Get Indy Vinyl Pressing & Packaging Service In Indiana

VINYL SPECS

Let Indy Vinyl Pressing vinylize your music! LPs in a kaleidoscope of custom vinyl colors to choose from. Custom printed single and gate-fold album jackets. Free MP3 hosting and free download card for each packaged LP. years!

Here’s the Deal…

We provide 12″ 140 gram and 180 gram vinyl records… available in a myriad of colors including unique marbled, swirled, splatter multi-color vinyl pressings. Our records undergo a strict quality control inspection to ensure flawless playability from mastering, to lacquer cutting to final pressing.

VINYL INFORMATION

We provide 7" 45 rpm AND 12″ vinyl LP records in both 140 gram and 180 gram pressings. Available in a myriad of colors to choose from, and stunningly-unique marbled, swirled and splatter vinyl pressings! These high quality records undergo a strict quality control inspection to ensure flawless playability from mastering to lacquer cutting to final pressing.

Many record pressing facilities find negligible audio quality differences between the 2 weights, however there are studies that suggest 180 gram vinyl pressings are “sonically” superior, especially when played back on premium or concert-hall quality playback equipment. 180 gram is appears noticeably thicker than 140 gram platter, in that respect, 180 gram is less prone to warping and represents a longer-lasting platter.
A lacquer master is a smooth, acetate coated aluminum disc. Grooves are “cut” into the disc on a lathe containing your analog audio master. An individual lacquer master is need for both Side A and B. The metal stamping plates are made which then “stamp” the actual LPs. Lacquer masters typically last 5000 pressings and may need replacing for re-orders.

What you need to know to prepare your audio for vinyl:

Source Audio Files:
• 24 bit 96kHz WAV or AIFF format file is the vinyl pre-master standard. Other file resolutions are acceptable, down to CD quality audio, 16 bit 44.1kHz
• File resolution should be the highest available, but should not be converted up to a higher resolution.
• MP3 audio is not a suitable source for vinyl production.
• The source audio files should be provided as a single WAV or AIFF format file for each side, with track spacing as it is intended to appear on the record and with an accompanying PQ sheet, indicating track IDs

A Note about High Frequencies:

The lacquer cutting system (the next step in vinyl manufacturing) is capable of putting very high peak levels on the record, but only ideal playback systems in optimal conditions will be able to play the sound back without distortion. Since we need the record to be playable on all types of equipment, it’s necessary to limit the High Frequency information. It’s recommended to provide a vinyl premaster that already has a balance of high frequency suitable for vinyl production.

A Note about Low Frequencies:

Excessive level in the very low bass can cause the record to skip. Excessive stereo information in the bass appears as vertical movement in the groove, so it’s sometimes necessary to remove the stereo component of the music as well as any out of phase information in the very low frequency range. The cutting system is equipped to correct minor issues with the bass however, more severe problems will result in a record that can’t be cut or that sounds very different from the source audio files provided. It’s recommended to provide a vinyl premaster that already has low frequency level and stereo content that is suitable for vinyl production.

Running times:

As a general rule, the longer a side is, the quieter the record will be. Our general guideline for maximum side length is 20 minutes for a 12″ 33 rpm record and 14 minutes for a 12″ 45 rpm record. However, it’s the bass content in the music that takes up the physical space on the disc, so it’s sometimes possible to have a longer side without compromising the level or audio quality. Not all masters benefit significantly from shorter sides. As well, some styles of music are more ideally suited to a higher playback level, in which case shorter side lengths (15-18 minutes for 12″ at 33 rpm, 9-12 minutes for 12″ at 45 rpm) are recommended. For 7” record pressing, our general guideline for 3 – 4.5 minutes per side for a 7″ 45 rpm record and 5 – 7 minutes per side for a 7″ 33 rpm record.

The deeper (louder) and wider the cut (more bass), the more space (therefore time) it consumes on the record.

Level:

We cut your record at the maximum level possible within the confines of the vinyl medium while preserving the dynamics your mastering engineer has created. The factors determining the level are a combination of the HF and LF issues explained above, and the running time. The longer side of the record determines the level for all sides, unless otherwise specified.

Reference Acetates or “Dub Plates”:

Any time that there is a question about whether or not your record complies with these guidelines, there is the option to cut a reference acetate first. An Acetate is a disc that is cut just like the master record and can be played a few times to hear what your records will sound like. It can save the extra time and the expense of additional test pressings if you’re unsure. These are at additional coat of $125.00 per side (not always necessary to do both sides)

What are the best ways to send us your audio master files?

All audio master files can be sent via file transfer service such as Dropbox, Wetransfer, Google Drive etc.  We also have a safeFTP Sharefile site – we send you a link and you drag and drop the files!

Important Information on the Production Queue (PQ) Sheet:

The PQ sheet tells us everything we need to know in order to cut and press your record correctly.
• Start IDs for each song, not just each side, since sometimes it’s hard to tell where one song ends and another starts. Also, they’re handy for checking each song
• Write down accurate timings for each song AND total side time including pauses. So much time is wasted by the cutting engineer having to figure out times, and it’s imperative to know before cutting
• A complete detailed list of songs per side

Don’t have your audio files Premastered for Vinyl? We can help!

We work with several mastering engineers who premaster for vinyl! Pricing depends on number of tracks and overall length, but let us know if you need presmastering and we’ll give you a quote!

You will be provided with 3 test pressings for review and approval prior to us pressing your order. Ideally you’ll receive flawless test pressing as most of our test pressings we reject ourselves before being shipped, but you should still listen closely to the test pressing and let us know if there is anything in the audio that sounds like it should be there.

We provide for all the printed elements for your project… single, double-gatefold and triple-gatefold jackets with embossing or foil-stamped printing as well as printed inner-sleeves, custom foil stickers – we’ll print runs as low as 100! (Most printed items available 90% post-consumer waste printed with soy-based inks) We’ll provide templates and all printing specifications, as well as pre-flight high-resolution proofs for inspection and approval prior to printing.

We can provide templates to for album jackets, inserts, center-labels and stickers. We prefer all graphic files to be submitted to us as “Hi Rez PDF’s in CMYK” Feel free to ask us any questions about your graphics materials.

Probable turn times: Expect test pressings within 2-3 weeks… Assume 8-9 weeks from approval of test pressings and art file proofs. You will be given a guaranteed completion date upon approval of test pressing.