Poly-Flex Box
| Poly-Flex Box | |
|---|---|
| Creator | Simplicity Products Inc.; Lakewood Industries Inc. |
| Capacity | Single CD |
| Primary Users | Warner Bros. labels |
| US Patents | 4,905,217, 5,086,923 |
| "Poly-Flex Box" Trademark (US) | |
| Filed | 7 Sep 1990 (#74094829) (not granted?) |
| Abandoned | 15 Oct 1992 |
"Poly-Flex Box" is believed[1] to be the trade name for a CD packaging format created in 1989 by Simplicity Products, Inc. and later transferred to Lakewood Industries, Inc.. The design consisted of a square cardstock outer sleeve/slipcase featuring the release's artwork, and a clear, square polystyrene "inner sleeve" that held the disc itself. The "inner sleeve" featured channels on either side to prevent the disc from touching the sleeve, and small protrusions on the "bottom" to hold the disc in place. Known examples have "PAT. PENDING" on one face of the inner sleeve and "S.P.I." on the bottom.
This design was used for a small number of CD maxi-singles on Warner Bros.-affiliated labels in the US during early 1990 but was quickly abandoned. Most of the releases issued in the Poly-Flex Box were also issued in standard jewel cases, using the same catalog number. It's not clear whether the jewel-case versions were released at the same time as the Poly-Flex versions, or were only issued once the decision was made to abandon the original packaging.
Known Releases
- Depeche Mode: "Enjoy The Silence" maxi-single (Sire/Reprise 9 21490-2; 16 Jan 1990, US)
- Electronic: "Getting Away With It" maxi-single (Warner Bros. 9 21498-2; 1990, US)
- Quincy Jones, et al.: "The Secret Garden (Sweet Seduction Suite)" maxi-single (Qwest/Warner Bros. 9 21459-2; 1990, US)
- Erasure: "Blue Savannah" maxi-single (Sire/Reprise 9 21428-2; 20 Apr 1990, US)
All of the above releases, except for "The Secret Garden", are confirmed to have also been released in standard jewel cases.
- ^ Based on patent and trademark research.