Record store day marks a celebration for renaissance of vinyl LPs
A day that recognises the growth in renewed sales of music recorded on vinyl LPs is being heralded as an opportunity to celebrate the use of PVC for their production by a West-Yorkshire based compounder.
Dugdale PLC, based in Sowerby Bridge, says ‘Record Store Day’ on 22 April is a chance to celebrate the new-found vitality in the sector, as well as how the properties of PVC used in the production of vinyl records helps maximise the listening experience.
The company has a long standing partnership with The Vinyl Factory, a customer that both manufactures records using original production methods, as well as promoting the sale of reissued material on vinyl.
“The revived sector is still showing growth. We are seeing a great variety of all kinds of music being produced on vinyl,” explained The Vinyl Factory’s Manufacturing Director, Adam Teskey.
Based in Hayes, Middlesex, The Vinyl Factory, is the only major pressing plant in the UK. The compression moulding technology it uses to manufacture LPs and EPs is little changed since the heyday of the industry and it operates a traditional 1400 press, along with a gatefold making machine and other technology to produce over one million records a year at present.
PVC produces perfect sound
To ensure the records are produced with impeccable sound quality, The Vinyl Factory uses a specialised PVC resin from Dugdale.
“This particular compound reduces the viscosity in order to allow the mould to properly fill and so that the fine grooves on the surface may be exactly contoured,” explained Dr. Jeff Ryan, Dugdale’s Technical Director.
Each groove has a left and right internal grove which gives the "stereo" sound to a vinyl record.
“If someone was to use a PVC formulation not designed for records application, the material would not flow to fill all the groves, hence causing noise or what is known in the trade as ‘non-fill’,” Dr Ryan added.
Vinyl record compounds are therefore formulated with very easy flow properties to enable the best possible replication of the intricate groove pattern of the record mould. This is necessary both for fidelity and for good quality of sound reproduction.
“For the same reason,” continued Dr Ryan, “particulate impurities are a pre-requisite for minimal surface defects. The use of a high purity polymer with a low viscosity is therefore required along with a careful selection of lubricants to ensure optimum frictional properties that will ultimately maximise the listeners’ experience.”
Celebrating PVC
Record Store Day, now in its 10th year, will see over 500 vinyl exclusives released from the UK’s independent record shops on 22nd April.
Some highlights include Alice Coltrane’s harp experiments, a Blade Runner picture disc, Wiley’s new Godfather album, a string of Bowie releases, Sun Ra circa. 1973, and a white vinyl edition of Joe Meek’s I Hear A New World.
The event falls just a few days before the UK’s annual PVC conference in Brighton, where global delegates will gather to discuss the latest developments in the industry.