Which compact Macintosh models would you be interested in having replica boxing for?

[quorten]

Since I'm ending up creating the box art designs and foam block designs for multiple compact Macintosh models, I'd like to get an idea of the general interest for prints of each particular model's replica boxing.  Note that the Macintosh Plus in particular has a few different revisions of box art, as noted in the questions.

 

Regarding the questions of shaped foam blocks, generally you'd want to select either "cardboard only" or "with shaped foam blocks," but not both.  Only check both for the same model if you want two cardboard prints and one set of foam blocks.

 

I plan on having "Restored" (or similar) printed on all the boxes because (1) most of you buying replica boxing would have fixed up your vintage Macintosh and (2) to prevent confusion with the real original boxing.

Edited October 8, 2020 by quorten
Note different revs of Macintosh Plus box art

[LaPorta]

Mostly the Plus because it’s probably the most numerous out there. You’d likely get the most sold I’d think.

[tokyoracer]

My Plus is immaculate, so a box for that would be a dream, but probably way out of my price range.

[quorten]

Well, we'll see.  So far with only a few responses, the interest is definitely also there for SE/30.  I'd guess a cardboard-only order could be quite economic if total box orders is around 50-100, maybe around $15.

 

But yeah, with the shaped foam blocks, low volume could be quite a bit more expensive per box.  But if that means $80 total, maybe it's not too bad either.  We'll have to see.

[joshc]

Count me in for an SE30 box with foam blocks, possibly two.

[quorten]

Okay, so some discussion about ideas of pricing I've been thinking about.  Initially I was thinking all boxes would be pretty much sold at the same price, i.e. any cardboard only approx. $15, any cardboard plus foam approx. $80.  Granted that SE/30 machines resell for a bit higher price than the common machines, it may make sense to use a two-level pricing method to allow Plus and SE boxing to be available at 50% the price of SE/30 by raising the price of SE/30 a bit to compensate.  Original Macintosh and 512k/512ke would be priced the same as SE/30.

 

The price points I estimate are mainly higher due to one-time tooling cost from manufacturing in relatively small volume, so if Macintosh Plus boxing does become much more popular than originally anticipated, this still makes sense.

Edited October 13, 2020 by quorten
Note on one-time tooling costs

[quorten]

Can someone find good photos of the Macintosh 512k box?  I've had trouble finding them myself, I'd assume it's basically the same as the 512ke box but without "enhanced" printed, but photos are the only way to know for sure.  Also on the poll, I'm seeing interest for 512k is higher than for 512ke.

[quorten]

Kind of stepping outside of vintage Macintosh and into Apple II territory, I've been thinking about putting together box designs for the Apple II 5.25 disk drive, the later revision with the thinner insertion slot and pop-out eject.

 

One thing I've also been wondering about is box prints that use acid-free cardboard, it is possible to easily get this style of box with a DIY assemble by doing your own by buying the cardboard, "laminate printing" gluing your printed box art onto it, and then cutting.  But, I'm not sure if there are manufacturers that can print straight onto the acid-free cardboard.  I mean, well technically you could ask them to order the acid-free cardboard special and they could add an additional cost to support that.

 

Well, putting those ideas out there, the acid-free cardboard would definitely be a welcome addition for how some folks primarily plan on using the boxes, and it looks like it shouldn't add too much to the cost either in terms of materials.  The main additional cost, then, would come from service charges by the box manufacturer for this "custom job" aspect.  The acid-free cardboard would also likely be totally white rather than brown on the inside.

[tt]

Interesting idea. I think something that would be cool is a smaller version of the boxes (like @maceffects shipping boxes) that are designed the same as the originals. It could be used as a display or storage box and not take up as much room as the stock boxes since they would only have enough space for the mac without the accessories.

[quorten]

Sure, that's an interesting idea, of course it wouldn't be useful as a shipping box since there would be no room for sufficient padding.  Well, unless you are fine really cheaping on out the padding.  maceffect's clear case shipping boxes definitely had an advantage by, in substantial terms, not weighing as much and being as fragile as a full compact Macintosh.

 

That might be a good alternative idea since it seems that the cost for molds to make foam blocks could be prohibitive given the limited interest in copies of these boxes.  Also that's another good update to add here, I got a quote from maceffects  on one of the large pieces of foam and the price implications would be substantial  Off the bat I'd say the total mold cost could be in the ballpark of $10000 if we want to closely reproduce the original foam design.  Costs would likely run a bit higher for a production volume of less than 500 copies.  If this were uniformly distributed across the sales of 50 copies, that would mean each box may end up costing around $300 total, again using estimates for a few other things that would be required.

 

But, I have a feeling I might be surprised at what folks want.. a lot of folks here were asking for shaped foam blocks, not just cardboard, so I'll create another poll to ask about willingness on the potential costs involved.

[quorten]

Printing handheld box replicas is within reach the of everyone, but of course then some details end up too small to be seem without a magnifying class.