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from the what's-old-is-still-old-but-they-are-making-more dept.
Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
National Audio Co. is the only company in the U.S. that produces cassette tape. Now, as cassette tapes enjoy a resurgence in popularity, National Audio has less than a year's supply left of the stuff, The Wall Street Journal reports.
For the last 15 years, National Audio's co-owner and president Steve Stepp has been clinging to his company's dwindling supply of music-quality magnetic tape. In 2014, National Audio's South Korean supplier stopped making the material, so Stepp bought out their remaining stock before they shuttered — and has been left with a shrinking stockpile ever since.
Although the demand for tape has increased in recent years, the quality and supply has not; National Audio has long relied on outdated gear that Stepp jokes is "the finest equipment the 1960s has to offer." That's why the company — which makes cassettes for everyone from indie bands to Metallica — is planning to build the U.S.'s first high-grade tape manufacturing line in decades.
Crap! Where am I going to store my TRS-80 programs now?
Source: https://theweek.com/speedreads/735269/america-running-cassette-tape
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 13 2017, @08:43PM (4 children)
It breaks down like this:
The small run cost of professionally packaged tapes is (ballpark) $2 each.
This number does not change substantially as your volume picks up.
The small run cost of professionally packaged (in this case often meaning an imprinted design) USB devices starts at around three times as much.
Just the USB sticks themselves in bulk packs cost about as much as professionally packaged tapes, unless you're buying them by the truckload.
CDs are dirt cheap - but only as long as you're making enough to spread the cost of printing (the break-even point compared to tapes is about 1000) or otherwise you're getting a lower-quality burned product, rather than stamped.
Until you're getting 1000 items in one batch, tape is still the cost king.
If you don't care about hardware to actually be a physical connection with your fans, soundcloud it up. But it doesn't work as well for that personal connection.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Monday November 13 2017, @09:15PM (3 children)
No its much closer to $10 for small runs (say 100). Ant that's one sided, plus one sided art work on the tape box insert and generic printing on the cassette itself.
The only thing you can get for $2 is unlabled tapes, one-sided, case is extra, quality extremely questionable.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by EvilSS on Monday November 13 2017, @09:23PM
store.crypticcarousel.com/collections/cassette-manufacturing/products/100-duplicated-cassette-tapes-with-j-cards-shell-print-or-labels-cases
www.audiogeography.com/tapes/
Just a few quick google searches. Did you go out of your way to find the most expensive options to make your point?
(Score: 2) by EvilSS on Monday November 13 2017, @09:32PM
Dual side, 24 min per side, pad printed both sides (white print, standard art, single hit), j-card, shrink wrapped. 100 for $301 USD or $3.01 per cassette. Far cry from $10.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 13 2017, @10:13PM
Wow, you're surely skipping a decimal place there.
But you know what? It's cool. If you'll pay that for tapes I'll gladly handle all the administrivia for you, and do it at a good bulk rate. What say, $8 each? You'll love that 20% discount!