Placing Your Cassette Order

For us to complete your cassette order we will need the following:

1. Audio Masters (For Side A and Side B)
2. Graphics/Art Files
3. Completed Copyright Declaration Form
4. Payment

To place your order, please determine your requirements and then click 'Place an Order', or get in touch directly via hello@discmanufacturingservices.com

You can fit from as little as 2 minutes all the way up to 90 minutes in total onto one tape. This would split as 45 minutes maximum, per side for a 90 minute tape or 1 minute maximum, per side on a 2 minute tape. The actual length of the tape will always be the same on both sides whatever the overall length is.

Ideally you would try and equal-out your audio split, to avoid having blank space on one of the sides. We also recommend having the longest split on side A. If your A side was 10 minutes but your B side was 20 minutes, there would be 10 minutes of blank space at the end of side A. This obviously isn't an issue for us to do, but it may not be the best playback experience. You may also wish to take advantage of this by deliberately “unbalancing” the side lengths and having a “hidden track/ghost track/secret message” appearing after the large silence on one side.

It is recommended that all audio is mastered for Cassettes to industry standard commercial levels.

We offer full Audio Mastering services at £60 ex. VAT (£72 incl. VAT) per hour. We will always estimate how long we think it will take (after analysis of the audio), prior to any work being undertaken or charged. Please contact us to discuss your requirements.

Ideally as two individual WAV files, named as Side A and Side B, both at 16-bit, 44.1khz stereo.

However individual audio files for each song can also be provided, accompanied with a tracklist. When supplying single-side audio files, it is assumed that gaps are set as they should be. If you would like to request that the gap lengths are edited, please ensure that it is outlined on the track list that you supply, or in writing to your account manager when audio files are transferred to us. Please note that any requested gaps will be added after each track.

You can forward digital files via a number of free online services including WeTransfer, Filemail, Dropbox (in a .ZIP or .RAR folder) or via your own FTP site.

We recommend you check your physical master, be it a CD, DVD, USB stick or tape cassette, all the way through before sending to DMS, and ensure that your masters are free of errors and defects such as scratches on discs or damage to tape cassettes or the tape itself, especially if it is an old one. In all instances it is recommended to supply DMS with a track list or PQ sheet detailing the name of each track, track lengths and side splits.

Please send all physical formats (except vinyl lacquers) to the following address:

DMS Vinyl
1 Russell Court
St. Andrew Street
Plymouth, PL1 2AX
United Kingdom

For information on how and where to send lacquers, please get in touch with our team.

When supplying your audio files digitally, you can either provide a Side A and a Side B WAV file for each side of the tape, or a separate DDP image file set for each side.

If you wish to supply your audio as separate WAV files we will need to compile your tape master for you, there is a charge of £50 ex VAT (£60 Inc. VAT) for this service

When supplying your files electronically, please ensure you do so in an archived folder such as .RAR or .ZIP. If you are unsure how to do this, please contact us. We prefer that files are supplied to us via Wetransfer.com, Hightail.com, Dropbox.com or your own FTP site. These sites are generally free of advertising and ensure there are no delays imposed upon individual IP addresses. We have found that following these steps is best practice for transferring audio electronically.

Please ensure all files are compressed to a .ZIP/.RAR folder prior to uploading.

We advise against this, as MP3 is generally inferior quality. Our minimum recommended audio file quality is 16BIT 44.1kHz (1411kbps). However, it is your project and if you are happy with the quality of your MP3 recordings, DMS can use them. Please be aware that we will encourage you to source or output your audio to a higher standard, but if MP3 is really all you have available then it is possible to supply this format.

The higher the bit rate of your MP3 the better the quality. We would advise 320kbps, as 160kbps or 80kbps are more highly compressed. In all instances it is recommended to supply DMS with a track list or PQ sheet detailing the name of each track and track lengths.

Please ensure all files are compressed to a .ZIP/.RAR folder prior to uploading.

We generally will not amend the length of the gaps between the tracks on your cassette master, unless you specifically request that we do so. If you would like to request that the gap lengths are edited, please ensure that it is outlined on the track list that you supply, or in writing to your account manager when audio files are transferred to us.

Please note that any requested gaps will be added after each track. When supplying single-side audio files, it is assumed that gaps are set as they should be.

Aside from classic clear cassettes, we offer a substantial array of solid and transparent coloured shell options, alongside more specialist shell colours such as neon, glitter and metallic colours. Please take a look at the many options available, peruse our shell and case colour chart, or check out our gallery for examples of previous works and inspiring colour effect ideas.

Please send us high quality PDF files. To attain the highest quality print results and reduce any risk of your orders being delayed, please read through our Artwork Specifications. We recommend speaking to our graphics department before starting your designs, often a five-minute chat over the phone can give you all the information required to make your task much easier and your final files much sharper.

Print-ready art files can be emailed to your DMS contact or uploaded via WeTransfer, Filemail.com, Dropbox or your own FTP site. You may prefer to supply a data disc containing your artwork in the post, in which case please post to DMS at:

DMS Vinyl
1 Russell Court
St. Andrew Street
Plymouth, PL1 2AX
United Kingdom

At DMS we are great believers in preparing your graphics to the highest quality before going to print. We have a full range of templates available for all cassette products. If you don't see what you are looking for, please contact us and we will send the relevant templates to you.

We also offer a full Graphic Design service at £40 per hour ex. VAT (£48 inc. VAT) if you require assistance with your artwork.

The standard and default finishes available on our printed products is a subtle Gloss Machine Varnish, or a Matt Machine Varnish.

The Gloss is a liquid gloss varnish layer that seals the ink and adds impact to your print as the coating reflects back the light, making colours appear richer and vivid. The finish is more of a soft sheen than a high gloss, think of a cereal box rather than a car magazine.

The Matt Varnish is a more subtle soft sheen.

Our paper/card products are digitally printed, and our cassettes are UV printed.

Please check our glossary for more details on this.

DMS offer a comprehensive barcode service for all your media packaging needs. If you supply the number, we will generate and add the barcode to your packaging free of charge for you. Barcodes can usually be obtained via your distributor or record label.

Alternatively, we can offer EAN-13 barcodes for £30 ex. VAT (£36 incl. VAT).

We are more than happy to advise on everything from generating your barcode image, incorporating it tastefully into your packaging design and ensuring the barcode complies with guidelines for optimum scanning results. Any barcode supplied by DMS must be accompanied by the wording “Manufactured by DMS Ltd.”

To ensure optimum scanning of the barcode we recommend all images to be vector and set to single black (k) only on a white background. Barcodes must be printed so that darker bars appear against a paler background. Scanners read using red light, so red bars should not be used.

We recommend that your barcodes are produced at 100% magnification (37.29mm wide by 25.91mm high), although this can be reduced to a minimum of 80% if required. It is advised that barcodes be located on the rear of the product in the bottom right-hand corner, but this is not mandatory.

We recommend the majority of images to be saved at 300dpi for paper/card based products and 600dpi for full coverage cassette artwork to ensure a good print resolution. Bitmap images should be a minimum of 1200 dpi. When our in-house design team are processing your artwork, you will have digital jpeg proofs sent to you via email for approval. If the designer is concerned about the image quality of your artwork, then they will send you a screen shot of the images taken at print resolution.

We prefer templates to be left on the artwork, but please ensure that it is sitting beneath your artwork, not over the top of it. If you aren’t working directly into our templates, crop marks are helpful but please ensure they sit outside of the artwork (not overlapping). The easiest way to think of this is, if you see it, we will need to remove it or print it. Due to this, it is always best to remove any part of the template from the actual design areas of your submitted artwork. One of our design team will supply you with digital jpeg proofs via email for you to check over and approve, these will have the templates added for you to check the layout is as intended.

All artwork should be completed and saved in CMYK or PMS (spot colours) if applicable. If you need to use a colour profile, we advise the closest match to be 'U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2' however if you require an exact colour match then we would recommend getting a printed proof to ensure colour matching.

Your supplied artwork files are placed in a production queue prior to being checked by one of our designers. The time this takes can depend on the volume of orders we are currently experiencing, but we will send you proofs as soon as the artwork has been processed, along with any notes or issues raised by the design team. This is usually within 24-72 hours, so if you have not received your proofs in the time, please check your spam folder/filters as sometimes emails can be directed here in error. If you still haven’t received them, please contact your account manager.

Yes, we offer a few different options for printed proofs. The designer who processes your artwork may recommend you consider getting these or you may want to request them for artwork checking. The options are:

Laser Printed Proofs
Laser printed proofs cannot be used for accurate colour matching. They do however give a good idea of how your final print will look, the size and scale of images/text and also an indication of any blurred/pixilated areas that may occur due to low resolution areas in the artwork.

Per A3, single sided sheet, including 1st class Royal Mail delivery to one Mainland UK address: £15.00 ex. VAT (£18.00 incl. VAT)

The average turnaround time on these will be 2 to 3 working days including 1st class postage. For non-UK addresses or guaranteed next day delivery, please ask for more details.

Digitally Calibrated Printed Proofs
Calibrated printed proofs are 95% colour accurate. They are provided on FOGRA approved paper and setup to mimic the lithographic press in terms of colour and quality. These will give you an idea of colour, size/scale of content, blur, pixilation and the majority of issues that may occur without checking. The only thing that these do not show are variations that may occur on different card-stocks and finishes.

£40.00 ex. VAT (£48.00 incl. VAT) for one A3 sheet including courier delivery to one Mainland UK address, and £15.00 ex. VAT (£18.00 incl. VAT) each per sheet thereafter

The average turnaround time on calibrated proofs will be 5 to 10 working days.

Match Printed Proofs
Match print proofs are the same as the Calibrated Printed proofs, with additional copies being produced and passed to production to ensure they match the main print run.

£90.00 ex. VAT (£108.00 incl. VAT) for one A3 sheet including courier delivery to one Mainland UK address, and £25 ex. VAT each per sheet thereafter.

The average turnaround time on calibrated proofs will be 10 to 15 working days.

DMS will only duplicate your cassettes if you are the copyright owner and fill in a copyright declaration form, or you can supply a valid manufacturing licence from MCPS or other relevant licensing organisations that apply in other countries. We will not consider manufacturing any product that infringes the rights of other artists or copyright owners.

Please visit the PRS for Music website and the MCPS section within it to see the kinds of licences available and the cost of obtaining them. If you need any help or advice with your application it's best to give MCPS a call direct, they're always very friendly and can help to shed valuable light on an otherwise complicated process.

For more information on this, please feel free to give us a call or drop us a line.

Due to the nature of cassette duplication, once goods are produced they are unusable by anyone other than the client that ordered them. For that reason, we ask for payment in full prior to manufacturing commencing. Alternatively, UK registered companies and government agencies may apply for a credit account. Credit is not available to individuals or first time customers.

Please do not make a payment until you are sent a formal invoice.

You may pay for your goods and services by the following methods:

By card over the telephone. Please note that credit cards and all non-UK registered cards incur a processing surcharge of 3%.
By BACS transfer. Your sales contact will provide you with our bank details and they can be found at the bottom of your invoice.
Via PayPal (surcharges do apply).
By cheque payable to DMS Ltd to the address above, also stated on your invoice.

For further details on payment options please get in touch or telephone +44 (0) 1752 201275.