Sound Packaging Partnership

UK record packaging company. A coalition of MacNeill Press Ltd. and plastics firm General Celluloid Co. from Banbury, Oxfordshire. They developed the AV/PAK album packaging format which they launched in 1971. The packaging consisted of a single sheet of folded board to the inside of which was attached one or two plastic envelopes. The opening edge of the plastic envelope had a strip of plastic foam which was supposed to clean the record when removed from the sleeve and stop dust from entering when stored. The envelope was attached to the board with a tape hinge developed by the medical products division of 3M. Over the years the hinge adhesive has a tendency to dry and come away and the foam can go brittle.