# Record press

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{{short description|Machine for manufacturing vinyl records}}

thumb|right|Cutaway shot of one side of a 7-inch record mould with stamper fitted.

A '''record press''' or '''stamper''' is a machine for [manufacturing vinyl records](/source/Production_of_phonograph_records). It is essentially a [hydraulic press](/source/hydraulic_press) fitted with thin [nickel](/source/nickel) stampers, which are negative impressions of a master disc.<ref>{{cite book |title=Making it in the new music business |last=Riordan |first=James |year=1991 |publisher=Writer's Digest Books |page=233 |isbn=0898794587 |edition=2}}</ref> Labels and a pre-heated vinyl ''patty'' (or ''biscuit'') are placed in a heated mold cavity. Two stampers are used, one for each side of the disc. The record press closes under about 150 tons of pressure.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L38MrvScG3gC&pg=PA271 |page=271 |title=The Audio Dictionary |first1=Glenn |last1=White |first2=Gary J. |last2=Louie |publisher=University of Washington Press |year=2005 |isbn=0295801700}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-09-17 |title=How Are Vinyl Records Made? |url=https://hellbendervinyl.com/blogs/news/how-are-vinyl-records-made |access-date=2026-01-27 |website=Hellbender Vinyl |language=en}}</ref> The process of [compression molding](/source/compression_molding) forces the hot vinyl to fill the grooves in the stampers, and take the form of the finished record.

==Vacuum molding==
In the mid-1960s, Emory Cook developed a system of record forming wherein the mold pressure was replaced by a [vacuum](/source/vacuum). In this technique, the mold cavity was evacuated, and vinyl was introduced in micro-particle form. The particles were then flash-fused instantaneously at a high temperature, forming a coherent solid.  Cook called this disc manufacturing technology ''microfusion''. A small pressing plant in Hollywood also employed a similar system, which they maintained fused the particles more evenly throughout the disc thickness, calling their product ''polymax''.  Both claimed that the resultant disc grooves exhibited less [surface noise](/source/surface_noise) and greater resistance to deformation from stylus tip inertia than those of conventional pressure-moulded vinyl discs.    

==References==
{{reflist}}

Category:Audio storage
Category:Machines
Category:Plastics industry

==External links==
{{Commons category|Record press}}
*[https://vinyl-pressing-plants.com/vinyl-records/vinyl-pressing-plant/ List of record presses around the world]
*[https://hellbendervinyl.com/pages/vinyl-plants-in-the-usa/ List of record presses in the United States]

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Record press](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Record_press) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Record_press?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.