Pressing records with us?
Well aren’t you smart? And good looking…
Now comes a little something called “order preparation”: five super simple steps to help guarantee a painless and enjoyable record pressing experience. We’re sticklers about making sure everything is as organized as possible; it ensures we meet our deadlines and helps your project moves through the production queue as gracefully as possible.
Now why don’t we get started? And by “we” we mean “you”.
1. Your audio source
Yup. Simple really. You can provide .wav files to us via a download link (ideally with two subfolders for Side A and Side B). You can use a service like Dropbox or We Transfer to do this:
- They must be equalized and sequenced (songs should be in the same order as the finished record) with the correct amount of leader or blank space in between songs (we suggest 3 to 5 seconds).
- Keep in mind how much music you can fit on a record (ask us if you’re unsure) and identify which tracks are “side A” and “side B” – in order and by title.
- Tell us if any noise reduction has been used and any other pertinent information or special instructions to ensure the accuracy of your order.
- Please title your tracks. Not doing this makes our jobs harder. Identify your songs and the side they’re meant to be on. Something like this: Side A: Track 1: Whole Lotta Love
No CDRs please. It’s 2018. We need high quality .wav files of your audio to create a lacquer master.
2. Your artwork
When submitting in artwork we ask that you:
- Please provide us with minimum 300 DPI files in CMYK Colour – PDF or EPS format preferred with all fonts converted to outlines. PSD files are also groovy.
- Include a 1/8th of an inch bleed (this “bleed line” is marked on all templates)
- Make sure that the artwork files have the template itself (the guidelines) included as a removable layer and that they aren’t embedded into the artwork. If in doubt, remove the template from the files.
- You can upload your files to us or include them with your master package on a separate CD-R or USB drive (clearly marked). If you’re submitting multiple files on our upload form please submit them as a single ZIP containing everything.
3. Paying for your order
You can pay with your credit card or arrange with us to pay using an alternate method (e-transfer, cheque or wire transfer). The remaining balance (the other 50%) must be paid prior to the shipment of your final order. We’ll contact you to make those arrangements.
We require 50% of the total on your invoice (including taxes) to be paid prior to the start of production (i.e. before we receive your audio source).
4. Shipping address
Please ensure (and then double ensure) that you’ve provided us with the correct shipping address for your test pressings and final order. You can verify that we have the correct address on your invoice. If the shipping address is different than what’s on your invoice it’s absolutely critical that you tell us immediately.
5. Uploading your MP3s*
*Only applicable if you’ve asked for digital downloads with your order
If you’ve asked us to included digital downloads with your records we’ll need you to upload the MP3 version of your album as follows:
- First, rip all of the tracks from your album into MP3 files (here are instructions for using iTunes and Windows Media Player to do it). The minimum bit rate we’ll accept is 256 kbps and the maximum is 320 kbps. Most software is set to 128 kbps by default (which is way too low) so please make sure this is set to at least 256 kbps.
- Feel free to include any bonus materials like extra tracks that didn’t fit onto the vinyl record, photos, videos, or a PDF of the artwork and liner notes. But don’t include anything resembling an executable file (Mac or PC) because we have to ensure that everything is 100% virus-free and on the up-and-up.
- Make sure that the ID3 tags are properly set for each track. ID3 tags are things like the artist name, album name, and track name. This ensures that when a fan adds your album to their MP3 collection the tracks are properly labeled and not called something like “01-track1.mp3” (here are instructions for setting the ID3 tags in iTunes and Windows Media Player)
- Grab all of the files you plan to include in your album’s digital download (album tracks and extras) and compress it into a single ZIP file. If you need help making a ZIP file, here’s a guide for Mac and Windows.
- Upload your ZIP file and you’re done!
Contact us if you need any help preparing or uploading your ZIP file.