Bored and arty - Mini Boxes

[redstar_dan]

Hello!


Update - Gameboy Mini test;
This is just a first pass, not too happy with the plastic sleeve atm.
I shall post more once in the near future











Snes Minis;

So I was bored, and was in an artistic mood.
For a while now, I have been wanting to come up with some sort of solution for my Snes and n64 loose carts. I dont particularly want to purchase them all over again just for some boxes, especialy when pal art work doesnt really stimulate me

So I decided to try and create some boxes of my own, I had a good hunt around on various webbies and came to the decision to create 'Mini' boxes for my carts. These boxes are just big enough to alow an ntsc-u cart to fit snuggly inside.
The benefit to a Mini box, is that I can print on my home A4 printer and not have to worry about creating an inner tray. I beleive a regular sized pal or usa box would need either an A3 printer, or some chopping up paper magic.

I created 6 nets in photoshop last nite, and have printed two so far, mainly for paper testing. I have tried;
Satin - 260g/m (Mario Kart),
Gloss photo - 200g/m (Super Punch Out)
Even though the Gloss Photo paper is not as thick, I actually prefer the finish. That said, 200g/m seems substantial.

I have however encountered some issues with both papers. I have found both to smudge ink badly, the satin being the worst. The gloss photo paper is not so bad, holds the ink fairly well, however does still rub. Tomorrow hopefully I am going to try and find some colour fixative spray and see if that will fix the next print outs.
Aside from the Ink issue rubbing off, I am very happy with the results. Its not bang on perfect, however I am very content. I have a hell of alot of carts to get through and alot of hours on photoshop if I actually want to get all my carts into boxes. The end result should look lush and consistent which is what im after at the end of the day.

I might check out how much it would cost a printer to print out all my nets and weigh up the price difference between buying Paper + Ink and a Printers Shop cost.

Another alternative on my mind, is to remove one sides flap completely, creating a sleeve effect.
When Ive done some more prints, I will post some more.
Anyhoo, I thought this may interest some people, please enjoy the photos.






Update

So I have been slowly making mini sleeves and have come very close to fulfilling my snes cart collection. There are about 5 or 6 sleeves outstanding, due to poor art/reference on the internet. I am sure I will complete these at some point.









I will move on to N64 soon.

[Yakumo]

Nice work. I'd also go with a slip case effect if I was you. I will help keep the boxes minty fresh.

[mmmonkey]

Interesting project have you got a comparison photo?

Pete

[redstar_dan]

Sleeves!

Hello again,

Thanks Yakumo for the advice, I took it onboard and after some tests it proved a real winner, its certainly how I am taking this forward.

I spent some of today creating an outer sleeve to protect the art work somewhat. I tried various different methods of sealing the tabs at the back and found that both glue and double sided tape looked messy. In the end I went with a slit/tab approach that needed no gluing.
I still have not found the perfect paper solution, I really need to find a paper that does not rub ink off. I am hoping these sleeves will fix the issue.
Now that I have my template nailed for the sleeves and the outer clear protection I can start to pump these out

Interesting project have you got a comparison photo?

What did you want a comparison on Hellbelly? If you were talking about the paper finishes, its quite hard to get a good photo. Its just the way it kinda catches the light, it looks a better quality overall and is actually a cheaper paper to buy. As I mentioned above tho, I still have not found the perfect paper to use. I am about 85% happy with the gloss photo, if it didn't rub it would be perfect.

Cheers

[Mayhem]

I will say Redstar, that other people have done similar clear protective boxes to those, but that looks pretty good.

[redstar_dan]

Cheers Mayhem

Ill take some more photos once I have a generous amount made.

[egparadigm]

Nice!

[chopemon]

Dan, you are a lunatic in all the right ways.

Good work!

[importaku]

What did you want a comparison on Hellbelly? If you were talking about the paper finishes, its quite hard to get a good photo. Its just the way it kinda catches the light, it looks a better quality overall and is actually a cheaper paper to buy. As I mentioned above tho, I still have not found the perfect paper to use. I am about 85% happy with the gloss photo, if it didn't rub it would be perfect.

Cheers

I think he might have wanted you to compare your awesome efforts next to a real snes game box so we can see the size difference, i could be wromg though.

I like the teeny tiny slipcases, way better than just loose carts.

[nakamura]

So far Dan you are doing a mighty fine job. Very impressed with the image quality, certainly looks a bit nicer than my Mana 2 stuff.

[beecee]

fantastic...

i'll place an order for 30 snes and 30 N64 mini cases and plastic sleeves please.

[Yakumo]

THose plastic slips are perfect for keeping the paper nice and clean. A very good solution. Looking great!

[Legendary Wolf]

The cases look great, well worth the effort. What printer are you using and what brand paper? I'm surprised the ink is coming off as most photo papers dry quickly and are chemically sealed to touch. I would give them 24 hours though before cutting and folding to be sure. Have you tried semi-gloss paper? I like using Epson semi-gloss photo paper as it gives a great finish and doesn't have the problem of sticking when touching plastic that full gloss paper does. It's a good weight too at 251g/m. Maybe a better option is Epson's matte paper heavyweight as this is more like card despite being 167g/m.

[redstar_dan]

Thanks for all the posative replies most appreciated.

The cases look great, well worth the effort. What printer are you using and what brand paper? I'm surprised the ink is coming off as most photo papers dry quickly and are chemically sealed to touch. I would give them 24 hours though before cutting and folding to be sure. Have you tried semi-gloss paper? I like using Epson semi-gloss photo paper as it gives a great finish and doesn't have the problem of sticking when touching plastic that full gloss paper does. It's a good weight too at 251g/m. Maybe a better option is Epson's matte paper heavyweight as this is more like card despite being 167g/m.

Iam using a hp deskjet 7000 series printer, not sure the exact number off the top of my head. The paper is HP aswell and so is the ink. I havnt been leaving the prints that long, maybe 10 mins tops and the cutting/folding... I will do a batch tomorrow and leave them fully overnight. I really hope that will cure the issue.

Many thanks

[redstar_dan]

Small update, as I had a suprised snes pickup today, I thought I would do a comparison for size. I couldnt do this before as I dont actually have any boxed pal or ntsc-u snes games.