (which cuts down on transport/shipping costs) and is manufactured with 85% to 90% less CO2 versus a traditional Jewel Case. Contact us for details and pricing.

CDman uses Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified Materials

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international organization that brings people together to find solutions which promote responsible stewardship of the world’s forests. FSC is a stakeholder owned system for promoting responsible management of the world’s forests and sets international standards for responsible forest management. The FSC accredits independent third party organizations who can certify forest managers and forest product producers to FSC standards. In the past 13 years over 90 million hectares in more than 70 countries have been certified according to FSC standards while several thousand products are produced using FSC-certified wood and carrying the FSC trademark. FSC operates through its network of National Initiatives in 45 countries.

CDman uses Vegetable- Based Inks

CDman's Offset Web Printing uses vegetable-based inks which are less harmful to the environment than petroleum-based alternatives. Soy and vegetable products are used in ink for their oils, which act as the vehicle for the ink pigments. Most manufacturers of soy and vegetable based inks today actually "blend" ingredients, much in the way a winemaker will blend grapes, in order to take advantage of the unique characteristics of each oil. Soy and vegetable based inks are widely recognized as the environmentally friendly choice. 

CDman Offers CCNB Boardstock

CDman offers Clay Coated News Back (CCNB) as an environmentally friendly alternative for all of our card/board printing (eg: Digipak, Disc Sleeves, Disc Jackets, etc.). It's a coated recycled-content paperboard and the eco-conscious choice for applications where a bleached sheet is not needed or desired. It's ideal for folding packaging applications where strength, a clean white appearance and an smooth print surface for eye-catching graphics are important. While CCNB is now gaining popularity as a "green" choice for CD and DVD packaging, lighter grades of CCNB have been used for years in the food industry - like cereal boxes and pasta boxes.

A warning about CCNB:  CCNB is a great environmentally friendly choice for packaging, however, it must be noted that the 'front' side has a clean white surface for printing but the 'back' side is the non-printing side so it is unfinished - meaning it has a grey color to it. You must be aware of this when specifying CCNB for Digipak and some of our Printed Disc Jackets. Please see the illustration below.

(A) Most Digipaks are printed on one side only (4/0). Using CCNB material, we print on the white 'cover' side. This is the configuration of a standard 4panel Digipak (our CS1000 model) before it is folded and glued. Make note of the orientation of the front cover, back cover and the disc tray.

(B) Now we have flipped the Digipak over and we're looking at the back - using CCNB material the back side is a light grey color. This is the side that gets glued. Now imagine taking the top-left and the top-right panels, and folding them downwards to overlap the bottom two panels. This is what takes place to create the finished Digipak product. 

(C) Now that the top panels have been folded downwards and glued in place, the printed 'front' side of the CCNB board is visible on all sides except for one area... the inside of the spine. If you must have this area in white then we would have to use a non-recycled paperboard product.

CDman Offers Chipboard Boardstock

CDman also offers Chipboard as an alternative for our Digipak, Disc Sleeve and Disc Jacket packaging alternatives. There is no mistaking 'chipboard'... it's the material that has the rich brown recycled look to it because it is uncoated on both the front and back sides. Additionally, Chipboard has a very interesting visual texture and organic appearance due to the high amount of recycled content in it. 

A warning about Chipboard:  Due to Chipboard's rich brown appearance and somewhat textured surface, it does not provide a good finish for all designs. A colorful CMYK design that looks good on the smooth white finish of CCNB material will look drab and muted by comparison on Chipboard. Best results for printing on Chipboard tend to come from bold imagery printed with solid primary color. Often a simple black-only print offers the best results.