Valinda Carroll William R. and Norma B. Harvey Library 4/11/2013; modified 4/11/2013 Preservation 1 of 7

Objective: Replace irregular DVD cover with “circulation-friendly” standardized plastic DVD case. DVDs with odd cardboard housing, flimsy construction, damaged cases etc., must be transferred into sturdy cases that will fit into lockable security boxes. Dimensions: Height of case is always 7.25 inches (about 18.4 cm). Front or rear width of case is 5.15 inches (about 12.8 cm) Spine (depth) of case varies based on number of disks.

Interior contents must be no more than 7 inches by 5 inches; depending on the case design, this material may have to be smaller than 7 x 5.

If there is a pamphlet or booklet in the original box larger than these dimensions (or thicker than 1/8” inch) then it must be cataloged as a separate book or pamphlet.

The case should be oriented with the literature clip in the front, rather than the rear of the case.

Regular cases: The regular 2-disk case should have a cover that is 7.25 inches tall by 10.75 inches wide (landscape format). Printers may reduce this to 10.6 inches to fit letter-sized paper (use “legal” paper for most boxes). If the printing is not too small, then one may use the reduced scale (95-99%) to print on “letter.” If there is a large amount of small printing, then use Photoshop layers to rearrange the text to fit into a smaller space closer to the spine without reducing the size of the text. Crop the resultant image to create the correct size. Large cases (4-8 disks) Larger cases will have wider spines and larger overall width. The six-disk cases require a width of 11.35 inches to cover the spine and both covers. The library has cases that fit up to 10 disks. For audiobooks and multi-disc DVDs, check replacement case dimensions and plan accordingly. For sets larger than 10 disks, subsets should be grouped together (e.g. one season of a multi-season T.V. show should not be divided between two cases, if it is possible to group the disks together). Essential information for DVDs: 1. Run time (duration) 2. Aspect ratio (wide screen or full screen) and format (NTSC) 3. Language 4. Copyright 5. ISBN 6. Number of discs 7. Number of seasons, chapters, and/or episodes 8. Titles of series, films, episodes, and/ or chapters

If possible, retain all essential information on the exterior of the box for the new cover. Place items in hierarchy based on information that applies to the whole set, reserving episode-specific or chapter-specific information for the box insert, if necessary. Whenever possible, re-use the original pamphlet, if one is available. Only create a new insert, if the essential information is in a large book/ booklet (does not fit into DVD case), or it is printed on the box. Do not tear or mutilate the box to flatten it. Do not try to scan more than 3 sides of the box in one pass. Instead, do multiple scans, flipping the box to scan all sides. It is better to scan more information and delete extraneous information during the Photoshop process.

Valinda Carroll William R. and Norma B. Harvey Library 4/11/2013; modified 4/11/2013 Preservation 2 of 7

DVD cover scanning using Photoshop

1. Scan at no less than 300dpi to preserve details. Crop the scanning area after you perform the “preview.” This will create faster scanning times by scanning only the area inside the box, rather than the whole scanning bed.

Don’t forget to close the scanning window before trying to edit the image.

scanning area

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2. Rotate the canvas to correct the angle of the scanned images before combining them. First rotate by 90 or 180 degrees to the correct orientation. Then straighten in small increments by “arbitrary” amounts, such as 0.2 to 0.5 degrees. (Image>Canvas>Rotate>Arbitrary). 3. Change the background color before using arbitrary angles. Remember to select the background and foreground colors based on the background colors on the original box design. Use the eyedropper tool to set the color.

This example was rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise.

Scanned spine after rotation

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4. To join the front, spine, and rear cover images into one canvas, use a larger canvas size, anchoring the image to the left or right, or use Photomerge for continuous design. The canvas size should be set larger than the print size and cropped or scaled down after editing. The layers for the other two images should be duplicated and dragged onto the large canvas into the correct location. The canvas method works best with distinctly separate front and rear cover designs. In Photomerge, arrange the elements in the Photomerge screen. Photomerge works best when there is a “wraparound” design on the original cover, because the computer can correct the alignment from the scanning process. You must SAVE all images separately before doing Photomerge. Open all of the images, so that they can be combined (using either method) Layer Method 4.a. Drag the duplicate layer onto the canvas of the other image.

4.b. Set the canvas size (larger than the finished box insert dimensions)

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4.c. Transform the scale of the copied section (start with 95%). Lock the aspect ratio (height relative to width). 4.d. Apply the transformation and deselect the area.

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4.e. Layer via cut, in order to resize text or design elements from background layer. Layer via copy, in order to select flat areas of color or simple repeating patterns. Merge layers as needed. This copied background blends with the original graphics better than a flat “background” color, so be sure to use the copy or cut method to fill large areas of blank space. 5. Be sure to crop equally from both sides to prevent misalignment of the spine text, when the insert is placed into the cover. 6. Items without a spine title may have a title copied and pasted from the front cover (or book/pamphlet). This typically requires that the title be reduced in scale and rotated. Use Edit>Transform>Rotate after selecting required text with the lasso or marquee tools. 7. To prevent loss of information due to clipping or cropping, scale down selected graphics as needed (rather than reducing the size of the whole document). This will require selection with the lasso or marquee tools. Lock the aspect ratio to prevent distortions. 8. The polygonal lasso tool combined with flipping and rotating will help to prevent a lot of obvious cut and paste lines in the image. The polygonal lasso tool is essential for selecting text adjacent to graphics or photos. The magnetic lasso and magic wand may not always select the correct items, but they work well with high-contrast images and text. The healing brush and eraser tools will help to reduce obvious cut lines. 9. Discard color info for black and white images to reduce file size (Image> Mode> 8-bit gray).

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10. Flatten image and save as .jpg to reduce file size. Intermediate saves as .psd will preserve layers, but the file sizes are so large that they will slow down the computer. 11. Use “print with preview” to verify printer settings, scale, color, etc. Be sure to select legal sized paper for most covers. For preservation purposes, use Permalife or similar paper.

12. Discard original box after satisfactory replacement cover has been trimmed and rehoused in new case with discs and booklet.