Why Dimensions Matter for Printing
Cover dimensions are the difference between a print that slides cleanly behind a case window and one that overhangs the edges, leaves the spine title misaligned, or loses the back-cover barcode in the trim. Unlike screen-based design where pixel sizes are flexible, printed inserts have to match the physical case to the millimetre — there is no "close enough" because the case window is rigid plastic and either the cover fits or it doesn't.
All pixel values on this page are calculated at 300 DPI, the print industry standard for photo-quality output. CoverStitch's built-in presets use these exact dimensions, so when you stitch a cover with a preset selected, the output is already the correct physical size — no resizing needed in your print dialog. Just print at 100% / Actual Size and the result will fit.
Dimensions vary slightly between manufacturers and regions, so if your specific case differs by a millimetre or two from the standard, that's normal. The values below match the most common retail-issued cases for each format. For unusual cases (PAL/NTSC region variants, third-party replacement cases, custom collector editions), measure yours with a ruler and use CoverStitch's Custom preset with your exact dimensions.
Quick Reference
Format-by-Format Deep Dive
Each case format has its own history, design quirks, and printing considerations. Knowing the context helps you understand why dimensions are what they are — and helps you spot when a "PS2 case" you're holding is actually an oversized region variant or a third-party replacement that won't quite match the standard preset.
PlayStation 2 (DVD Game) 130 × 184 mm
Sony adopted the DVD-style case for the PlayStation 2 launch in 2000, abandoning the long-box CD jewel-case format used for the PS1. The decision was practical — PS2 games shipped on DVD media, and using the same case format as the movie industry meant retailers could stock games and DVDs on the same shelving. That's why PS2 cases and standard DVD cases share identical exterior dimensions and the same cover preset works for both.
The 130×184mm panel size and 14mm spine became the de facto template for an entire generation of disc-based media. Original PS2 cases are recognisable by their distinctive black plastic with a rounded "PlayStation 2" logo embossed on the spine. Third-party replacement cases (TalkBack, MAM-A, BluCase) use the same external dimensions but vary slightly in window cutouts, which can affect where the safe-zone falls on the front cover.
Printing considerations: The full wrap at 274mm fits comfortably on A4 landscape (297mm) with a margin to spare. Older PS2 cases often have a thin clear plastic overlay on the front — the printed cover sits behind it, so colours look slightly muted compared to what you saw on screen. Aim for slightly more saturated artwork to compensate, or accept the muted look as part of the retail-style finish.
PlayStation 5 128 × 148 mm
The PS5 case dropped to the shorter Blu-ray format used since the PS3 (2006), reflecting the move away from DVD-sized cases industry-wide as Blu-ray became the dominant disc standard. At 148mm tall vs the PS2's 184mm, PS5 cases are noticeably more compact on the shelf — about 20% less vertical space per game. The transparent blue plastic that defined the PS4 era continued into the PS5, with the white-on-blue branding lending the case a distinctive look that printed covers need to account for.
The 14mm spine width is the same as the PS2/DVD format, giving designers familiar room for spine artwork and title text. Full wrap is 270mm wide — fits A4 landscape comfortably. Colour profiles for the PS5 case insert window are slightly cooler than the PS2/DVD plastic, so prints can look very subtly more blue than the on-screen preview.
Printing considerations: If you're reprinting a cover for a digital-only game (where Sony never released a physical box), you'll often start from a Steam/PlayStation Store key art file at 1080×1920 or similar. That's portrait orientation, so use the front cover slot only and design custom back/spine separately, or use the Custom preset to skip resizing if you've prepared everything to spec yourself.
Nintendo Switch 128 × 160 mm
Nintendo broke from disc-case conventions when the Switch launched in 2017 by adopting a smaller, cartridge-friendly case. The 128×160mm panel size sits between PS5 (148mm tall) and PS2 (184mm tall), and the 10mm spine is the narrowest of any current-generation case — a direct consequence of housing a small cartridge instead of an optical disc. Switch cases are also notably lighter and rougher-textured than Sony's cases, often with a matte finish.
The narrow spine creates a real design challenge: 10mm leaves very little room for title text without crowding. Most retail Switch covers handle this with bold, condensed type and minimal logo treatment. When making custom Switch covers, design your spine art knowing the title may need to be smaller than feels natural — or use sideways "stacked" lettering as Nintendo's first-party titles often do.
Printing considerations: The unusual 160mm height means Switch covers don't share dimensions with any other major format — you can't reuse a PS5 or DVD template. Always select the Switch preset specifically. The full wrap at 266mm fits A4 landscape with generous margin. Many collectors who buy digital-only Switch games print custom covers to fill out their physical collection — the small case format makes this especially common.
DVD 130 × 184 mm
The standard DVD case (sometimes called an "Amaray case" after the original manufacturer) became the universal home video format after DVD launched in 1996. Its 130×184mm panel size and 14mm spine were chosen partly for shelf compatibility with VHS tapes, which were taller but similar in width. The format proved so durable that it outlived the move from DVD to Blu-ray for most retailers' shelving — DVD and Blu-ray sections still share the same fixtures because Blu-ray cases are smaller.
DVD cases share exact exterior dimensions with PS2 cases, so the same CoverStitch preset works for both. There are variants worth knowing about: slim DVD cases (7mm spine) used for budget releases and TV box sets, double-DVD cases (~22mm spine) for two-disc releases, and the rare quad-disc DVD case for full-season TV releases. None of those match the standard preset — use Custom dimensions for them.
Printing considerations: Almost identical to PS2 printing. The DVD format also has decades of community-scanned cover art available across The Cover Project, MobyGames, and movie-database sites, so finding source material for older releases is easier than for any other format. The 184mm height means DVD covers fit comfortably on A4 landscape with room for trim margins.
Blu-ray 128 × 148 mm
Blu-ray cases (officially the "Elite case" specification) launched alongside the format in 2006 with a deliberately smaller footprint than DVD — 148mm tall vs 184mm — partly as a visible signal that the format was new and partly to fit more units on retail shelving. The signature blue tint on the case plastic gives Blu-ray its identity; some collector editions ship in clear or transparent black instead. The case dimensions are identical to PS3, PS4, and PS5 cases, since Sony designed the PlayStation cases around the Blu-ray format.
The spine is 12mm — narrower than DVD's 14mm — which gives Blu-ray titles a noticeably tighter look on the spine. Custom designers should account for this: a layout that worked for DVD will look cramped on Blu-ray without resizing the title text. Steelbook variants of Blu-ray releases are common but use entirely different dimensions (see Steelbook section).
Printing considerations: Don't confuse Blu-ray and PS5 dimensions — they share the panel size (128×148mm) but Blu-ray's spine is 12mm vs PS5's 14mm. Mixing them up means a 2mm offset on the spine, which is enough to throw off a centred title. The full wrap at 268mm fits A4 landscape well. The blue case tint subtly shifts colours in print preview, so very pale colours (light blues, pinks) can disappear behind the case window — boost saturation slightly for these.
Steelbook 138 × 172 mm
Steelbooks are the premium-edition format used for collector releases of films and major game launches, manufactured by Scanavo since the late 1990s. The case is metal (typically embossed and lithographed steel) rather than plastic, which makes them heavier, more durable, and significantly more expensive than standard cases. Dimensions vary slightly between manufacturers and editions, but the standard "G2 Steelbook" used by most major releases measures 138×172mm with a 14mm spine.
Crucially, Steelbook artwork is usually printed directly on the metal rather than slotted behind a clear plastic window. That means the case itself displays the artwork, and any cover insert you print is for the inside of the case (J-card style) rather than the outside. Some collectors also print spare Steelbook-style covers to protect the metal artwork from scratching. Custom Steelbook printing is more involved than standard case printing — most home setups can't print directly on metal.
Printing considerations: Standard Steelbook prints (J-cards) at 290mm wide push the absolute limit of A4 (297mm) — most printers will need borderless mode enabled, or consider stepping up to A3 paper for a more comfortable margin. The 172mm height also exceeds the comfortable inner-margin of US Letter (216mm wide × 279mm tall) at any landscape orientation. If your printer can handle A3, that's the cleaner choice for Steelbook prints. Note that "oversized" Steelbook variants (used for some collector editions) can be 145mm or wider — measure first, then use Custom dimensions if your case isn't standard.
How to Measure Your Own Cases
Plenty of cases don't fit any of the standard formats — old PC big-boxes, region-specific PAL/NTSC variants, third-party replacement cases, multi-disc collector editions, digipaks, and oversized Steelbooks all need custom measurements. Here's how to measure accurately so the print actually fits.
What you need
- A metal ruler with millimetre markings. A plastic ruler works but is harder to read at fine detail.
- The empty case open and laid flat, inside-up, on a hard surface.
- Optional: digital callipers — far more accurate than a ruler. Cheap callipers (£10) measure to 0.1mm.
What to measure
- Front panel width: from the inside spine fold to the inside outer edge of the front panel. This is the printable width of the front cover.
- Front panel height: from the inside top to the inside bottom of the front panel. Most cases are symmetric — this matches the back panel height.
- Back panel width: same as front, but on the back side. Should match the front panel exactly.
- Spine width: the flat strip between front and back panels. This is the narrowest measurement and also the most error-prone — measure at the centre, not near the rounded fold corners.
Round each measurement to the nearest millimetre for printing purposes — sub-millimetre precision is meaningless because your printer's mechanical accuracy is around ±0.5mm anyway. Once you have the dimensions in mm, convert to pixels at 300 DPI: pixels = mm × 11.811 (since 300 dots per inch = 11.811 dots per mm). Or just use CoverStitch's Custom preset and let it handle the conversion.
Bleed and Safe Zones
Bleed is extra image area that extends past where the paper will be cut, so that small inaccuracies in the cutting process don't leave a thin white edge on the print. In professional printing, the standard bleed is 3mm on each side. For home-printed covers, bleed is less critical because you're cutting one cover at a time and can trim conservatively, but understanding it helps avoid white edges.
Safe zones are the opposite — the area inside the cover where important content (titles, logos, key artwork) should sit, leaving margin so it doesn't get accidentally trimmed off or hidden by the case window. For most cases, keep critical content at least 5mm from the trim edge and at least 3mm from the spine fold on both sides.
CoverStitch produces output sized to the exact preset dimensions — no extra bleed is added. If you need bleed for a particular project, expand your source images by 3mm on each edge before uploading, or use the Custom preset with adjusted dimensions. For home printing on photo paper, most users skip bleed entirely and just trim carefully — works fine 95% of the time.
DPI Explained for Non-Designers
DPI stands for dots per inch and measures how densely a printer lays down ink (or how densely an image stores pixel information per unit of physical size). The print industry standard is 300 DPI — at that density, individual dots are too small for the human eye to see at typical viewing distance, so the print looks smooth and sharp.
Why 300 specifically? It's a balance between visual quality and practical file size. Higher DPI (600, 1200) produces marginal quality improvements that most viewers can't distinguish, at the cost of much larger files and longer print times. Lower DPI (150, 200) is acceptable for posters viewed from a few feet away but visibly soft on something held in your hand like a game cover.
The pixel-to-print conversion: a 300 DPI image at 130mm wide needs to be 1535 pixels wide (130mm × 11.811 pixels per mm). If your source image is only 800 pixels wide, the printer will spread those 800 pixels across 130mm of paper — which means each "pixel" gets enlarged and the print looks soft or pixelated. This is why source-image resolution matters so much.
Bottom line: always start with high-resolution source art (300 DPI or higher at the target print size). CoverStitch outputs all presets at exactly 300 DPI, so the file you download is already correctly sized for printing. If your source art is below the target resolution, the tool will upscale it — but upscaling can't add detail that wasn't there, so the print will be softer than ideal.
Case Dimension FAQ
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