Unfortunately, quality subsequently degrades during storage, handling, and shipping. This case securely holds the disc such that neither the important readout surface nor the sensitive label side touch the polystyrene case. Another advantage of jewel cases is protection of the rim of the disc. Minor rim damage can generate unbalance, resulting in serious problems in high speed drives. Volume usage of jewel cases have significantly reduced costs, and they are no longer expensive.
Many software suites arrive with a jewel cased CD-ROM nestled among the manuals and other documents.
One complaint about jewel cases focuses on the difficulty of removing the disc. In fact, a favorite cartoon suggests that if we really wanted to stop kids from smoking tobacco, we would ask the inventor of the jewel case to design cigarette packs. In practice, a major shortcoming of the jewel case is the tendancy of the brittle case to crack when shipped in the mails. Although this problem can readily be solved by the use of a padded envelope, alternative mailers have appeared in the market. Another disadvantage of jewel cases is the expense of inserting eye-catching printed matter that can readily be printed onto other types of packaging.