Best Premium Steelbook company

[JinxyKatte]

Sorry if there is a better place to post, can't seem to find one.

Who do you all think makes the best premium sets.

Like overall, slip, steel, or does one company have the best of everything?

 

[Hereticz]

because you can buy their releases only through psycho scalpers or through facebook and their site sucks big time. we are almost in the year 2023 and they still have no paypal option same for filmarena!
but yeah, their lentis are awesone and im glad they are finally back in the de/embossing game... their 300 steelbook is one of the best
lotr will be a holy grail and i cant wait to get all my 3 one clicks.

Yeah, agree. It's probably the only thing I use FB for, these days . The LOTR will be the grail of all grails, cant wait for this set .
Their 300 steel is one of the best ever made too.

 

[JinxyKatte]

Personally I think they all have pros and cons. Things that are great don’t last etc etc

Times blufans were incredible but they change a lot of aspects of their slips a lot since the start and keep continuing to. Just little things. Then they can be inconsistent on full slip finishes and they had a a rough patch on lentis a few years back for infinity war, black panther and coco.

Weet are pretty good all rounder but some steels are too metallically with finishes etc.

Manta are one of my favourites along with the 2 above but they again had a rough patches with some lentis (OUATIH, BoP). I think some lentis recently have been either a bit too dark or the steel again like Weet can have a lot of Metallic showing the rough the paint job etc. When they go to town on a full slips they can be one of the best but things like joker, batman And star is born are underwhelming. I also get a little annoyed at the whole screen shot on the back of single lentis. I wish they didn’t do that

Kimchi blu collection used to be my favourite too. Some incredible releases but some later steels were matte which annoyed me

The On are okayish but something about their slips really annoy me. Their steels are great though.

PA again when they can be bothered absolutely smash it

Same for nova but their releases recently imo have been poor. Would love them to bounce back

So yeah all have pros and cons. All have had their peak performances and all have had issues. Most have improved, sometimes they go backwards but over all I love them all. But yeah manta and blufans are my favs. PA and Weet after. Blu collection used to be incredible

Edit: Zeta too. They can make some incredible packages, slips, lentis and steels (I forget I have 20 in my collection LOL) but the whole website issue/ lack of communication/ only GBs etc annoys the f**k out of me. And yeah okay blufans are the same but they are a bit better with the info/ GB side of tings

I totally agree with Novas recent releases. They haven't put out anything I have really wanted since Grindhouse. Thanks for the input though. I have my first WeEt on the way actually.

 

[Flloydo]

Yeah, agree. It's probably the only thing I use FB for, these days . The LOTR will be the grail of all grails, cant wait for this set .
Their 300 steel is one of the best ever made too.

That lotr is massively overpriced and the steels ain’t nothing imo. Slips could save it but the fact the one clicks are real leather is ridiculous and the colour scheme and design is no different to the releases on DVD and Blu Ray in the past. They fumbled the bag on that release.
Proper sh!t

 

[Flloydo]

Nobody mentioned HDzeta yet to me best on lentis together with Blufans and their steels are also top notch as well their beefy slips.

Just wait for their Lotr gold incoming, they will smash all other retailers with this like a buzz on windshield

I did edit my original post earlier to mention zeta tbf just after I posted it

Edit: Zeta too. They can make some incredible packages, slips, lentis and steels (I forget I have 20 in my collection LOL) but the whole website issue/ lack of communication/ only GBs etc annoys the f**k out of me. And yeah okay blufans are the same but they are a bit better with the info/ GB side of tings

 

[Hereticz]

That lotr is massively overpriced and the steels ain’t nothing imo. Slips could save it but the fact the one clicks are real leather is ridiculous and the colour scheme and design is no different to the releases on DVD and Blu Ray in the past. They fumbled the bag on that release.
Proper sh!t

You know the price already?? Tbf everything seems to be overpriced today, latest zavvi "collectors" editions, fac, Blufans etc. Zeta is gold with wea steels, I dont believe it will be overpriced much....and it should go to website for preorder and zeta had always best prices in past. We will see

 

[Hereticz]

That lotr is massively overpriced and the steels ain’t nothing imo. Slips could save it but the fact the one clicks are real leather is ridiculous and the colour scheme and design is no different to the releases on DVD and Blu Ray in the past. They fumbled the bag on that release.
Proper sh!t

I dunno whats ridiculous on fact they are from real leather? I think its awesome and it fits the films imho. Revenant leather slip from Manta is awesome too, I love it.

 

[Flloydo]

You know the price already?? Tbf everything seems to be overpriced today, latest zavvi "collectors" editions, fac, Blufans etc. Zeta is gold with wea steels, I dont believe it will be overpriced much....and it should go to website for preorder and zeta had always best prices in past. We will see

Well GBs are like $230 ain’t they? and it’s just 2 slips from what I understand. I think that’s over priced for just 2 slips and 2 steels. Okay the leather thing too but that’s one of the aspects I also find ridiculous

And I agree yeah they are fantastic a lot of the time. Their steels and slips are usually awesome

I also think it will go on their website too and they are advertising it on their twitter. Sometimes when they do that it means it will go on their website. Was saying this to HH the other day. Good thing about that is it will be considerably cheaper than GBs and the shipping from them should be okay. But yeah their website is a gamble on whether it will appear. I think it will

 

[Flloydo]

I dunno whats ridiculous on fact they are from real leather? I think its awesome and it fits the films imho. Revenant leather slip from Manta is awesome too, I love it.

Mantas Revenant isn’t real leather

Changes the cost dramatically. Unless there’s something I’m not aware with Chinese leather! ?

 

[Hereticz]

Well GBs are like $230 ain’t they? and it’s just 2 slips from what I understand. I think that’s over priced for just 2 slips and 2 steels. Okay the leather thing too but that’s one of the aspects I also find ridiculous

And I agree yeah they are fantastic a lot of the time. Their steels and slips are usually awesome

I also think it will go on their website too and they are advertising it on their twitter. Sometimes when they do that it means it will go on their website. Was saying this to HH the other day. Good thing about that is it will be considerably cheaper than GBs and the shipping from them should be okay. But yeah their website is a gamble on whether it will appear. I think it will

I have it through fb and I didnt check fb lately but gb host didnt know the price yet few days ago. But yeah 230 sounds about right, I expected something slightly above 200. Their latest Edge of Tomorrow was 185 euro which is also gold with 2 slips. Anyway, seems in the normal price range in the game these days. And real leather , yeah. On website I expect price around 170 bucks, plus shipping. But we will see.

 

[Hereticz]

Mantas Revenant isn’t real leather

Changes the cost dramatically. Unless there’s something I’m not aware with Chinese leather! ?

Yeah I wasnt honestly sure If Revenant is real leather or not, but it looks awesome either way. And Lotr looks great too from pics so far.

Chinese leather

 

[steelmybeatingheart]

Sorry if there is a better place to post, can't seem to find one.

Who do you all think makes the best premium sets.

Like overall, slip, steel, or does one company have the best of everything?

adding to the above / no doubt repeating some, but anyway, my two cents (alphabetical).

- blufans = best steelbooks, some of the best lentis, and as others have said also some of the worst on occasion, really good one click packages. they have recently tarted up their OAB range of WWA (World Wide Artwork) steels with amazing but over-sized packages (see The Sting, Vertigo, etc). also have run a fanatics sub-label for releases out of Hong Kong.
- Cine-Museum = probably best for original artworks. in general i am not a fan of most of their artworks personally, but you can't fault them for variety. i have bought from them direct and via GB, never had any issues myself, but customer service often cited as an issue, or at least clarity of communication.
- FAC = some of the all time definitive full slips (see the Jurassic Parks), a history of crap lentis they are slowly getting better at, some nice packages and steelbooks in general, when they are doing WEA (World Exclusive Artwork), but recently it's all been about size and WWAs. Black Barons is their WWA line, or used to be, but recent FACs have aso been WWA, so... but they still sometimes knock it out the park, and then some with their FAC Alita.
- HDZeta = among leading lentis in general, best one click packages for me (they don't do three steelbooks, they do one 4K, one BD, and one special pack with a book, or other things, for example), and good glossy steelbooks which they have only just started embossing. have favourites for who they permit GBs for, and their business model is... let's go with unusual.
- Kimchi = have had some good releases in the past, and good for some more arty and leftfield choices.
- Manta = best overall retailer. have tended to do different things to the others (faux-leather sleeves, glow in the dark steels, alternate film choices), always glossy and bossed steels, good packages, good customer service. Fight Club was a good example - amazing faux soap OC (that i didn't buy!), OK DL (which i did), weird FS. recently jumping on the MCU and Disney bandwagon a bit of a shame for me, as that market's already oversaturated.
- NovaMedia = joint best for Asian cinema. good range and variety, and early Novas are some of the best steels ever made. and their John Wick releases have been superb.
- Plain Archive = best for art house premiums and joint best for Asian cinema. soon to be moving into mainly film scores and art books.
- Supreme Team x HDN = on this very site! best for complete one offs and amazeballs editions.
- WeET Collection = good for full slips and great packages, best for least delay in announcements >beauty shots > sales.
- World Cinema Library = tenuously authorised special editions, many of which are genuinely good. few releases, lord knows how you get them other than secondary market (as i have).

i'd also mention the following, no idea whether some people consider some of their packages as premium or not, but to me some are:
- Arrow = not a traditional premium company, but honourable mention for best at cult film restoration and prints, and some nice packages.
- Criterion = equal best for classic restorations and a love of cinema.
- Eureka! = equal best for classic restorations and a love of cinema.
- Powerhouse = best for UK and US restorations and releases of films that you thought would not get the special treatment.
- SecondSight = like Arrow, honourable mention for remastering films and releasing them in amazing packages (e.g. The VVitch).

 

[JinxyKatte]

adding to the above / no doubt repeating some, but anyway, my two cents (alphabetical).

- blufans = best steelbooks, some of the best lentis, and as others have said also some of the worst on occasion, really good one click packages. they have recently tarted up their OAB range of WWA (World Wide Artwork) steels with amazing but over-sized packages (see The Sting, Vertigo, etc). also have run a fanatics sub-label for releases out of Hong Kong.
- Cine-Museum = probably best for original artworks. in general i am not a fan of most of their artworks personally, but you can't fault them for variety. i have bought from them direct and via GB, never had any issues myself, but customer service often cited as an issue, or at least clarity of communication.
- FAC = some of the all time definitive full slips (see the Jurassic Parks), a history of crap lentis they are slowly getting better at, some nice packages and steelbooks in general, when they are doing WEA (World Exclusive Artwork), but recently it's all been about size and WWAs. Black Barons is their WWA line, or used to be, but recent FACs have aso been WWA, so... but they still sometimes knock it out the park, and then some with their FAC Alita.
- HDZeta = among leading lentis in general, best one click packages for me (they don't do three steelbooks, they do one 4K, one BD, and one special pack with a book, or other things, for example), and good glossy steelbooks which they have only just started embossing. have favourites for who they permit GBs for, and their business model is... let's go with unusual.
- Kimchi = have had some good releases in the past, and good for some more arty and leftfield choices.
- Manta = best overall retailer. have tended to do different things to the others (faux-leather sleeves, glow in the dark steels, alternate film choices), always glossy and bossed steels, good packages, good customer service. Fight Club was a good example - amazing faux soap OC (that i didn't buy!), OK DL (which i did), weird FS. recently jumping on the MCU and Disney bandwagon a bit of a shame for me, as that market's already oversaturated.
- NovaMedia = joint best for Asian cinema. good range and variety, and early Novas are some of the best steels ever made. and their John Wick releases have been superb.
- Plain Archive = best for art house premiums and joint best for Asian cinema. soon to be moving into mainly film scores and art books.
- Supreme Team x HDN = on this very site! best for complete one offs and amazeballs editions.
- WeET Collection = good for full slips and great packages, best for least delay in announcements >beauty shots > sales.
- World Cinema Library = tenuously authorised special editions, many of which are genuinely good. few releases, lord knows how you get them other than secondary market (as i have).

i'd also mention the following, no idea whether some people consider some of their packages as premium or not, but to me some are:
- Arrow = not a traditional premium company, but honourable mention for best at cult film restoration and prints, and some nice packages.
- Criterion = equal best for classic restorations and a love of cinema.
- Eureka! = equal best for classic restorations and a love of cinema.
- Powerhouse = best for UK and US restorations and releases of films that you thought would not get the special treatment.
- SecondSight = like Arrow, honourable mention for remastering films and releasing them in amazing packages (e.g. The VVitch).

Wow that was ******* comprehensive as ****. Very good breakdown. I like the none 4k John Wicks Nova did although their slips for those are only ok. My first premium was the nova grindhouse so I guess that endeared them to me a little. Also that is a brilliant release. I only have the 1 manta but Her is a great set. I wanna get at least 1 premium Fullslip from every boutique man.

 

[hatredhorror]

manta is best overall hands down

honorable mention to lionsgate best buy line tho for providing some of the best and innovative steels for only a third of the price of a regular premium.. also arrow, scream factory and cinemuseum for prioritizing great art and great movies over meaningless extras, generic poster art and cashgrab superhero movies

 

[JGCramp]

My choice for best overall is Manta Lab.

I think weet makes the best full slips and probably Blufans the best steelbooks (but they lose major points for bad quality control).

I'm giving honorable mention to Plain Archive. Everything I get from them is great and they release movies that no other premium steelbooks makers will touch.

 

[5t33lb0y]

Well all i can say for sure is Blufans quality control is definitely worst!

 

[a_o]

manta #1 for sure
weet #2 for sick full slips, consistency and transparency with regards to manufacturing/fullfillment/delays
blufans #3 for legacy, seems they output fewer releases lately

i don’t have any hdzeta gold/wea to know how those are

 

[tha_lunatic]

Tell him to stop being a ***** and come back on HDN

he was born as a **** we have to accept him the way he is.... even when it's hard

 

[tommyh84]

he was born as a **** we have to accept him the way he is.... even when it's hard

Exactly, just how we accept you