Base band, before you configure your own release
A quick reference for the most common spec — 12″, 140 g,
black, printed single sleeve — before you set your own format, weight, colour and
sleeve below. Once you do, the numbers in the calculator may differ from this table: it is a
starting reference, not the result for your configuration.
Base band · 12″, 140 g, black, printed single sleeve · ex-VAT, delivery not included
| Run | Indicative budget | Midpoint, per copy |
|---|
| 50 copies | €1,600–2,100 | €37.00 |
| 100 copies | €1,650–2,050 | €18.50 |
| 150 copies | €1,950–2,350 | €14.33 |
| 200 copies | €2,150–2,700 | €12.13 |
| 300 copies | €2,350–3,050 | €9.00 |
| 500 copies | €3,000–3,850 | €6.85 |
This band already includes our release-management fee, test pressings and a
breakage reserve, and excludes delivery and VAT. Format, weight, colour, sleeve and an insert move
the number from here — set them below and the calculator does that for your own configuration.
That release date has already passed. Pick a new date and the plan
recalculates from today.
Set every field marked * — format,
run size, weight, colour,
sleeve, release date, sell price and
sales channel. The first five set the budget; the date, the price and the
channel decide whether that budget works as a release. The numbers appear once all of them
are set. Records per set and insert already start on the most common choice — change
them if your release differs.
Under 50 copies is lathe-cut territory, not pressing. The fixed setup cost of a pressing does not shrink,
so each copy would carry an unreasonable share of it, and most EU plants will not take the order at all.
For these runs we recommend DeepCut Vinyl, a lathe-cut studio in Cluj-Napoca,
who also handle labels, inserts and packaging. If you’d like, we’ll introduce you. Nothing is passed on without your agreement.
Close to 50 copies? A small pressing may be worth comparing. Send us the spec and we’ll price both.
Send us your spec
What plants actually accept at the small end is covered in our guide to EU minimum order quantities.
Below 50 copies, pressing is the wrong tool for
12″. The fixed setup cost does not shrink, so each copy carries
an unreasonable share of it, and most EU plants will not take the order at all. For a handful of
copies, cutting is the sensible route, and we can point you to a cutting studio we trust.
What plants actually accept at the small end is covered in our guide to EU minimum order quantities.
Raise the run size to see the numbers.
Your indicative budget and timeline
Indicative budget
Manufacturing, test pressings, breakage reserve and release
management. Ex‑VAT, intra‑EU B2B reverse charge where you supply a VAT
number that validates in VIES. Delivery is not included:
the plant prices freight in the final costing, once the recipient address is known.
Break-even
This shows the shape of the trade-off between price, run size and
channel, not a sales forecast. Nobody can promise you will sell a given number of
copies.
These numbers work. The next step is a real price for this exact spec.
Send this spec for a quote
This is where the planner stops and the map starts: a plant quote
against your actual specification, and us running the project from that quote to the records
in your hands.
Your format, records per set, run size, weight, colour, sleeve and date carry over, and the
insert, sell price and sales channel go into the notes box, so you are not typing any of it again. Sending it costs nothing. A real quote starts with the
€100 quote and sourcing stage, credited in full against the management fee.
On its way.
Check your inbox for the link. If it is not there in a few minutes, look in spam, or
write to [email protected] and we will
send it again.
What run size does to the cost per copy
Same spec, different quantities. The setup cost is paid once either way,
so it stops dominating as the run grows. This is why 100 copies never costs a third of 300. The full breakdown of setup against per-copy cost is in our guide to pressing 100 to 300 copies in the EU.
Midpoint of the indicative range, per copy. Runs below the minimum
the roster accepts for this format show as n/a.
Working backwards from your release date
The calendar starts when sourcing does. The first stage is us putting your
specification to the plants and waiting for their prices; how fast they answer is not
something either of us controls. It assumes your master and
your artwork exist by the time the order goes in. They do not have to be perfect: once the order is confirmed
we check both against the chosen plant’s requirements, before anything goes to the
plant, and tell you exactly what needs changing. The artwork prep we can do for you as a fixed-fee add-on. The master
stays yours: if it is not cut-ready we bring in a mastering engineer rather than
touch the audio ourselves. What the
calendar cannot know is how long a fix takes at your end, so anything that comes back
for changes is added on top of these dates.
This calendar is a model, not a schedule. Real lead times vary a lot
between plants: the pressing stage alone runs anywhere from five to ten weeks, and
considerably longer where the contract figure is the honest one. Every stage
carries delay risk, and most of that risk sits on the plant side, where you have the least
control. Treat these dates as a way to see the shape of the process and the size of the
buffer you need, not as a commitment. Our step-by-step guide to pressing vinyl in Europe walks through what happens at each stage.
A double LP shows the same dates as a single. It costs more here and it
is more work at the plant — two pairs of stampers, twice the pressing, a set to
assemble — so in practice it usually takes longer. We have not put a number on that,
because we do not yet have enough of our own finished projects to know what the number is,
and inventing one would make this calendar look more certain than it is. If you are
planning a double, add your own margin on top and ask us early.
Why a pressing price can move before you sign
Quotes are valid for a limited window, often two to four weeks, and most
plants reserve the right to adjust before the order is confirmed. The usual reasons:
- Surcharges. Plants add a surcharge as a separate line rather than
rewriting the whole price list. Energy surcharges and PVC surcharges are both common right
now, and they can appear between the quote and the order.
- Raw material and energy. PVC compound and electricity are the two
biggest inputs, and both move with the wider chemical and energy market. We cover what has been driving this through 2026 in our guide to rising EU pressing costs.
- Currency. A plant quoting outside the euro carries an exchange-rate
risk that lands somewhere, usually on the buyer.
- Freight. Delivery is often quoted separately and priced when the
shipment is booked, not when the quote is written.
- Spec changes. Colour, weight, sleeve and playing time all move the
number, and small changes late in the process move it most.
- Quantity tolerance. How much a plant may under- or over-deliver, and
whether it invoices the quantity ordered or the quantity delivered, differ from plant to
plant. Both are agreed in writing for your order before it is placed.
Indicative planning budget, not a quote. Figures are built from live European plant pricing
we track, deliberately rounded and widened, and are meant for working out whether a release
makes sense before anyone commits. Delivery sits outside the range: freight is priced by
the plant against your recipient address and its own carrier terms. A real quote depends on
your files, your spec, your delivery address and the plant the project lands at. Some things
that move a real quote are not modelled here at all: how long each side runs, poly-lined or
printed inner sleeves, the number of print colours on the labels, and shrinkwrap. What we
charge for managing the release is published in full on our pricing page.
Spotted something off, or have a suggestion? Write to
[email protected] — we read every message.