Introduction: Make Game Cases for N64, SNES, NES, Genesis Cartridges
This tutorial will show you how to create your own cases for older video game cartridges.
Step 1: Buy the Cases
I bought one carton of 100 cases for $60 from this website:
http://www.mediashelving.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv...
The cases are about the same size as VHS tapes. They have pieces of plastic inside to hold the games in place, and do a good job of it. They fit SNES, N64, and Sega Genesis cartridges. If you cut some of the plastic pieces out, they can also fit NES games. Make sure the cases you buy have sleeves on the outside to put the inserts in.
Step 2: Buy Paper
Ordinary printer paper isn't ideal for the inserts. It isn't large or strong enough. Card stock works nicely, even after a few years of use. Legal sized paper is ideal, the full cover art fits on a piece of legal sized paper. I bought mine from here:
Step 3: Download Cover Art
thecoverproject.net is a great resource for artwork. Users upload high-quality scans of original box art, which are then used to create original or custom cases for games. Almost all games have artwork uploaded here, and there are many variants to choose from for each case. The images are also the correct size for printing.
Step 4: Print the Cover
Printing through something like Microsoft Paint is recommended. If you're using the Legal sized card stock, you'll have to go into the page setup from the print menu and adjust the paper size from the drop down menu. The default is letter size. Also, make sure the image is adjusted to 100% normal size, not fit to a certain number of pages.
Step 5: Cut Out the Covers and Insert Into Cases.
The covers should slide perfectly into the sleeves on the cases after cutting the white border off. Instruction booklets also fit nicely inside, although there aren't any clips to hold them in place. SNES games go vertically and N64 games fit horizontally. Now the cases are ready to display!
