A digipak is casing designed to hold either a CD or DVD, although the former is more common. Whereas a jewel case (popular from the compact disc’s inception in the 80’s up until the early 2010’s, where the digipak is being regarded as a better, alternative means of packaging) consists of a plastic box-like case with the liner notes on paper sleeves facing outwards inside and a clear plastic lid where a booklet sits (in the case of the CD, it replicates the original artwork on the front cover and provides information about the album and the tracks inside), the digipak is a foldout hard cardboard package, in which the discs are secure on plastic trays glued to the inside of the pack. In some cases, the digipak is instead a gatefold cardboard case, with both ends open (one for the disc and one for the booklet; this is the case for the ‘Discovery’ editions of the 2011 Pink Floyd single disc digital remasters). This is seen as a benefit to some, as it replicates the original gatefold sleeve of the original 33rpm discs. One advantage the digipak has over traditional jewel cases is that it is a lot harder to break them, as the plastic of the jewel case can easily be shattered or snapped, especially in the case of a dual-disc case. Another (minor) advantage the digipaks have is that they imitate the original LP sleeves better than a jewel case, as the artwork can be seen a lot clearer without a plastic lid over it. However, jewel cases do have advantages over digipaks. Because a digipak is a hard cardboard, it is a lot more likely that it will get damaged in some way, i.e., the corners getting bent. With a jewel case, the hard plastic rebuffs the majority of the damage and keeps the disc inside protected. Also, a purely aesthetic advantage is that jewel cases are the same size, whereas digipaks alternate in appearance (height, width etc.), so they’ll fit better in storage.
Above: An example of a tri-fold digipak
An example of a gatefold digipak
Left - an example of a traditional gatefold jewel case.