PACKAGING
An Interview with Jennifer Freund, Founder of Dorado Music Packaging
Coloring Outside the Lines: The Art of Album Cover Design
Dorado’s printing press in action
In an age where cover art is often confined to a 600-pixel square, Dorado Music Packaging is quite literally coloring outside of the lines. Now in its 20th year of operation, the North Hollywood print and packaging shop manufactures album covers and other entertainment packaging materials that visually represent the hundreds of musicians, record labels and graphic designers who turn to Dorado for their services. “Cover art is a vehicle that visually reveals specifics about who a band is, what they believe in, what their vision of the world is and what they stand for in a way that complements the music,” says Jennifer Freund, founder and CEO of Dorado Music Packaging. “It gives the fans a deeper understanding of where this band is coming from. Those fans that drive to see a band play, that download all of their music, that are following their careers, it’s important to provide them with a physical form of the artist. An LP is a much 44 AUGUST 2013 PERFORMER MAGAZINE
greater gift to the band’s music than anything else you could find at a merch table.” Some of the “physical forms” the music may take at Dorado include standard 7-inch, 10-inch and 12-inch direct-to-board record jackets, gatefold record jackets, inserts, inner sleeves, center labels, CDs, digipaks, countless promotional print items and their most popular offering, the Old Style Tip-On Record Jacket. Prominent in the 1960s, Dorado’s Old Style Tip-On Record Jackets are comprised of twosheets of paper wrapped around a heavy chipboard shell. The corners of the front sheet are carefully folded over the chipboard while the second sheet is placed on the back and laminated in place. The result is an album cover that matches the authenticity of historic record jackets. Many audiophiles equate the difference between Old Style Tip-On and standard record jackets to the difference between hard cover and paperback books.
Freund feels that clients choose the Old Style packaging because it both adds to the authenticity of an LP release and enhances the value, from a design standpoint, of the album as a whole. “Old Style expands the paper options available and a lot of very interesting techniques can be used,” says Freund. A recent release of note is DJ Day’s Land of 1000 Chances, a limited edition 12-inch Old Style Tip-On Record Jacket from boutique record label Piecelock 70. “Thes [One, owner of Piecelock 70 and one half of seminal hip-hop duo People Under the Stairs] always brings creative ideas to the table for his releases. He wanted to emulate the look and feel of an old leather bound book, so we experimented with various materials until it matched perfectly. The record jacket also includes a removable Polaroid and gold foil stamping.” Freund continues, “A record jacket isn’t just a package that vinyl comes in. It’s an art form all in