Tips for Pressing Vinyl Records (from a record label who’s done it for years)

I’ve been pressing vinyl since 2015 and am constantly “dialing it in”. Here’s my advice on making records, as of December 2020:

MY FAVORITE PRESSING PLANTS:

1 — Gotta Groove Records — quality customer service, highly customizable runs (multiple colors, etc), offers jacket printing in-house, and their vinyl mastering services always sound great.

2 — A to Z Media — they’re actually a broker, not a pressing plant. A to Z can find what you’re looking for, at affordable prices (they press in Europe, where prices are lower). For vinyl, they usually use GZ Media. I asked them to make “mini LP” style CDs and they did. Easy.

3 — RTI (Record Technology Inc) —high quality, RTI has been around for decades and is very much a family company. However, they don’t print jackets, they don’t cut lacquers, and if you want color vinyl their minimum is 500 units. So, you end up doing more work ordering jackets, mastering, and lacquers from third parties. When I work with RTI, I rely on Dorado Packaging for jackets and labels, and Golden Mastering for mastering and lacquers.

I’VE TRIED OTHER PLANTS, BUT…

Over the years I’ve tried vinyl pressing plants across the US and Europe, including: United Record Pressing (US), Optimal (Germany), GZ Media (Czech), Precision Record Pressing (Canada), and Furnace Mfg (US).

Some experiences were excellent, others not so much.

I won’t go into details, and you’re more than welcome to try any of those plants out for yourself, but I will say this: every pressing plant has its own way of doing things, from general customer service to copyright paperwork, minimums and production logistics to print quality and shipping... Sometimes it’s worked for me, sometimes not.

There’s a lot to consider, but if you go with my top two go-to plants — GGR or A to Z — you’ll be in good hands!

MY TIPS FOR PRESSING VINYL:

PRO TIP #1: DRIVE TO THE PLANT: Save on shipping costs — go with a pressing plant near you so you can drive over to pick up your finished records.

Ask for a tour, too!

When pressing plants ship your records, especially LPs, they often hire freight companies that use big trucks and pallets to transport goods. A pallet if unnecessary if you’re pressing 300 to 500 LPs — that many records will fit in a small SUV or minivan.

Case in point: In February 2020, I flew from Hawaii to Los Angeles, rented a Hyundai SUV, drove two hours west to RTI, loaded 500 copies of Dae Han BLUE into the car, drove back to LA, stored 400 at Vinyl Don’s place, then flew back to Hawaii with 100 copies in hand (and because I was using my airline credit card, paid $40 at most to check them in as luggage). All in all, it might’ve cost me $500 total.

This was cheaper than shipping all 500 units from RTI to Vinyl Don in east LA, where he would’ve had to received it as a pallet, and then we’d have to ship 100 copies to Hawaii. Which would’ve cost about $600 total.

WEIGHT: 180 gram? 140 gram? 150? 160?

Regular weight vinyl is fine: somewhere between 140 and 160 grams.

Realize that 180g vinyl weighs more, which means shipping costs increase.

Also realize that you might have to ship twice: from the pressing plant to your location, and then from your location to a customer.

QUANTITY: How many records should I press? 300, at least.

Press at least 300 units.

300 units is a bit more expensive overall than 100 units, BUT the per-unit-price drops dramatically at 300, and even further at 500.

Instead of paying $17/unit for 100 units, you’ll pay $7/unit for 300 units. That’s a savings of $10 per unit! Check out these packages for an example.

Here’s another reason: you only have to sell 100 records (out of 300) to make your money back.

300 units costs $2115, according to Gotta Groove Records. Sell 100 at $20 = $2000, which means you’re almost out of the red. Sell 12 more at $20 and you’ve made all your money back.

Better yet: you can now justify giving away 200 copies as promos.

Promo copies often leave lasting impressions with recipients, who will be more likely to tell their friends about your label. These promo copies will tap into word of mouth marketing, which is priceless.

PRO TIP #2: SPREADSHEETS—Spreadsheets are your friend.

Calculate all costs to see exactly how many units you need to sell in order to make back your investment.

If you need a head start, download this Google Sheets template I’ve created for indie record labels and independent artists.

JACKETS & SLEEVES

I’m VERY HAPPY with Gotta Groove’s jackets and sleeves. We just finished two LPs with them, and the packaging is top quality.

SHRINK WRAP vs. POLY BAGS

I prefer reusable plastic sleeves (“poly bags”) over shrink wrap.

Shrink wrap is thrown away immediately. What a waste of plastic! Poly bags protect the record for a lifetime — AND they allow people browsing at a record store the option to listen to your record before buying. (Most shops won’t let you open a shrinkwrapped record!)

PRO TIP #3: MAILING SUPPLIES—don’t cut corners, it’s a waste of time

Buy some proper record mailers.

With the first record I released, I tried to reduce my costs by using cheap boxes that weren’t built for mailing LPs. I ended up wasting hours re-cutting (macgyvering) the boxes to properly and safely fit the LPs into these “mailers”. I think I had mild carpal tunnel syndrome after that. Never again.

Record Mailer Option #1: Hawaii Mailers.
A sturdy, space saving and cost-effective vinyl record mailer that’s made in Hawaii. If you live in Hawaii, this option is more affordable than Amazon, Bags Unlimited, or U-LINE.

Email hawaiimailers@gmail.com for more info.

Record Mailer Option #2: Lil Mailers.
For a while, I used Lil Mailers for vinyl record and CD mailers. Their mailers are sturdy enough to withstand most journeys through the post. They have mailers for single LP, multiple LPs, 45s, and CDs. Orders over $250 ship free in the United States (except Hawaii and Alaska, bummer but to be expected).

A nice thing about Lil Mailers is that there’s no tape needed — their mailers have a self-sealing adhesive. Another great way to reduce plastic waste. However, in recent experience I’ve noticed that the adhesive on Lil Mailers packaging isn’t very strong. Sometimes the adhesive wears off on a mailer before I can even get it to the post office. I’ve also received packages in the mail where the adhesive hadn’t stuck, and the record inside was at risk of falling out.

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I hope this helps some of you who are looking at pressing vinyl.

Check out my other Medium post, The Simplest Guide to Making a Record.