Vinyl pricing and anatomy, in pictures
Updated August 2026 · 11 min readSix figures for the pricing article and the glossary. Hover or tap any underlined label to read the definition. All money figures are illustrative, built around one example order — not any plant's actual prices.
- Cuttinglacquer or DMM, both sides€28713.1%
- Metalworkplating, stampers for 2 sides€1145.3%
- Test pressings3 copies from the real stampers€331.6%
- TP shippingto one EU address€351.6%
- File checkaudio + artwork against plant spec€180.8%
- Dead-wax engravinghand-scribed or etched text€291.3%
- Disc12" black, 140 g PVC€2.3031.4%
- LabelsA + B side, 4/0 CMYK€0.314.2%
- Inner sleeveplain white paper€0.253.4%
- Outer jacket300 gsm board, 3 mm spine, 4/0€1.7023.2%
- Assembly + shrinkrecord into sleeve, wrapped€0.395.3%
Ex-works means the price stops at the plant gate - transport is a separate line, and on a short run it's often left off the quote entirely.
The moment cutting starts, the setup money is spent. That is what a deposit exists to cover.
Component prices sit on volume tiers. They step up as the run gets smaller.
Same headline spec, different product: 300 vs 320 gsm board, plain vs printed inner.
Freight is often missing from the headline total. Ask what it adds before comparing two numbers.
Tolerance clauses mean a “300-copy” order can ship as fewer or more, invoiced as delivered.
Validity can run from weeks to over a year, and per-unit prices can reprice with material costs.
Modelled on typical patterns across several EU pressing plants — not any single supplier's quote.
Wide diagram — scroll sideways to see all of it.
Tap a number on the disc to highlight it below.
- 1Rim
The bevelled edge. The record is handled here and by the label - never on the grooves.
- 2Lead-in groove
The wide entry spiral before the audio starts. Costs nothing, but it eats playing time.
- 3Programme area
Your audio. Roughly 18-22 minutes a side at 33⅓ rpm before level and bass have to be pulled back.
- 4Dead wax / run-out
The blank ring after the last groove. Matrix codes live here, and this is where custom text is cut.
- 5Label
100 mm paper, printed 4/0 or 4/1. It goes into the press with the vinyl, so label artwork is due early.
- 6Spindle hole
7.24 mm. Punched in the press, not drilled afterwards.
Per side: 18-22 min on a 12″, 12-15 on a 10″, 4-6 on a 7″. Only some plants press 10″ and 7″ at all.
Thickness and feel, not sound. Same grooves, same stampers - usually a small per-copy uplift.
Black is the baseline. Colour, marble, splatter and picture discs are a fixed fee plus a per-copy uplift.
Wide diagram — scroll sideways to see all of it.
Glossary
- All-in
- A quote meant to include every cost — setup, per-copy materials, sometimes freight — as one number. “All-in” is only as good as what the plant chose to put in it: always confirm freight and dead-wax are actually inside, not billed after.
- Assembly + shrink
- Putting the record into the sleeves and shrink-wrapping the finished copy. Inserts and stickers are extra handling lines.
- Cutting
- Turning your master into a physical cut - a lacquer disc or a DMM copper blank, one per side. Paid once, whatever the run size.
- Dead wax / run-out
- Blank area between the last groove and the label. Carries the matrix number and any hand-scribed or etched text.
- Dead-wax engraving
- Text cut into the blank ring between the last groove and the label. Cut into the master, so it appears on every copy.
- Disc
- The record itself. Weight (140 g / 180 g) changes thickness and feel, not sound - identical grooves, identical stampers.
- Ex-works (EXW)
- The price at the factory gate, shipping not included. An ex-works quote can look cheaper than a delivered one purely because a freight line is sitting outside the number.
- File check
- The plant checks your files against its own spec. Rejected artwork usually attracts a re-check surcharge.
- Freight to you
- Transport from the plant to the delivery address. Ex-works quotes stop at the plant gate - freight is a separate cost, and on a short run it is often left out of the quote entirely.
- Hype sticker
- A printed sticker on the wrap or the jacket carrying catalogue number, format or a short selling line.
- Inner sleeve
- The bag around the disc. Plain paper, poly-lined, or printed - each is a different line in the quote.
- Insert
- A loose printed card or sheet: credits, artwork, download code. Adds print cost plus an assembly line.
- Label
- The printed paper disc pressed into the centre of each side. Its artwork is needed before pressing, not after.
- Lead-in groove
- The wide spiral at the outer edge that guides the stylus in before the first track.
- Metalwork
- Electroplating the cut into metal parts. The stamper is the negative that the press actually squeezes the vinyl against.
- Outer jacket
- The printed cardboard sleeve. Board weight, spine width and whether the inside is printed (4/4) all move the price.
- Programme area
- The grooved area holding the music. Longer sides mean narrower groove spacing, which means lower level.
- Record
- The pressed disc itself.
- Rim
- The outer edge of the disc.
- Shrinkwrap
- Clear plastic film sealed around the finished copy. Cheap per copy, and the reason a record arrives sealed.
- Spindle hole
- The centre hole, 7.24 mm on a standard record.
- TP shipping
- Shipping the test pressings out. Two destinations (you and us) is two dispatches, not one.
- Test pressings
- The first few records off the real stampers. You listen, then approve or reject. Approval is the point where liability moves to you.
Modelled on typical patterns across several EU pressing plants, not any single supplier's quotation: 12-inch black run, 140 g, printed labels, plain white inner sleeve, 300 gsm single-pocket jacket, shrink-wrapped, ex-works plus freight.