12" records:
Around 28 minutes at 33 rpm
Around 13 minutes at 45 rpm

7":
Around 5 minutes at 45 rpm
Around 8 minutes at 33 rpm

Please mind the fact that:
- the longer the side is, the lower the recording volume will be
- in case of extremely long sides, some parameters of the sound might be slightly adjusted (e.g. sub-bass frequencies, eq on the side of the signal, stereo width...)
- such adjustments are applied in order to achieve a better signal to noise ratio and, when the groove is thin (around 50 micron), to keep its width within certain boundaries, for the only sake of making the reproduction smooth and safe on any turntable.

Q: I am a foreign customer and have a VAT number. Is it possible to exclude the calculation of VAT from the quotations, orders, invoices?
A: If you have entered correctly the required information in your profile, this will be done automatically. Because when you check out, before confirming the order, your VAT nr. is checked online via the VIES website. And if it is enabled to intra-UE B2B transactions, then all quotations, orders, shipping fees etc. will be calculated without VAT.

Q: I cannot find any available payment method when I am about to confirm my order.
A: Check if the shipping method has been correctly selected. In some cases, the available payment methods are affected by the selected shipping method.

Q: I can’t go forward through the order confirmation process.
A: Basically, the available options of each step of the process depend on one or more options you have selected in the previous steps. For example, if no delivery address is specified, then no shipping methods are displayed. Just click the little “Save” button located on the bottom-right corner of each frame (billing/delivery address, shipping, payment) after having filled or selected what is necessary, and the next box will be updated with the available options accordingly.

1. Create a "main folder" and name it with the catalogue number of your record. Even if you are an independent producer and don't have an existing catalogue, it is important that you give an unique alpha-numeric identifier to your product, because this will help us to identify it more easily, even in the future, for any further purpose.
2. Create two sub-folders, named "(cat.no) Master" and "(cat.no) Artwork". Copy your masters and the artwork into their respective folders. Master can have one file per side, or one file per track. In the first case, a PQSheet must be included. In the second case, each filename has to start with the side, followed by the number of the track. Example: A01, A02 etc.
Please do not name the files "A1, A2" but rather "A01, A02, A10, A11...".
We accept all types of audio formats in any samplerate and bit depth.
3. Copyright - into the "Main folder", we expect to find:
- (only Italian customers) a .pdf scan of the "Scheda Lavoro" released by SIAE;
- (only Foreign customers) a .pdf scan of the filled and signed "Copyright Declaration Form" (available into the "Download" section).
4. Once finished, pack the main folder to a .zip or .rar file, go to http://phonopress.wetransfer.com and upload it.
There is no need to send a confirmation email from your side, because we will be notified automatically.

Some customers ask why are we offering Test Pressings only for titles pressed in 1000 units or more.
In the past, Test Pressings were used mainly to check the correct order of the tracks and the overall sound in all parts of the record, as long as to verify the integrity of the content of the master lacquer after the galvanic process. We are talking about titles which were released in 5.000 units per time, if not more.
Being cold-pressed records, often Test Pressings were a bit noisy, but customers did not focus on that, because the main purpose of Test Pressings was another, as described above.
Furthermore, the most experienced customers knew how to distinguish a "noise arising from cold pressing" from another kind of noise, maybe arising from the galvanic process or from the cutting itself, which needed further attention.
The reason was very simple: in the first case, those tiny noises were going to be "naturally" suppressed during the main pressing, as soon as the thermic environment got hotter and steady, while in the second case the problem was real, as the defects were going to be replicated in all records.
Another fact which is worth being mentioned is that coloured Test Pressings are not possible to press (for obvious reasons of colour change in the extruder of the press, a procedure which requires much time and wasted compound), and black Test Pressings of titles which are going to be pressed in any colour are totally useless, because the pressing parameters are quite different.

Black compound has been formulated specifically to avoid or correct problems related to cold spots, non filled grooves, etc. and it is, since decades, the 1st choice for a quality pressing. Which means making a 99% exact copy of the metal matrix, on PVC.
Most customers order coloured records guessing that they will have the same "performance" of black records and that the only differences are in the look and in the price. But it's not exactly like that.
Coloured records are ALWAYS worse than black records. However, not all colours have the same characteristics.
With solid colours, which have a 2-polymer compound like black, it is in most cases possible to achieve a very good pressing quality, similar to black. On the contrary, transparent colours, which have a mono-polymer compound, are nicer to look at (because they are 100% see-through), but since the lubrication of the compound is much lower, it is not always possible to achieve the results which are normally achieved with solid colours.

ORDERS RESTRICTIONS AT PHONOPRESS:
- You can self-quote and order anything you find in the Shop (even by customizing it with the product configurator - all is accepted)
- We don't take orders for 50, 100, 200 units
- We don't take orders split between two different colours, or between black and any colour, even if the total nr. of the records is 300
- Test Pressings are offered only for pressings of 1000 units or more
- For orders of more than 500 pieces, we are happy to provide you with a custom quotation: write us an email by clicking the "Contact" link at the bottom-right corner of the page