5 Things You Should Know Before Ordering Vinyl
As someone who's worked at a vinyl plant for the last few years, I see people order things all the time and think, "man, if only they knew some of these ins and outs of vinyl, they'd probably choose something else." So today I'm sharing a few of my hot takes! Here are five things you should know before placing your order.
180g vinyl isn't better than 140g
The lacquers, plates, and everything else in the process are exactly the same. Nothing changes there. The only difference is more PVC (the small bits of plastic used to make vinyl) between the sides, which does nothing for playback. You're paying more for weight, not for sound quality. Read more here.
Shrinkwrap is a waste
I'll be honest, we upcharge for shrinkwrap because we don't really want you to buy it. It's single-use plastic, which is so bad for the environment, and it takes a lot of time and effort to apply. If you want some kind of plastic covering, consider polybags instead. They can be reused and are far less likely to get tossed right away compared to shrinkwrap. Here's an example of one we use.
Cool designs look great, but they hurt sound quality
If audio quality is your priority, black vinyl is your best bet. Sound quality drops noticeably the "cooler" the record looks — splatter, swirl, color-in-color, and so on. If you're fine with that tradeoff, go for it. Just know that with a specialty design, looks are coming before sound.
Tip: Our press operator at Hellbender loves making swirls. If you're leaning toward a specialty design, we recommend going with a swirl. He does great work on any project, but swirls are where he really shines.
Ordering only 50 records is a waste
The upfront costs don't change much no matter how many records you order. If you order 50 records, you still need to buy the same number of center labels as someone ordering 200, since most suppliers sell in fixed quantities. You're also paying for jackets, audio mastering, and, the big one, lacquers, which run around $350 for both the A and B sides. You're already close to a grand before you've made a single records. Since 100 records costs almost the same as 50, if you're looking for a minimum order, go with 100.
Don't plan your tour, release show, or anything else until you've approved your test presses
We do everything we can to accommodate tight timelines, but it saves everyone (including you!) a lot of stress if your order isn't riding on a pre-booked show. Mistakes happen, delays happen, life happens. Plan to order well in advance, and hold off on booking any show until you've approved your test presses.
