The Grade Question
When a small British independent placed a pressing order in the late 1980s or early 1990s, it faced an immediate materials choice with direct cost consequences. Vinyl came in two main grades: virgin PVC, compounded fresh from raw material, and regrind — recycled press waste and returned stock, ground back and blended for reuse.
Virgin PVC pressed quieter. The compound was consistent, free from contamination, and produced lower surface noise across the groove. Regrind introduced variability: microscopic inclusions and compound inconsistency translated into background hiss and occasional moulding faults. For a label pressing 500 copies on a thin budget, regrind was sometimes the difference between breaking even and not. The trade-off was audible, particularly in quiet passages — exactly where a lacquer cut at low levels would be most exposed.
Weight added another variable. Standard pressings ran at 100g through most of the period. Heavier 140g stock gave a stiffer, more dimensionally stable disc that tracked better and warped less in transit. The 180g pressing — associated in this era with reissues and audiophile runs rather than new independent product — cost meaningfully more per unit and ate into already thin margins. For a label with a 500-copy minimum, the difference between 100g and 140g per unit across the whole run was real money.
Coloured vinyl carried the highest per-unit premium of all. Pigmented PVC required either a dedicated compound batch or a colour concentrate blended into regrind, and neither route was cheap. Pressing plants charged more for colour runs because short batches disrupted production scheduling. Labels used coloured vinyl for limited editions and promos — a white-label run in clear or coloured vinyl read as premium without requiring bespoke sleeve artwork.
Virgin 100g black was the working default. Everything else was a budget decision.
