INDY VINYL PRESSING
How Vinyl Records Are Made https://indyvinylpressing.com/
Mastering The Tracks For Vinyl Pressing
Mastering engineers and musicians work together to prepare the music for vinyl pressing. Musicians will bring a digital file to the mastering engineers. These specialized sound engineers will optimize the files through a series of steps that includes adding level and required limiting, sequencing so that the loudest and most dynamic tracks are near the beginning of each side, equalizing to limit skipping, splitting the tracks, selecting the rotation speed and taking into consideration many other factors.
Creating A Master Copy https://indyvinylpressing.com/
Once the digital file has been optimized for conversion into vinyl, lathe-cutting is used to imprint the digital files to a lacquer plate. Using what looks like a large turntable, an arm equipped with a heavy stylus uses pressure to create grooves. Each side of the consumer record will require its own separate lacquer plate. This is often the final step in the engineering studio. Once the Master is created, it is brought to a processing plant and run through a process called Electroforming, also known as Electroplating.
Electroforming
Electroforming, sometimes referenced as Electroplating, is the process of making a copy of the lacquer Master in a fortified material that will be able to withstand the pressures of mass replication. First, it is sprayed with a silver solution to create a copy called a Mother. Next, the Mother is placed in a nickel bath to create a Stamper. Stampers have raised grooves used to press indentations into vinyl.
Pressing Records
Each Stamper is taken to a hydraulic press, which stamps it down onto pre-heated vinyl material. This material starts out as pellets, which are formed into a solid hockey-puck shaped disc known as the Biscuit. The Biscuit is sandwiched between labels on the top and bottom. The Biscuit is then heated with steam that is approximately 300 degrees Fahrenheit (148 °C) and compressed with more than 2,000 square pounds per square inch of pressure.
Test Pressing Creating test pressings are a crucial step in making vinyl records. A small batch of records is prepared for artists and labels to review. It is an artist’s or label’s final opportunity to evaluate how the record will sound prior to the larger production run. The vinyl format has some natural nuances and idiosyncrasies, but the new pressings are ultimately being vetted for significant and consistent defects during this evaluation.
Get in Touch Mailing address 310 NORTH ALABAMA STREET – SUITE 320INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46204
Email address chip@indyvinylpressing.com
Phone number (317) 822-1850