How to print labels onto Cassettes?

[Mklein]

Hey all,

So I'm starting a tiny record label, focused on putting out super limited runs of tapes for friends bands, my bands, and anything else that catches my ear. I already bought a tape duplicator, a pile of tapes, cases, etc. I was just curious as to how I could print labels directly onto the tapes themselves. As much as I like the idea of hand-writing and labeling each tape, I think being able to print details on the tapes would be a little more professional. I'm not really interested in any kind of adhesive or sticker type label. I know it can be done, and for a relatively low cost (In The Pocket Tapes offers it for runs as low as 100) I'm just not sure how or where to look for information. Thanks y'all!


-m

[The Scum]

Silkscreening?

[E-money]

Once you solve your labeling issue, you're going to need to work on a solution for people to be able to listen to these cassettes. I recommend some sort of time travel back to the '80s.

[Gregg Juke]

That's good E-Money. That's rich...

But seriously, on-shell printing is more expensive and seems like a waste of your hard-eraned cash (_if_ you can find that time-machine to find someone that will do it for you).

I'd go with the labels. You might want to contact someone who used to do hundreds and hundreds and thousands of cassettes a year, back when people, um, had cassette players.

I'm not sure if they still have any stock or do anything with that stuff, but you could try Mark Records/Mark Custom Recording:

www.markcustom.com

GJ

[JGriffin]

MKlein, contact Sound/Video Impressions in Des Plaines, IL. They did onshell printing onto cassette tapes when I worked there in the early '90s, and I spoke to them last year and they said they still do it. They also probably still do binloop replication, so you don't have to dub the tapes yourself. I don't know how limited your runs are, but we used to do 50-100 tape runs for smaller clients IIRC.

[lapsteel]

Tapes? If I may...why tapes? I was having a hard time finding a working deck to listen to my old tapes, so I could throw them away. Cassettes were pretty worthless back when big labels were selling them. Recording onto tape...yeah, but releasing tapes?

[JGriffin]

Well, good question...I know there are cassette-only labels out there. For kitsch value, I'd guess.

[Mklein]

For those wondering "why tape?", here's where I'm coming from.


Last year a friend and I started a label with the intention of putting out 7" records. It's common knowledge that vinyl sales, while a minuscule percentage of music sales, have been steadily rising in the last few years. It's my opinion that, as the digital music becomes more and prevalent, the physical medium matters less and less for playback purposes. People listen to iPods when they're not at home, and laptops when they are. Even cars today are shipping with MP3 player compatibility. When people buy a CD these days, more often than not it gets burnt into itunes, and thrown up on a shelf for the rest of its life.

Anyway, we put out one 7" record in a run of 500, spent a pile (all) of our money on custom packaging, artwork, and so on. The record sold moderately well, but the costs of vinyl are so prohibitory that we couldn't afford to finance our next release, so we closed shop.

I chose tape for my next label endeavor because I can control all aspects of production, from the duplication, labeling, packaging, and so forth. I can press small runs of releases (100-200 copies) at a low cost, which enables me to put out a lot more music without worrying about having to recoup.

I'm of the opinion that people will be more willing to shell out $5 for a limited, kitschy tape than a burnt CD-r. I'll be including mp3 downloads with each release, so really, the difference is negligable anyway.

Thats my 2 cents.

[ott0bot]

It's fun and cheap...so why not? Do what you enjoy, I say. There is a local label in town that does this and I think there is enough people with tape decks that will enjoy this stuff. I still have a dual tape deck in my stereo set up, and occasionally I'll throw something on there.

Something you may consider is printing on clear address labels, then after printing spraying them with a clear coat to keep the ink from smearing.

I think Avery makes some that will work:
http://www.avery.com look at address labels, then filter for clear and find a size that'll work.

[creaturesleeper]

It's fun and cheap...so why not? Do what you enjoy, I say. There is a local label in town that does this and I think there is enough people with tape decks that will enjoy this stuff. I still have a dual tape deck in my stereo set up, and occasionally I'll throw something on there.

Something you may consider is printing on clear address labels, then after printing spraying them with a clear coat to keep the ink from smearing.

I think Avery makes some that will work:
http://www.avery.com look at address labels, then filter for clear and find a size that'll work.

I think there is still is good population of folks who listen to tapes. It is fun and cheap. No need to knock the cassette tape format. I don't know anything else that can sit in a puddle of old coffee under my truck seat for 5 years and still play well! For labeling sometimes I just use a stencil and paint....

[JohnSuitcase]

Another old punk-rock era trick was to get a $5 stamp made, and use an ink that dries on the shells you're using. Might take some experimentation, but some kind of acrylic might work.

It'll look a little sloppy, but isn't that the idea? Something handmade, to add value and 'touch'?

If you're going for kitsch, why not go all the way back and do 8-track tapes? Or glue the cassettes into old cassette players from Goodwill?

I mean, if people are getting mp3's, there's no reason to limit yourself to something that can be played back, even.

I've thought that a more effective label would be a t-shirt label. The t-shirt has the band name, album cover, track list, and includes a tag with the download code. Could be sold at shows, and when the fan downloads the music, they're given the chance to sign up for the mailing list. People will pay for a t-shirt that looks cool, and if it includes a download of the record (which should be sold for $5-$10 without the shirt) it's an incentive that's hard to resist!

[austin]

I chose tape for my next label endeavor because I can control all aspects of production, from the duplication, labeling, packaging, and so forth. I can press small runs of releases (100-200 copies) at a low cost, which enables me to put out a lot more music without worrying about having to recoup.

I'm of the opinion that people will be more willing to shell out $5 for a limited, kitschy tape than a burnt CD-r. I'll be including mp3 downloads with each release, so really, the difference is negligable anyway.

I put out a record a few months ago on cassette+digital for largely the same reasons: It was super-cheap to do a very small cassette run (50 copies), all the production was totally DIY (and fun!), and people seem to like it, partially for the nostalgia factor I guess. (I had a couple people tell me they bought the cassette copy rather than just the digital because they thought it was cool, even though they have no tape player.) As you say, everyone gets a digital copy either way.

There are many tape-only record labels in existence right now who appear to be doing a fine business, albeit in limited quantities.

As for printing on the cassettes: I did stencils and acrylic paint -- but all that's on mine is "1" and "2" to denote the sides. No small type with song titles, etc.

[strdsk]

Love this thread! I've had bad luck with rubber stamps on CDs...but...it may just work on a tape! I'd go that route. My bud built a cheap silk screen press and prints his own CDs...that's another cool DIY trick!

[strdsk]

Love this thread! I've had bad luck with rubber stamps on CDs...but...it may just work on a tape! I'd go that route. My bud built a cheap silk screen press and prints his own CDs...that's another cool DIY trick!

[lapsteel]

Another old punk-rock era trick was to get a $5 stamp made, and use an ink that dries on the shells you're using. Might take some experimentation, but some kind of acrylic might work.

It'll look a little sloppy, but isn't that the idea? Something handmade, to add value and 'touch'?

If you're going for kitsch, why not go all the way back and do 8-track tapes? Or glue the cassettes into old cassette players from Goodwill?

I mean, if people are getting mp3's, there's no reason to limit yourself to something that can be played back, even.

I've thought that a more effective label would be a t-shirt label. The t-shirt has the band name, album cover, track list, and includes a tag with the download code. Could be sold at shows, and when the fan downloads the music, they're given the chance to sign up for the mailing list. People will pay for a t-shirt that looks cool, and if it includes a download of the record (which should be sold for $5-$10 without the shirt) it's an incentive that's hard to resist!

I really like the idea of having the download code on a t-shirt. People love buying t-shirts not so much CDs.