Best Cassettes of 2019: Duplication.ca Staff Picks

Best audio cassette tapes of 2019 from Duplication.ca

2019 has been wall to wall audio cassettes for the Duplication.ca team. We’re non-stop duplicating, printing, and packaging audio cassettes, to the point that we’ve been dreaming in high-bias. With so many jammers on high-rotation at the production facilities and Toronto’s Dupe Shop, to pick an absolute favourite of the thousands of cassettes we’ve duplicated in the past 12 months is an impossibility. But man did we try. Here’s our staff picks of just some of our favourite cassettes of the year.


Equip - Cursebreaker X duplication by Duplication.ca

Josh’s pick (Production, Toronto)
Equip – “Cursebreaker X” c32

Cursebreaker X is the latest album from Chicago synth/vaporwave artist Equip (Kevin Hein). This album is the full realization of the performance and musical aesthetics, culminating in a new stage costume including a Unicorn horn, cape and glowing Cursed Sword. It takes you for an immediate ride into a fictional RPG bringing in inspiration from Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy and Secret of Mana, fleshing out castles, valleys and skies with styles of Progressive rock, synthwave and Ambience compositions. Available exclusively at the legendary 100% Electronicon 2 festival, now just a myth. Break the Curse!


Sacred Bones Record Society - Robert Eggers mixtape, manufactured by Duplication.ca

Ashly’s pick (sales, Montreal)
Robert Eggers – “Sacred Bones Record Society mixtape” c60

Working as a companion piece to Eggers’ truly incredible horror film The Lighthouse (one of the best films of the year), this mixtape is a lobster trap of sea shanties, tales of shipwrecks, and isolation induced madness. May cause nautical hallucinations, siren calls, and flooding.


Oppression - Le coeur plein de rage, manufactured by Duplication.ca

Samm’s pick (Pad Print, Montreal)
Oppression – “Le coeur plein de rage” c33

Lo-fi, tough, and scummy black metal from the basements of Montreal’s east end, blending into post-punk and oi territory seamlessly. No real internet presence, email directly for a copy.


DJ Speedsick - Nothing Lasts, manufactured by Duplication.ca

Fae’s pick (Production, Montreal)
DJ Speedsick – “Nothing Lasts” c48

Harsh as Hell techno, heavy and soaking in mixer feedback. Imagine if the blood rave scene from Blade set up a residency in the midwest, and then make it a bit grimier.


Odd Person - The Flowers of Arcadia, manufactured by Duplication.ca

Ryan’s pick (Dupe Shop, Toronto)
Odd Person – “The Flowers of Arcadia” c30

The sounds of the rainforest dropped in the middle of electronic compositions. Mallets and percussions emphasize your surroundings as living, breathing ecosystems. These deeply engrossing new age arrangements serve as a healing potion for the cold edges of city life. Recommended if you dig Spencer Clark!


Robert Glasper, Fuck Yo Feelings, manufactured by Duplication.ca

Denise’s pick (Manager, Montreal)
Robert Glasper – “Fuck Yo Feelings” c84

Nearly filling up a c90 tape, the Fuck Yo Feelings mixtape is STACKED with guest appearances with legends like Herbie Hancock and new school maestros such as Denzel Curry. Robert Glasper delivers on his unique style of jazz and hip hop fusion, exactly what you’d expect after his work on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly.


CFCF - Liquid Colours cassette

Rob’s pick (Marketing Coordinator, Montreal)
CFCF – “Liquid Colours” c44

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. Somewhere between KLF’s ideological use of sampling and vaporwave’s critique of capitalism in the music industry lands Liquid Colours, a guide through consumerism in a pre-9/11 world.


Real World - The Language of My Life is Written in Blood, manufactured by Duplication.ca

Garret’s pick (Dupe Shop, Toronto)
Real World – “The Language of My Life is Written in Blood” c8

Viscous death metal, not for the faint of heart. Brutal riffs that will pummel your eardrums like a heavy weight to a punching bag.

Available at the Dupe Shop


The amount of talent that comes through the Duplication.ca production line is simply incredible. From hip-hop to black metal, from new wave to no wave, and from vapor to the occasional field recordings of glacier movements, we’re happy to boast that we’ve treated each tape with the attention and care it deserved. Can’t wait to hear what you all have in store for 2020! We hope you get to use your holiday break as an opportunity to cram your friends into a jam space and churn out a killer c20.

In the meantime take a look at our cassette duplication calculator for tons of packaging options, and cassette shell colours!

Happy holidays, tape heads!

Creating Pad-Print and Laser Engraving Art Using Canva

If you need to create artwork using an online design service like Canva, here’s how you can go about it.

Our platemaker and Laser engraver operates at 1000 pixels per inch so we’ve created the pad print and laser engraving template as 5 x 5 inches with 1000 ppi resolution (5000 x 5000 pixels). The template files are found on our template page. For Canva you will need the JPG template like this one.

​In Canva you can create a document of 5000 x 5000 pixels, then import this template image and resize it to fill the entire canvas. Your cassette art must be done only in BLACK, no colors. Change the transparency of the template to see what you’re doing.

When you’re done, delete the template image, and then download the art.

Receive bonus points from blank tapes and exchange them for gift certificates!

Receive free Duplication.ca items just by shopping at Duplication.ca!
When you order blank tapes you earn bonus points, one per individual tape. You can convert those points into a gift certificate to use on anything at the online store! That includes cassette casesprinted CD jackets, or vintage tapes, just to name a few.

All you have to is enter My Account and click on the Bonuses tab. Convert your points into a certificate, spend it on whatever you need for your next DIY release. You can even gift to a friend for any special occasion!

We’ll be adding bonus points to more items in the shop soon, so keep your eyes peeled. 

Order blank tapes with your choice of shell colour and length today!

Cassette Store Day sale: save 15% off cassette duplication orders!

Cassette duplication sale from Duplication.ca for Cassette Store Day 2019

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.

Click here to pick from dozens of shell colours, packaging options, and save 15% off cassette duplication!

*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.

Tupperwave duplicated and packaged by Duplication.ca

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!

The Dupe Shop
1185 Bloor St. West
Toronto, Ontario

August 2019 Cassette Round-Up

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!

Veach - Quiet People Other Places

Veach – “Quiet People Other Places” c46

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.


Various Artists - VLSC Vol. 1 cassette

Various Artists – “VLSC Vol. 1” c76 

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.


French Vanilla - How Am I Not Myself? cassette

French Vanilla – “How Am I Not Myself?” c32 

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!


Nighttime - Hand in the Dark cassette

Nighttime – “Hand in the Dark” c42

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.


CFCF - Liquid Colours cassette

CFCF – “Liquid Colours” c44 

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 TwitterInstagram, 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.

Check out our cassette duplication calculator for an instant quote!

Black Cassette Shells Back in Stock!

Tab-in black cassette shells from Duplication.ca

We’ve restocked on black cassette shells!

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!

Tab-in and tab-out black cassette shells from Duplication.ca

If you’re the DIY type, grab our blank tab-in cassettes from the online shop to get started with your home duplication setup. Is professional dubbing your thing? Then check out our cassette duplication page for tons of design options and an instant quote.

Black cassette shells with pad print from Duplication.ca

Summer Sale! 15% off everything in the online store until July 21st 2019

We’re on Summer Mode at the Duplication.ca offices! The sun and fresh air has us in such a good mood we thought we’d celebrate with an old fashioned summer sale. Use the coupon code summervacation to save 15% off anything on the online store! Sale ends Sunday July 21st at 11:59 PM EST.

Egg Shell colour cassettes at Duplication.ca

So excited that you don’t know where to begin? How about our hottest sellers, our blank tapes! These cassettes are loaded with normal-bias tape, or chrome tape for the audiophiles who want that extra boost in volume or quality. There are dozens of colours to choose from, including the brand new Egg Shell model pictured above! Blank tapes are perfect for the DIY aficionados who don’t mind spending time manually recording on their living room tape decks.

Red tinted Norelco cassette tape cases from Duplication.ca

Next up is our huge selection of cassette cases! At Duplication.ca you’ll find a wide variety of classic Norelco cases, which come in an assortment of opaque and tinted colours, now including Red Tint. If you’re working on a box set, try our double-Norelco cases or even our fully printed slipcases. DIY-heads can grab blank O-cards to design at home!

Blank CD-Rs and DVD-Rs from Duplication.ca

We don’t just specialize in audio cassettes, Duplication.ca is the place to go for blank media and to find the highest quality CD-R and DVD-R discs on the market. You can find replacement Jewel Casesblank Digipaks, and tons of printed cardboard sleeves and packages for your band’s next release.

Foldover printed 12" jackets on digital and offset at Duplication.ca

Speaking of printing, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to provide the music community with printed vinyl jackets that are both high quality and won’t break the bank. Check out our 12″ record jackets, printed on full colour CMYK at a whopping 24pt thick using our offset press. We also print innersleeves so you can keep your records in good (and stylish) condition. Not to mention our replacement polysleeves and mailers, perfect for record collectors and resellers.

Don’t forget to use the coupon code summervacation to save 15% on your next order! The sale ends on Sunday July 21st at 11:59 PM EST.

Discount applied before taxes and shipping. Sale code applies to online store purchases only. Cannot be combined with any other discount.

The Duplication.ca Guide to Cassette Box Sets and Double Cassettes

Double cassette cases at Duplication.ca

Do you have an album so big that one cassette alone could not possibly handle it? Double cassette releases are always exciting, but how do you go about packaging them? Don’t worry, we’ve got your back.

Wet Tuna, released by Baked Tapes

Triple cassette box available from Duplication.ca

Multi-Cassette Box

This sleek design works like a Norelco case with the two cassettes sitting side-by-side. Its longer length makes it size comparable to that of a CD case, making it easy to store and easy on the eyes. An extra large double-sided J-card allows you to go nuts with the artwork, pack in as much detail and information as possible!

View the double cassette boxes on the online store

Our triple cassette boxes are even longer in length but keep the same width. Unlike the double cassette boxes they do not have posts.

Click here for triple cassette boxes

"MTL Tapes" released by La Cohu and packaged in a Triple Cassette Album from Duplication.ca

Cassette Albums

If you’re a fan of the classic audio book packaging style, look no further than our cassette albums. These packages contain a transparent wraparound film for you to slip in a larger trapsheet in lieu of a J-card. We even have albums that hold up to EIGHT CASSETTES, if you can believe it.

View our wide selection of cassette albums here

Disso Vol. One

Double Norelcos

Double Norelcos are exactly as they sound– two Norelcos joined at the hip! They open on both sides “butterfly style,” meaning it facilitates two J-cards. This is perfect for releasing two separate albums that require different artwork in one package.

Click here to order Double Norelcos

If you’re planning a run of 100 units or more, take advantage of our special offer. 100pcs for $60 CAD / $45.50 USD!

Double cassette slipcase by Duplication.ca

Printed Slipcases

Last, but certainly not least, we have our cardboard slipcases. These 15pt boxes can hold up to four cassettes with Norelco cases, which make them ideal for career retrospectives. They’re printed and assembled in-house, so not only do they go under our rigorous quality control, but we pass the manufacturer-direct savings on to you.

Take a look at our Printed Slipcases options

At Duplication.ca, no cassette release is too big or too small for us to handle! Don’t forget that in addition to great packaging and printing solutions, we offer high-quality cassette duplication services so your cassettes sound amazing on any stereo.

DUPLICATION.CA HAS A QUICK 4-WEEK TURNAROUND TIME FOR CASSETTES!

FM Attack - "New World" cassette duplicated at Duplication.ca

Sometimes the hardest part of recording and designing your latest cassette release is the waiting! It’s tough standing by the door, watching the mail carrier walk by your apartment with no packages in hand. At Duplication.ca we do everything we can to get your cassettes shipped as quickly as possible while not compromising the quality of our recording, printing, and packaging. We’re proud to be able to lower our standard turnaround time to an estimated 4 weeks before shipping! The standard shipping cost remains the same: FREE to the United States and Canada!

If you’re about to leave on tour or you’re just too excited to wait, we have a variety of rush options which guarantee that your cassettes will be out the door or ready for pick-up in a matter of days. Choose from 15 business days all the way to our ultra quick 5 business day turnaround.

Hot tip: if you want to ensure your cassettes will be put into production immediately, double check your audio and artwork files and upload them when you place your order! We only begin production once all the files have arrived and are ready for processing.

Click here to place your cassette order and receive your tapes in a matter of weeks!

Hot Cassette Shell Colors for Summer Releases

ED. (Elektric Dreams) Pool Party cassette duplicated by Duplication.ca
When it comes to summer activities like barbecuing in the backyard, floating in the pool, or chilling in the park, you’ve gotta have your jams by your side. At Duplication.ca we’ll make your cassettes look as hot as they sound! Here are some awesome cassette shell colour suggestions for you to duplicate the hottest summer album or mixtape!

Blue tinted with square hubs cassette tape shell by Duplication.ca

Blue Tinted w/ Square Hubs
Normal-bias • Tabs out • Red leaders • Soft window

Calm like a blue ocean, this is a great shell for you to slow down R&B cuts and create a killer vapor beat. Just don’t bring your tape deck too close to the tide.

Silver platinum mirror cassette tape shell by Duplication.ca

Platinum Silver
Normal-bias • Tabs in • Clear leaders

The type of cassette for when you’re decked out and ready to party all night. It’s the visual equivalent of Diamond in the Back by Curtis Mayfield. Your cassette deck will never look classier!

Yellow cassette tape shell by Duplication.ca

Feel Good Yellow
Normal-bias • Tabs out • Red leaders

Really, this tape is what summer is all about: kicking it with friends, good vibes, and forgetting that you have work tomorrow until it’s too late. Pop it into your 4-track and record an improvised jangle pop demo with your buds.

Fire engine red tint cassette tape shell by Duplication.ca
Scorching Red Tinted
Normal-bias • Tabs out • White frosted leaders

If you really want to turn up the heat, try out these red tinted tapes. When placed against a light source they look like smouldering molten lava. Pairs well with 100mph convertible synthwave tracks and Chromatics-style disco guitar.

Glitter cassette tape shells by Duplication.ca

Glitter Tapes
Normal-bias • Tabs out • Leader colours vary

Whether it’s Fourth of July, Canada Day, or any opportunity where you can shoot off fireworks and keep your neighbours up all night, let it be soundtracked by our glitter shells. We have a wide variety of glitter colours— red, blue, white, green, silver, gold, and some of them all mixed together!


Hotel Pools - Fall '18 cassette tape duplicated by Duplication.ca

Feeling inspired? Take a look around our cassette duplication page for more packaging options and shell colours! We duplicate our cassettes with a frequency range of 20Hz to 20kHz, meaning no bass slap or squealing synth will be spared.

Click here for an instant quote!

If you’re looking for blank tapes for home duplication or to put together the best BBQ mixtape anyone has ever heard, then head over to our online shop. We load blank cassettes to your exact desired audio length and with your choice of colour.

Visit our Blank Cassettes page today