So many options, so little time. Can anyone recommend a high quality CD-R duplication service that will do a short run 50-100 discs complete with artwork.

I've looked into CD Baby, Duplication.ca, EasyDisc.net, Discmakers and even into local options. Prices vary a lot and I would rather have quality vs cheap CD-Rs.

Anyone have experience with this?

I got a referral to Duplication.ca but they are 4x the amount as CD Baby and Discmakers for small runs.

---

“Lesser artists borrow... great artists steal.” - Igor Stravinsky
OP OP Blog CDC
Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Beat Junkies Blog

CDBaby and Discmakers are owned by the same company. They are one of the largest operations in the U.S. A lot of independent labels that do very small runs will use them. I've heard good and bad things about them. Anything 500 or more these days is going to Europe or even Asian plants to be pressed if we're talking about actual glass-mastered CDs and not CD-Rs. There are even some small run plants outside of the U.S. that will do real CDs in runs as small as 100 - the price per unit will be high though because you are mainly paying for set up fees when you have discs made.

If you are trying to do a mix CD or a beat tape my advice is to find someone local in your area that does the work on-site and doesn't farm it out to a big company like Discmakers. They'll make your discs and won't ask too many questions. A lot of operations are just brokers and sales fronts - they don't actually do the work. Just like LP pressing plants, really, or outfits that sell coffee mugs with corporate logos printed on them for businesses.

The other thing is that you need to read the terms of the order before even worrying about pricing. Discmakers and big operations like that will require you to show that you own the copyright to the music they're pressing up before they even process your order. That means even if you are a coffee shop folk musician that performs 100% original songs you will need to have your work copyrighted before they will touch it AFAIK.

See here:

[support.discmakers.com]

---

[everydayambient.wordpress.com]

[www.instagram.com]

I'm going to agree with LionsMouth on everything he said. If you don't own the copyright, there are some shady manufacturers in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Asia that would maybe do it, but it would be even more expensive than most of the options you listed that you've already looked at. On top of that, if they end up screwing up your order or just completely stiffing you on it, you would have no recourse to recover any money spent.

---

Instagram

There is a semi local place here that has great reviews and is a bit more than discmakers but only about 30 dollars more.

https://www.mediaxpress.net/products/cd-production/short-run-cd-duplication-services.html

I don't have the mixtape copyrighted and have no intention of doing so. This is an unofficial mixtape, my funk mix, and I think official mixtapes are rare and always way too expensive to license and sell. Last official mixtape I bought was years ago and it was like 32 dollars for the CD. I buy CD-R mixtapes all the time though so someone must be doing the work because they are all professionally produced CD-Rs.

I'll bet the Beatjunkies would be a good source to ask about this since they do unofficial mixtapes all the time. I think I'll go with that mediaxpress unless I get a significantly better deal somewhere else.

---

“Lesser artists borrow... great artists steal.” - Igor Stravinsky
OP OP Blog CDC
Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Beat Junkies Blog

Quote
rchecka
There is a semi local place here that has great reviews and is a bit more than discmakers but only about 30 dollars more.

[www.mediaxpress.net]

I don't have the mixtape copyrighted and have no intention of doing so. This is an unofficial mixtape, my funk mix, and I think official mixtapes are rare and always way too expensive to license and sell. Last official mixtape I bought was years ago and it was like 32 dollars for the CD. I buy CD-R mixtapes all the time though so someone must be doing the work because they are all professionally produced CD-Rs.

I'll bet the Beatjunkies would be a good source to ask about this since they do unofficial mixtapes all the time. I think I'll go with that mediaxpress unless I get a significantly better deal somewhere else.

It wouldn't hurt to ask them. I wouldn't be surprised if they or someone they know owns a duplication machine, then they just have the covers printed somewhere and assemble the discs themselves. People often do the same thing with cassettes.

---

[everydayambient.wordpress.com]

[www.instagram.com]