Digipak - CD Booklet Template

Above is a free download of a CD Digipak Booklet from the Internet. It simply consists of two panels which represent each page. There is no set rule for how many pages a booklet needs to contain for a Digipak, but they typically have the same number of pages as there are songs on the album (1 page for every song) plus the front and back covers, and either one or two pages for the musician's 'thank-you's' and the credits. There may also be additional spare pages within to show off photography or other artwork. Some artists may even squeeze two or more songs onto each page in order to save paper, production times and costs. For the album that I am making, '+' by Ed Sheeran, there are 16 songs as it is a Deluxe Edition. That would mean at least 16 panels, plus 2 for the front and back, 1 for the thank you's and credits, which in total makes 19, but there needs to be an even number, so then I have one free for a picture.

Below is an image of a quick mock-up sketch I have drawn to show what content will be on each panel, as the printing process and putting-together of the final piece will be very difficult, as usually these booklets are printed double-sided and then stapled together in the center:

As we do not have the printing facilies available to us to ensure accurate double-sided printing, I am more likely to construct my booklet with four panels to each section. The top two panels will then fold over and be glued in place, so the design will have to be created upside down to the adjacent two panels.

The mock up...

I used the template I published initially and my mock-up layout to then place the lyrics to all of the different songs. It took some time as I had to frequently print them off and cut them out to test out that my layout worked, as sometimes the text was coming out upside-down and in the wrong order. I have now resolved the problem and saved each 'setcion' as a new template for myself. All that is left for me to do now is to drop in pictures behind the text and also add in the credits on the last page. Then I will progress to remove the pink 'fold' lines as they will no longer be needed and re-size the final product so that it fits inside the Digipak casing I have created.