Let Me See Your Package» Vinyl Packaging

Vinyl Pressing Tips for First-timers

Marion Isobel — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:10:10 +0000

Releasing music on vinyl is one of the hottest trends in late 2000s. Vinyl records made a big comeback in 2008 and I do not think it’s just a passing trend- it is finally here to stay. Vinyl record sales is still growing each year since its comeback. The 2011 Music Sales Report shows that for the fourth consecutive year, more vinyl albums were purchased than any other year in the history of Nielsen SoundScan (a whopping 39% growth!).

But despite its popularity, vinyl pressing is still intimidating to a lot of bands. Maybe it is because the process is unfamiliar to most of us compared to burning CDs. It is popular but not yet too popular for it to become familiar to many bands. Maybe it’s also because of the price of Vinyl manufacturing. It is not so cheap to make vinyl records compared to, say, digital! Maybe some are hesitant because of the Vinyl myths they’ve heard. But releasing on vinyl does have its perks-branding,marketing,value,your confidence. I’m guessing you know this or else you wouldn’t be here reading this article.

If you’re planning to release an album on vinyl, let me tell you this: Vinyl Manufacturing is actually pretty easy. Yes, it is. If this is your first time, here are some tips for a worry-free vinyl pressing experience:

Absolute must: Choose a reliable Vinyl Pressing Company. This, my folks, is the number one requirement for a stress-free vinyl record production. You really don’t want to deal with amateurs or scammers who pretend to know everything about vinyl pressing but gives you trash in the end- Trash you’ve paid for and waited for such a long time. You can do some google search of the companies online and make sure you check with the Better Business Bureau for reviews. You may also ask bands who’ve done it before. Just send e-mails to bands you know and ask them where they manufactured their vinyl records and whether the company is good.

And hopefully, one that’s close to where you live. Among the good vinyl pressing companies you’ve chosen, choose the one that’s close to where you live so you can just visit the company anytime you feel paranoid about the project. It will also save you lots of dollars on shipping and fuel. Lastly, you can protest outside their office or plot a revenge if you got a very bad service.

Allot at least one month for Vinyl manufacturing. Vinyl pressing is not as quick as CD manufacturing. And, even CD manufacturing could take up to 3 weeks from submission of artwork til the final copies. If you submit your order today complete with all necessary (and correct) requirements, expect to get the test pressing in 2 to 3 weeks. Then once you approve the test, they’ll press your order and ship it to you in 1 to 2 weeks. So never rush this job and be at peace with the fact that this is the usual timeline for a good vinyl pressing job.

Submit the required file format.The vinyl company will want your songs in the highest quality possible, so pretty much a WAV or AIFF file, unless you want to take the time to post them a CD. Export them as the highest available quality your software will allow. Make sure you listen to your files before transfer to ensure there are no errors – although Vinyl Factory checked our files before pressing, not all companies are as thorough.You can generally get the files to them via FTP transfer or via a file transfer like SendSpace.com [Source]

Make sure Vinyl artwork is 100% ready. For Vinyl artwork, make sure you follow their template, remove template layers, have images that are not less than 300 dpi, etc. Here’s an article on how to avoid artwork issues.

Save money. Go for base colors. Coloured vinyls can be expensive especially if you have multiple colors or the color that you want is not one of the company’s base colors. If they mix colors, they will charge you for it. Send them your desired color in CMYK and ask them how much they charge for it. If it’s too expensive for your own good, just go for the base colors.

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Unified Manufacturing is a custom CD/DVD and Vinyl Manufacturing facility based on both sides of the US. Our clients are indie artists to major label artists such as Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, and Ringo Starr. If you need a Instant Quote on a project now or something you are thinking of in the future AND you want FREE SHIPPING ( free shipping on all quotes from the blog) – Then CLICK HERE.

Vinyl Packaging of the Week: Pretty Girls Make Graves

Chris Bauer — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:40:13 +0000

This cardboard box contains a compilation of Pretty Girls Make Graves‘ first three 7″s which comprises the songs for their very first album, Good Health. This is a very special edition release because there are only 140 of these hand-numbered and silk screened cardboard boxes. What I love about it? First, it attempts to be eco-friendly. Second, the Velcro! Third, the lovely clash of the loud pastels and the earthy colors of the box.

photos source

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Creative CD & Vinyl Invitations

Marion Isobel — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:09:42 +0000

Are you a music freak who’s about to celebrate your 25th birthday? Or, are you about to get hitched with a person whom you share your love for music? Then, you might get inspired by these cute CD and vinyl invites.

Vinyl- looking CD Invitations

These custom screen printed invites may look like a vinyl album, but the clever design is actually a personalized mix CD with a hand screen printed case and coordinating wedding details pieces. If you’re a couple of music lovers, then these may very well be the invites that you’ve been looking for!

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Mackburry’s CD Wedding Invitation

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Designer Night Invitation

This CD invite is for the Designer’s Days’ and Designer’s Night Party. People working in the sphere of industrial and automobile design, scattered about the world, gathered together in Moscow in the last night of the passing away summer.

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50th Birthday CD invitation and pins

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Wedding Invitation that Turns Into Paper Record Player

A wedding invitation that plays a record. The hand-spun record yields a garbled, but scrutable listening of an original song by the couple. It requires a bit of tinkering and folding —effectively championing the inner science-nerd kid in the recipient. The whole thing serves as an interactive packaging for the song—which can be experienced on the paper record player, unscrewed + set on a regular turntable, or enjoyed online

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“Fifties is Alive” CD invite

“The theme of the wedding is 50s Rock and Roll, when music is still alive! Thus, the couple tried very hard to obtain that look.The CD contains their wedding invitation, some wonderful songs from the fifties, and a picture folder with some of the pictures taken on their d.i.y. photo shoot

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Brandon and Karyn’s DIY invite

This personal wedding invite & playlist is made by the couple. All hand typography is done in chalk. The CD is silk screened with a vinyl press varnish. Sweet!

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Unified Manufacturing is a custom CD/DVD and Vinyl Manufacturing facility based on both sides of the US. Our clients are indie artists to major label artists such as Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, and Ringo Starr. If you need a Instant Quote on a project now or something you are thinking of in the future AND you want FREE SHIPPING ( free shipping on all quotes from the blog) – Then CLICK HERE.

Music Packaging Roundup 2011

Chris Bauer — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:08:25 +0000

Bosco-Spectrum

Gold bubble wrap for this golden girl’s promo EP.

Shidlas- Saliami Postmodern

The CD is vacuumed like real salami and the sticker with contents is like it would be from a meat shop.

Money Mark- Brand New Tomorrow

The CD label artwork below is one of the most visually appealing CD label artwork I’ve seen in my lifetime! The wooden tape looks like it’s actually placed on top of the plain blue CD. I could stare at it for hours…well, not really. But you get my point.

MVSICA

CD comes with a random colored tiddlywink so you can scratch off the gold latex panels that cover the text on the packaging.

Girl Echo Suns Veils- lovesliescrushing

The Special Edition packaging is a hand-made wooden box with a slip door opening.

Explosions in the Sky- Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

One of the coolest vinyl packaging ever! The set contains a 10-panel quadruple gatefold cardboard jacket, with an enormous 18-panel full-color double-sided poster, and a full-color double-sided postcard – then all of that is tucked neatly inside of a full-color double-sided slipcaseAssemble everything to come up with something like the picture above.

123 Jump!- Jive Talk

Fold the CD case to form the stage and scan the QR code to start the band’s “live” animated performance. Watch the animated Jive Talk members perform their title track, “123 Jump!”.

Sewed CD Cover

You can actually sew your messages or artwork on this cover! Sew cool, isn’t it?

Freeway- Stimulus Package

The liner notes are huge dollar bills in a bank sleeve wrapped around the packaging like a big stack of money. After removing the sleeve and the bills you see the CD is inside a cardboard wallet, complete with a download credit card for the instrumental versions.

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Funny Santa Album Covers

Chris Bauer — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 14:15:21 +0000

Tis the season to be jolly…and funny, apparently. Many artists make Holiday albums each year and maybe nothing spells Christmas better than S-A-N-T-A. Of course, there has to be some twist for the artwork to get attention. If they just place a regular goodie-goodie santa, no one would bother to pick up their CDs. They have to put a certain personality to their santas somehow. Here are some of the most creative santas in music packaging.

lpcoverlover.com

Do you know a kick-ass Santa cover we can add to the list?

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6 Reasons Why People are Buying Vinyl Records Again

Chris Bauer — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:06:59 +0000

Vinyl made a major comeback in the mid 2008 and I don’t think the format will become extinct any time soon. According to industry tracker Nielsen SoundScan, vinyl record sales reached 1.9 million units in 2008, and then grew to 2.5 million in 2009, to 2.8 million in 2010, to 3.6 million in 2011 (projected).

Here are some of the possible reasons why it’s back:

Sound Quality. Music aficionados say you can hear the difference in sound and that vinyl is better than CD or digital files. People have been listening to MP3s for more than a decade and when they listen to vinyl records for the first time, they can tell there’s something slightly different with the sound quality. Here’s one vinyl lover explaining why he likes the vinyl experience: “Records have a more omni-dimensional sound that really fills the room a lot better. LPs sound warmer, and you are more likely to notice subtle sounds and instruments” according to Andrew Schaer, owner of Hear Again Music & Movies in Gainesville, Florida.

Vinyls pressed today sound better than those pressed in the 60s. This is because the original recordings are now digital rather than lower quality tape masters. The recording equipment used today is far more advanced as well.

Surface Noise. Part of the vinyl experience is the hum of the needle along the record grooves and the occasional crackling sound. Romantic, poetic, artistic people love this add-on. It adds texture to the whole experience.

Nostalgia. Those who are from the sixties and seventies miss the way they listen to music. Although digital music is portable and very convenient, they still like experiencing music in their living rooms. Digital music will never die, but it seems like we can say the same thing to Vinyl records.

Tactile Experience. Some music lovers feel like MP3s make them lose out on any sort of physical interaction with the music they are listening to. It’s just music and nothing more. Everyone can have it, it can be shared, it’s free. But there are some people who like EXPERIENCING music. The experience of opening the wrapper, smelling the sleeve, actually touching the record are what most people pay for when they buy vinyl records.

Collectible. Vinyl record sleeves are nice to look at. They have more aesthetic appeal compared to CDs or tapes. A shelf full of vinyl record have more impact compared to a shelf full of CDs or a media player with billions of music files. Some people even buy vinyl records just because they love the packaging.

Valuable. Of all the music formats, vinyl has the most value. Vinyl records today might sell 10 times its original price 20 years from now. I do not think the case would be the same with CDs, or tapes, or digital files (snort!). Vinyl records in itself is more aesthetically appealing and more artistic and is therefore more valuable.

TOP SELLING VINYL LPS OF 2010

1. The Beatles, Abbey Road (35,000)
2. Arcade Fire, The Suburbs (18,800)
3. The Black Keys, Brothers (18,400)
4. Vampire Weekend, Contra (15,000)
5. Michael Jackson, Thriller (14,200)
6. The National, High Violet (13,600)
7. Beach House, Teen Dream (13,000)
8. Jimi Hendrix Experience, Valleys of Neptune (11,400)
9. Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon (10,600)
10. The xx, The xx (10,200)

These are just some of the reasons why I think vinyl is here to stay forever.

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Vinyl Resurgence – Why People Love Vinyls Again

Marion Isobel — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 02:41:53 +0000

From being a medium for music, vinyl records simply became a collector’s piece- a representation of a great decade of music. Many people still love it but it was just too bulky. In the 90s, vinyl was a thing of the past as it was overpowered by the trendy (now tacky) cassette tapes. Everyone was mesmerized by the tapes since it was small and they can carry them around (remember walkmans?). Cassette tapes were in, vinyls were out. People put their vinyls in their shelves, plaster them on their walls as decors, and some of them even gave them away (my father did!).

And then there were CDs, then digitals…and soon enough, vinyls became a thing of the past. Only the oldies, the hippies, and the collectors owned vinyls. The young ones did not even know how vinyls were played.

But now..decades later…vinyls are so back! It seems like everyone is bored with simply downloading music online. Maybe they miss the experience of actually touching and inserting something in their players. One vinyl record lover said: “Web browsing still has nothing on the tactile pleasures of “binning,” that is, spending one’s off-hours flipping through albums in milk crates and bins”.

Maybe many people thought “urgh. Music is too available online. One click of a mouse and I have any kind of music I want from any artist. Everyone is doing it. I want to be unique. I want to experience music again” And thus, vinyl manufacturing made a comeback in the mid 2000s.

For sales year 2008, Nielsen Soundscan shows more than 1.88 million vinyl records were purchased in that year. In fact, the 1.88 million sales for 2008, was the largest amount of sales of vinyl records in any one year since Soundscan began tracking record sales over 20 years ago. This year, Vinyl record sales have increased 55% in the UK.

Now, in 2011, we see many indie bands release special edition albums in vinyls. Almost all the prominent ones have vinyl albums. Heck, even the Obama campaign released a special edition vinyl. As a result, lots of stores are now selling vinyl records. Mass retailers like Urban Outfitters have taken note of the resurgence of vinyl and now sell vinyl records and record players in their stores.“ The Gagosian Gallery caught on to the burgeoning market and has added vinyl records with covers designed by artists to the offerings at its Gagosian shop on the Upper East Side.

The rebirth of vinyl is driven by a bit of nostalgia, some people’s love for packaging and the arts, the boredom of the digital format, and a belief that the format has better sound quality than the rest.

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Vinyl Packaging: Sanso Xtro- Fountain Fountain Joyous Mountain

Chris Bauer — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 05:13:14 +0000

Sanso Xtro aka Melissa Agate released another album after her debut album 6 years ago. This time her songs in Fountain Fountain Joyous Mountain are more sublime and intimate. The front cover is hand drawn by illustrator Fergal Brennan using rotring pens. It was taken from the music video he made for Sanso Xtro’s “Hello Night Crow” track.

The album is pressed in neon-colored translucent vinyl which looks like it would glow in the dark. I like how it complements the light-colored artwork on the front panel and the black and white text on the right panel. They look separate from each other but they do look good together.

Notice the shadow of the girl/creature on the front cover?

Music Packaging: Warp 20 Box Set

Chris Bauer — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:31:18 +0000

To commemorate Warp‘s 20th anniversary, they released a deluxe special-edition of music and art, titled Warp20 (Box Set).Warp20 comes beautifully packaged in a 10-inch square slipcase wrapped in charcoal Buckram embossed paper with tipped-on gloss-laminated cover photograph, designed by YES, photographed by Dan Holdsworth. It contains a 192-page catalogue, double CD albums, and vinyls.

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Vinyl Packaging: Explosions in the Sky- Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

Chris Bauer — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 09:30:02 +0000

Guys, let me introduce to you the coolest Vinyl Packaging I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Just take a look at this beauty and you’ll become a fan as well. This is the Vinyl packaging for Explosions in the Sky’s 2011 album Take Care, Take Care, Take Care. The set contains a 10-panel quadruple gatefold cardboard jacket, with an enormous 18-panel full-color double-sided poster, and a full-color double-sided postcard – then all of that is tucked neatly inside of a full-color double-sided slipcase!

The LP comes in three different artwork variants – the interiors of artwork are different colors. There are 3 different colored vinyl variants that match the corresponding colors of artwork.

Assemble everything to come up with something like this:

Cooler than cool, right? Definitely something you cannot download.

ARTIST: Explosions in the Sky
ALBUM: Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
YEAR: 2011

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