Key Production: CD, DVD, Vinyl manufacture and packaging.

Vinyl Manufacture / Vinyl Pressing

Supplying Your Master
We ask that you supply a CD-R master for vinyl manufacturing if you want us to cut the laquers. The master should be fully edited with all the tracks in the correct order for cutting the vinyl and with the correct gap between each track. It is important that you clearly state which tracks go on which side

Please keep a back up copy of your master.

Please supply a full tracklisting with timings.

It is important to allocate your master with a catalogue number. This number should be unique and will be applied to your label and sleeve so that each part is correctly married up to ensure the final product is correct. Examples are PTDLP001 or ZXD12005. Check vinyl sleeves from your collection to see examples of this kind of number.

Cutting and Processing
Your music is then cut on to lacquers. The lacquers are cut on a special lathe, which looks like a large record player and works rather like a record player's phonograph pickup in reverse, where the audio is converted to mechanical motion. As the cutting stylus, mounted in the head, cuts a precise spiral groove across the lacquer spinning at an exact speed of 33 1/3 or 45 RPM, it vibrates to transfer the recording.

WARNING - Never play your lacquers and make sure you keep them cool!

The lacquers or DMMs are then sent to the factory and processed to make stampers. Copies of the lacquers (masters or negatives) are made by an electroplating process and are made of nickel. The masters are plated again to give positives. These can be played to check the quality. These are then plated once more to form the stampers (negatives again), which are then used to press the final record.

Test Pressings
TPs are supplied for you to check that there are no scratches, crackles and pops. Now is not the time to decide that the levels or track listing are wrong, that should have all been done before the record was cut. Key will not go ahead with your order until you have approved your test pressings.

Supplying Artwork
For details on how to supply your artwork see Artwork and Specifications. Please take time to read this, as it will almost certainly save you time in the long run.

Please send your artwork on a separate clearly marked CDR or use our FTP facility. Remember to allocate a catalogue number.

Please keep a back up copy of your artwork

Your artwork is normally checked within 24 hours of it arriving at Key. Once it has passed checking we will create final proofs for you to approve, either colour proofs by post or by PDF, which ever you request. Please take note that PDFs are not colour accurate, as they may look different on your screen to ours.

Printing
When the artwork is approved the labels and sleeve are printed and sent to the factory. Once at the factory the catalogue number on the print is matched to that on the stamper. The labels must be baked to remove the moisture. The labels and stampers are put on the pressing machine and its all systems go.

Pressing
The vinyl is pressed by placing a small block of vinyl, about half the area and two or three times the thickness of the final record, between the two stampers (A and B side) along with the labels. (First a label, then a block of vinyl, then another label). Using hot steam at approximately 300 degrees, the vinyl is heated and forced under pressure into every groove of the stamper. At a predetermined moment the steam is replaced by cold water and the record is instantly hardened. After coming out of the hot press the newly made record has its ragged edge neatly trimmed by a circular cutting device.

Packing
Your records are hand packed. Some vinyl presses press directly in to a bag (a sleeve without a spine) but as vinyl manufacture is very old fashioned most factories do all packing manually. Therefore most vinyl runs will include a hand packing charge. Stickers and inserts are normally hand packed too. Hand packing is charged per movement.

For further information on DVDs see our Links section for informative websites.