UV print has totally revolutionized how you can design your cassette releases. You no longer need to limit yourself to one or two colours, you have the entire CMYK spectrum to choose from when designing your masterpiece. Even better, with Full Body UV print you can design artwork on the raised edges and bottom hub area of the cassette shell, doing away with the constraints found in sticker labels and pad print! Our template includes knockout layers for the hubs and window, that way ink will not seep inside of the shell.
What makes UV print pop on cassette is the white base coating applied before your artwork, which stops the ink from being absorbed by the plastic shell, especially with darker shell colours. However, when you don’t apply the white base, you instead get a semi-transparent effect, wherein you can see the artwork but light can still shine through with transparent shells – very similar to stained glass!
With transparent shells you can sidestep the white base coating to also achieve a visible reverse print. Here’s an example by Monster Piece, released by Sly Vinyl Records, where you can see the reverse image of the Side B artwork by looking through Side A. This gives a sense of perspective and distance, as if the moon is in the background and the howling werewolf in the foreground. The B-side will show the artwork in its correct orientation as provided by the artist.
Omitting the white base coating for a stained glass effect or reverse print is available by request! Just add UV Full Body print to your cassette order and let us know your desired effect in the ‘notes’ section of your order.
When you put in a cassette order you want the finished product to look its absolute best. Following these steps not only makes our job easier, but it will ensure that your pad print will look just as gorgeous as intended. First you’ll need to place your order on our cassette duplication calculator, then we can get started!
DESIGNING YOUR ARTWORK
1) Download our latest template
There are a few things to consider when designing pad print artwork for your order. First, what kind of shell have you chosen? Our templates have layers for opaque tapes, clear/windowless, and shells with square hub windows.
Each template has useful information about designing artwork that is unique to each type of cassette shell chosen, so be sure to check if we have updated templates available with every order and follow the directions contained in the file!
2) Applications
First and foremost, we highly recommend you send us vector artwork, so you should be using applications such as Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw to design vector logos and line text. Graphic design applications such as Adobe Photoshop or GiMP can be used, but bitmapped images will be subject to additional fees.
MEET THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
1) Vector Artwork
We now require vector artwork for pad print. It helps us achieve finer lines with a fraction of the platemaking time. It’s best to create artwork as a vector image, but we recognize that sometimes images are sourced from bitmap files or hand drawings. Outside of CorelDraw and Illustrator, there are freeware websites that allow you to upload your image and they will trace the outlines to convert to a vector file. The results will vary and often depend on the complexity and quality of your source material. Some websites have more options than others, so be prepared for trial and error tweaking until you’re satisfied. Further tweaking can be done in programs like Illustrator, PhotoPea, or even Photoshop.
Difference in quality between bitmap (left) and vector (right)
If you cannot retrace your images or convert to vector, we will be able to do it for a small fee. Bitmap images are also subject to a fee as they can take up to 20x as long to print the plate.
2) Grayscale
Regardless of your chosen ink colour, make sure your artwork is done in black. If you requested 2-colour pad print you’ll need to have each colour artwork in its own layer. The layers should be properly titled with their colour name (ex. one layer would be titled ‘Red’ and the other ‘Blue’). Again, regardless of the desired ink colour, each layer artwork must appear black.
3) Resolution
A low resolution can cause the finished product to look pixelated and of poor quality. If you are using Photoshop or your own template, ensure the dimensions and resolution are 4331 x 4331 pixels wide at 1000 ppi. Please note that resolution isn’t applicable when working with vector art.
4) Creating Outlines for Text
Often times we will receive a file with missing fonts, which means your meticulously curated typeface design will revert to a basic font style when we open the artwork file. But there’s an easy solution to this– simply Create Outlines for your text!
All you need to do is select your text, then navigate to the Type menu and select Create Outlines. The same can be done in Photoshop by selecting your text with the Direct Selection Tool and clicking on Convert to Shape in the Type menu. Avoid using faux font styling as it may not convert properly.
5) Line Thickness
When you’re designing your artwork, you’ll want to keep an eye on line thickness. In order to ensure that your art will be visible when printed you’ll want your artwork lines to be at least 0.15 points thick. This is about the equivalent thickness of very fine hair. Anything less than 0.15 points risks not being visible on the final printed cassette. This applies to text as well.
Moreover, the knockout, gaps, or empty space between artwork also has to be a minimum of 0.5 points thick to properly print, otherwise there is the risk of ink running and filling up the empty space. Please make sure all empty space is at least 0.5 points thick to avoid spreading ink.
Zooming in shows that the select horizontal area is 0.1 points thick.
An illustrated breakdown of line thickness.
6) Mind the Gap
Depending on the type of shell you have chosen, there are areas you cannot print on. For example, there are two holes in every cassette shell which obviously cannot be printed on! Solid coloured shells, certain select clear shells, and square window shells have a recessed window in the center which can distort artwork, especially text. If you are uncertain about the type of shell you have chosen for your artwork, contact your sales representative!
An example of areas where the artwork will not print.
7) Tell Your Sales Representative
Make sure that your sales representative knows exactly what your order needs, as there may be a price difference. If you want the A and B sides printed, it is “pad print two sides” on the cassette duplication calculator. If you just want the A side printed, it is “pad print one side.” If you’d like the exact same art on both sides, it is “pad print same art both sides.“
Once your artwork is complete and uploaded, let your sales representative know! They will double check your artwork to make sure it is compatible before sending it through to our pad print department. If you have any questions, be sure to reach out to them! They are happy to help!
We’ve been pad printing cassette shells since the 1990s, so we know the ins and outs of providing a quality print job just like you intended in your design. We use opaque ink for pad print, unlike offset pad printers which use a type of paste that is thinner and appears more transparent. Our pad print jobs are done individually by hand, allowing us to see the result of every print. This gives us a huge advantage in maintaining great quality assurance. Check out our pad print machine in action on YouTube.
Our selection of pad print colours
That said, certain ink colours look better on certain shells. Black or dark ink will appear striking and vibrant on white or lighter colour shells, while the inverse not so much. The ink is opaque, but the plastic shell will still absorb some of the colouring. Take a look at this colour mixing diagram:
Notice the color changes on the overlapped sections. Blue ink on a red shell may appear more purple, and will thus be a bit more difficult to read. Similarly, yellow is a lighter colour than red, so it may be absorbed by the red shell and appear more orange. It’ll look cool, but not exactly what you had in mind when designing.
If you insist on continuing with unconventional colour schemes like blue on red, there are a few solutions—
Request double-hit with your pad print. This will give your colour a little extra oomph and emphasis against a darker shell colour. It may not solve the problem of a particularly light ink colour against a dark shell, but it will certainly look better than single-hit pad print.
Upgrade to 2-colour pad print and use the bottom layer as a white base. Locking the shell into place for two separate ink stamps is extremely difficult and won’t always work, so you will want to make the white base larger than your design (like a stroke or outline filter), or slightly smaller than your design, that way it’s not off-register.
Request a custom colour ink. We can add white ink to an ink colour for an extra fee to make it a bit more vibrant when placed against a darker colour shell.
If you’re not sure if a colour combination will be as vibrant as your design, ask your sales rep for their thoughts, we’ve seen it all over the years! You can add pad print to your cassette package through our cassette duplication calculator and receive free shipping to the United States and Canada.
These vinyl albums for cassette hold one tape, resembling classic audiobook packaging. They have an outerlayer film that allows for large trapsheet cover artwork. The size of these albums really makes your cassette stand out in comparison to the classic Norelco case packaging. Dimensions are 7 1/8″ x 4 5/8″ x 9/16″, so in height they’re somewhere in between a DVD and Blu-Ray case, but much shorter in width. They look awesome stacked in a bookshelf!
Inside you have a tray to securely place your audio cassette. There’s also space in the inside cover with enough room to house a booklet, liner notes, or other goodies like pins, patches, or stickers. You can go all out with this packaging! The album snaps closed like a DVD case, keeping all contents safe and secure.
In addition to these new colours we still have stock of the classic black or transparent Vinyl Albums for Cassette. Transparent albums allow for double-sided printing on your trapsheet, so you can maximize the artwork and design. These are available for purchase on our cassette duplication calculator for easy ordering. If you wish to combine cassette duplication with any of the colour vinyl albums, just mention it in the ‘notes’ section of your order, and we’ll modify the quote!
Sticker labels are an excellent choice for audio cassettes if you want to show off a killer design in vivid colours. Something to keep in mind when graphic designing is that our stickers aren’t one size fits all, we actually have a few models to choose from. Some mesh better with certain cassette shells than others. Here’s an overview of our different cassette label templates to make your next cassette duplication order even easier!
STANDARD WHITE
These smooth labels have diagonal corners on the top with rounded corners on the bottom. In addition to the regular matte stock is a high gloss version which gives your colours an extra shine. Our 12-up sheets (which is to say 12 labels per page) allow for full bleed, so you can make your images extra large to ensure no artwork will be cut off at the printers.
SQUARE BOTTOM CORNERS
These are similar to the Standard White labels, but instead of rounded corners they have square corners at the bottom. These do not allow for full bleed, so if you’re not careful with your home printing you may find that some of the artwork at the bottom of the label may appear at the top due to a shaky printer. For this reason we suggest using solid colour backgrounds, like the Mothra Stewart tape above (great band name.)
We have a variety of Square Bottom Corner labels! All of them are available on the cassette duplication calculator: Glossy White Square Bottom Brown Kraft Clear Labels Solid Colour labels
FOUR ROUNDED CORNERS (CL4RC)
Pretty self-explanatory, all four of the corners are rounded! They’re printed on matte paper, giving a visceral texture to your cassette. The labels are full bleed, so you need not worry when designing your artwork!
All you have to do is look at the cassette shell! For example, the Chum Out cassette above is using our ‘Old Computer’ shell, which has beveled style frame. The frame cuts diagonally on the top corners, meaning that you will want to use either our Standard White or Square Bottom Corner style labels.
Meanwhile, our black cassette shells have rounded corners across the edges, so you’re safe to use the Four Rounded Corners sticker labels without worrying about overlap! Of course, you could use the Standard White labels with this style of shell as well, it’s just a matter of personal preference.
If you have questions about particular shells, don’t hesitate to send us an email, we want to make cassette duplication as smooth of an experience as possible for you. Make sure to check out the cassette selection guide for high-res pictures of our cassette shells.
Are you releasing an album that’s just too big to fit on a single cassette? Maybe you want to package two albums together as a special edition? Duplication.ca has you covered.
Introducing Double Album Cases for Audio Cassette
Available in black or white, these double album cases snuggly fit two audio cassette shells. The album snaps closed and has an outer overlay film allowing you to slip in a graphic trapsheet for large-scale artwork. They’re made out of sturdy polypropylene, making them crack resistant despite its lightweight design. There’s even enough space inside to fit a booklet!
Do you love the retro aesthetic of audio cassettes but need modern digital merch for your fans? Then revolutionize your merch table with our USB Cassettes! These USB drives are the same shape and size as regular audio cassettes, but with a moveable thumb drive that comes out of the bottom. At 8GB of space you can load it up with over 1,000 MP3s, 1080p video, FLAC files, PDFs, or any other data. We can supply larger drives on custom orders.
Best of all, you can personalize your USB Cassette with cassette cases, J-cards, pad print, and even full-colour UV flatbed printing. Now you can finally turn your digital release into a physical object for your fans!
Cassette Store Day is coming up, and we’re going to celebrate it in style at Toronto’s only cassette boutique, the Dupe Shop! We’re aiming for wall-to-wall stock of brand new cassettes, so we set up a fantastic limited time deal to make cassette duplication even cheaper.
Order fully packaged cassette duplication by September 8th and receive 15% off your order! In exchange we’ll stock up to 5% of your order quantity (or minimum 3 tapes) at the Dupe Shop to sell during Cassette Store Day 2019.*
All you have to do is add the coupon code CSD2019 at checkout and we will manually adjust the 15% discount upon receiving the order. Beyond that, it’s the same great cassette duplication service, including high-quality recording and FREE SHIPPING to the United States and Canada.
*Eligible orders must comprise of duplication and packaging, including cover artwork. Dupe Shop stock quantity will be added to your total amount (i.e. if you order 100 cassettes, you will receive all 100 cassettes and we will duplicate an additional 5 for the Dupe Shop.) You will not be charged for the additional Dupe Shop quantity. All leftover items from Cassette Store Day 2019 will remain as sellable stock. Discount will be applied before taxes and shipping. Discount cannot be combined with any other sale or deal.
We’ll be partying hard at the Dupe Shop all Cassette Store Day, keep an eye on your on the Facebook and Instagram pages for announcements!
Up in Canada there are only so many months that are optimal for picnics in the park, long hikes, and hanging out on balconies. Fortunately we’re in the thick of it now, and our outdoorsy activities have been soundtrack by some truly stellar music we discovered through cassette duplication orders and stocked at Toronto’s Dupe Shop. Here are a few standouts from the past month!
This is a choice cassette to pluck off the shelf during a rainy day. Side-length longform tracks consisting of guitar strums and pads rotating in and out via modular synthesis. Relaxing and meditative, it’ll make you feel pretty good about being cooped up for the afternoon.
A wide-ranging look at Atlanta’s club scene. Features some heavy hitting deconstructed techno, juke, Balearic house, and even some acid. All good compilations act as a gateway, VLSC Vol. 1 serves as a worthy introduction to the electronic south.
Upbeat contemporary post-punk with some killer squeaky no wave saxophone to drive it over the edge. In the same ballpark as the self-titled B-52s LP and Girls At Our Best without the UK falsetto. Great tape if you like feeling funky and tough at the same time!
Soft but powerful vocals that reverberate along lakes and marshes. Haunting like UK folk horror productions, and reminiscent of the 60s psychedelic folk movement. If you liked Midsommar (and how could you not!?) you’ll like the vibe of this cassette.
A revisionist look at corporate y2k-era IDM and jungle music, tailor made to soundtrack your Calvin Klein purchases, or day at the relaxation spa, or even choosing your souped-up car in a Sega Dreamcast game. Conceptually fascinating, sonically amazing. Serious album of the year contender.
Want to see what other awesome albums make their way through Duplication.ca? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, we’re posting amazing looking cassettes everyday!
There are a ton of cassette shell colour and packaging options over at our cassette duplication calculator. We duplicate in high-speed or HiFi real-time with superb quality assurance to make sure your tapes sound great.
The classic black cassette is back at Duplication.ca. These shells are normal-bias with a 5-screw design and light red leaders. Now choose between tab-in or tab-out models!
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