FAQ

Describe your project in the configurator, or simply write to us. You will get a quote by email, usually within a couple of working days. If you have not settled every detail yet, send what you do know — we will work through the rest with you.

Tell us the run you need and we will quote it. Short runs and long runs are both ordinary work for us. The per-unit price improves as the run grows, so it is often worth asking for a couple of quantities side by side.

Within about 10 per cent, yes. Pressing is a physical process and records are rejected at quality control, so the number of good copies coming off a run is never exactly the number set. An over- or under-run of up to 10 per cent is the industry standard across European plants. You are billed for what you actually receive: extra copies at the agreed per-unit price, a shortfall refunded. Most runs land close to the number you asked for, and if a floor genuinely matters — a subscription, a numbered edition — tell us and we will aim above it.

Yes. Picture discs, liquid-filled discs, shaped discs, splatter, split colours, marbled effects and one-off ideas are all welcome. If you have seen it done, ask us — and if you have not seen it done, ask us anyway.

We manufacture in the EU and ship worldwide. Shipping is confirmed separately once we know the destination and the run size. You are also welcome to collect an order yourself, which is the one case where a quote is genuinely ex works.

Final audio, print-ready artwork, and confirmation that the mechanical rights are cleared. Production starts once those are in and approved, and we will tell you exactly what is outstanding at each stage.

Supply CMYK at 300 dpi or better, at 1:1 scale, with fonts converted to outlines and no crop marks, registration marks or colour bars. Keep the background colour running into the bleed so nothing shows white after trimming.

Bleed is artwork that extends past the trim edge so that small movements during cutting do not leave a white sliver along the border. Keep text and anything important at least a couple of millimetres clear of the trim and fold lines.

True black is 100% K alone. Rich black adds cyan, magenta and yellow underneath to produce a deeper, denser black for large solid areas. Use true black for small text and rich black for large fields — mixing them up is the most common cause of a sleeve that looks patchy.

Spine width follows the record count: a single LP needs roughly 3 mm, a double needs at least 5 mm, and anything from three records upward, as well as gatefolds, needs about 7 mm. We confirm the exact figure with your template before print.

Yes. Front, back and spine are laid out as one artwork file, and we will send you the correct template for the packaging you have chosen.

Lossless WAV or AIFF at 24-bit, 48 or 96 kHz is ideal. Avoid MP3s, streaming rips or anything that has been through lossy compression on its way to you.

It is strongly recommended. Bass content, phase, sibilance, dynamics and level all behave differently once they are cut into a groove, and a master prepared with that in mind gives a noticeably better result.

You can, but it is rarely the best choice. Masters that are loud, heavily limited or bright often force a lower cutting level, which costs you volume and can introduce distortion or harsh sibilance.

Around 16 minutes per side is the comfortable target and about 25 minutes is the technical ceiling. Longer sides need a lower cutting level, tighter bass and narrower stereo width, so there is a real trade-off between running time and loudness.

Yes, more than most people expect. The groove near the label is harder for a stylus to track, so dense, bright or bass-heavy tracks do best nearer the start of a side.

Your audio is engraved into a lacquer-coated disc in real time. That cut is the physical original from which every metal part and, in the end, every record in your run descends.

Electroplating turns the cut into metal. It produces the stamper, which is the negative that presses your records, and for longer runs an intermediate part from which further stampers can be grown as the first ones wear.

Often yes. We need to check the type, condition, compatibility and which sides you have before quoting, so send us the details and we will confirm what can be used.

Yes. We recommend it strongly enough that we ask you to treat it as part of the job rather than an optional extra, and we would rather talk you out of skipping it than press a run you are unhappy with. A test pressing is your only chance to hear the record as it will actually exist: that the tracks are in the right order and sit where they should, that the levels and the low end survived the cut, that the sides run as intended, and that nothing went astray between your master and the groove. If you waive it, the run goes to production straight from your files and you accept the result as it comes — anything a test pressing would have revealed cannot be claimed afterwards. Approving a test pressing takes a few days. Repressing a run that came out wrong takes weeks and costs many times more.

Use a well-maintained turntable with a clean stylus and correct tracking force and anti-skating. If you hear something wrong, note the side, the minute and what it sounds like — a short video of the problem passage helps us diagnose it far faster.

Not for the sound. A heavier record does not sound better — the master, the cut, the plating and the pressing decide that, and a well cut 140 g record will beat a carelessly cut 180 g one every time. What 180 g gives you is the feel in the hand: it reads as more substantial, which can suit a deluxe edition or a reissue meant to work as an object. It also uses noticeably more PVC and more energy to press, so its carbon footprint is materially higher. For that reason we will usually steer you towards 140 g, and we will say so plainly when you ask. If you want 180 g we press it and it stays in our catalogue — it should just be a decision about how the record feels, not a belief about how it sounds.

Not inherently — it is an aesthetic decision first. Some pigments and effects can show slightly more surface noise or more variation from copy to copy, and we will tell you when a particular choice has that trade-off.

Not identically, and that is the nature of the effect. Splatter, marbling and similar finishes are physical processes, so every disc comes out unique. A mockup shows the intention, not a guaranteed pattern.

Both are available. They are more involved to produce than a standard pressing and have their own artwork requirements, so tell us early and we will send the right templates along with your quote.

Yes. Multi-record box sets, slipcases, rigid boxes, bundles with printed booklets or posters, and one-off packaging built around a release are all things we make. These are quoted individually rather than picked from a list, so describe what you have in mind — a rough idea is enough to start — and we will work out what is buildable and what it costs.

Printed inner and outer sleeves, gatefolds, discobags, inserts, booklets, poly outer sleeves, shrink wrap and barcodes are all available, in any combination. If you want something that is not on the list, describe it and we will quote it.

Plan for roughly eight to ten weeks from a confirmed order with complete, approved files. Elaborate finishes and busy periods can extend that, and we will give you a realistic figure with your quote rather than an optimistic one.

Yes. We write at the points that matter: order confirmation, file checks, test pressing dispatch and final shipment. If you want to know where things stand between those, just ask — quote your reference and you will get a straight answer.

Timelines we quote are careful estimates rather than guarantees. If you are working to a hard date, tell us at the quote stage — the earlier we know, the more we can do about it.

Yes. Send us the original reference or catalogue number. Where the metalwork still exists and is in good condition, a repress is both faster and cheaper than starting again.

Yes, wherever your release is subject to them. Rights must be cleared before production begins, and we will ask you to confirm this along with your files.

Once we hand a consignment to the carrier, the risk is yours — that is the normal arrangement in manufacturing. Carriers do carry some liability of their own, but it is usually far below what a pressing run is worth. Add transport cover and we insure the consignment and deal with the carrier ourselves if anything goes missing or arrives damaged, so you are not the one chasing it.

No. Quoted prices exclude VAT and shipping, which is confirmed separately once we know the destination, the run size and how you want it packed. If you collect the records yourself, the quote is ex works.