In 2021, a cargo ship wedged in the Suez Canal caused a six-day backup that shook up shipping schedules for the rest of the year.ĭunster founded Erika in 1981, when she was a young metalhead chasing early Slayer, Mötley Crüe and Metallica shows on the Sunset Strip.
Global production and distribution still haven’t recovered from the pandemic’s first wave, which shuttered plants and cluttered shipping lanes. The pebble-like synthetic plastic polymer, stored in refrigerator-sized boxes in one wing of Erika’s facility, is also used to make vinyl flooring, fake leather and credit cards. In the past year, the price of PVC (polyvinyl chloride), which is elemental to pressing records, jumped by nearly 50%. “I think that’s still carrying on today, almost two years into the pandemic.”Īs sales have soared, though, so have costs. “Lots of folks were stuck at home working or received stimulus money early on in the pandemic and couldn’t spend it on the same things as before, so they invested in their living spaces and home listening setups including turntables and hi-fi,” McGuire said. Music How four ’70s-obsessed Italians became America’s favorite new rock bandĪfter winning the Eurovision Song Contest in May, Italy’s Måneskin became that rarest of commodities: A young rock band with sex appeal and crossover hits. That’s true globally too: There aren’t enough manufacturers to meet the renewed demand, and too few workers are available to run them. in Camarillo, the only two remaining pressing facilities in Southern California, can supply. It’s been a big year for vinyl sales, and the hum of activity overwhelming Erika’s production facility, which employs 75 people, offers proof.īut - cue needle scratch - there’s a problem: Buyers want way more records than pressing plants Erika and crosstown competitor Record Technology Inc.
“These also make good hand warmers,” she said with a smile, putting it into her pocket. Noting a chill in the warehouse, she grabbed a warm-to-the-touch puck of vinyl used to create glitter-filled records.
She passed one area stacked with piles of Madvillain’s “Madvillainy” album sleeves awaiting records ordered by Highland Park label Stones Throw. Steam-powered presses, operated by employees busy hand-stamping splatter-colored records, hissed with energy on either side of them. On a recent morning, the two ambled through the facility, her in a stone-washed brown shirt, blue jeans and red boots, and Elvis trotting behind. To finish the stamper, the manufacturer uses an optical centering punch to make a hole in the exact center before progressing to trimming off any excess metal.When Liz Dunster, known to friends as Vinyl Mama, moves through Erika Records’ 65,000-square-foot vinyl pressing plant in Buena Park, she’s usually trailed by Elvis, her little Yorkshire terrier. And there you have it the removed metal layer is our stamper that will be used to press shiny new vinyl records. With the nickel set into the grooves, the disc is removed from the electroplating tank and the metal layer is removed from the original lacquer disc.
When immersed, the nickel is fused to the silver surface by an electrical charge. A duller metal is added to the silver side, which stiffens the disc ready for the electroplating process.Įlectroplating simply involves immersing the silver-plated disc into a liquid tank of dissolved nickel. Any silver that does not stick is washed away. The process begins by washing the master disc before spraying it with tin chloride and liquid silver. To create vinyl records from the master record, we must first create the stamper.
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