Yes! You can waive this right but we do not advise doing so.
A Test Pressing of your project is an essential and time honored tradition of the vinyl pressing experience.

What should I be checking for on my Tests?

Please listen to all of the units sent – typically 4 copies- on multiple turntables to ensure that playback is consistent and that any potential discrepancies are not player or needle related.

Listen to all of your records carefully to verify that the side breaks and tracks are in the correct running order, the rotation speed is correct, the song breaks are accurate and the visual track markers are properly placed.
If you had a custom etching done in the run out groove that should also be inspected.

We cannot stress this enough, but please try and listen to your tests on a properly calibrated and maintained turntable as the record will only sound as true and “good” as the stereo being utilized.

If you do hear any persistent audio issues or skipping there are some interim measures to investigate prior to you rejecting your tests.
Identifying the exact location and consistency of a possible issue on all the tests helps more readily resolve the problem.
If you have specific questions about your test presses please contact your production manager to discuss the issue further.

Yes, please but call first so that we can prepare for our meeting. We actively encourage you to come into our New York, Milwaukee or Portland offices to discuss your project, review samples, and gather inspiration.

Responsibilities:

We’re looking for a results-driven sales representative to actively seek out and engage new customer prospects in merchandise and apparel sales.

You will provide complete and appropriate solutions for every customer by Establishing, developing and maintaining positive business and customer relationships.

Qualifications:

• Reach out to customer leads through cold calling and prospecting
• Achieve agreed upon sales targets and outcomes within schedule
• Coordinate sales effort with team members and other departments
• Analyze the territory/market’s potential, track sales and status reports
• Supply management with reports on customer needs, problems, interests, competitive activities, and potential for new products and services.
• Keep abreast of best practices and promotional trends
• Continuously improve through feedback
• Proven success as a sales representative selling Merchandise, Apparel, Optical and Analog Media.
• Must have excellent working knowledge of merchandise and apparel industry.
• Relationship management skills and openness to feedback

Compensation commensurate with experience including vacation/health benefits.

Please submit resume to hr@atozmedia.com

The perfect candidate is someone who has years of experience using Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign, knows the fundamentals of prepress and production art, is a diligent communicator and can juggle multiple projects at the same time.

You must be able to play the role of designer and pre-press operator.

This position involves:

• Fundamental knowledge of commercial offset and silkscreen printing processes
• Color separating
• Setting up overprints, embossing / debossing, custom varnish plates
• Typesetting
• Design responsibilities
• Communicating with multiple printing plants & vendors
• Overseeing the quality of the Art Department’s output
• Working knowledge of MAC OSX, FTP programs

Qualifications

• The ideal candidate must be enthusiastic and level headed.
• They must be able to multi-task and work well under pressure.
• Have excellent computer skills.
• Previous experience in a similar environment a huge plus.
• Intelligent, motivated and great people skills.
• Other responsibilities as requested

Compensation commensurate with experience including vacation/health benefits.

Please submit resume to hr@atozmedia.com

Yes, our program is called Soundcards and we typically provide the entire setup and hosting of a digital download in conjunction with pressing a vinyl project. We can print the cards on different substrates and provide real time usage reports while allowing you to edit parameters such as length of campaign, landing url and artwork imagery.

We require a completed IPR Form for all Optical and Analog Projects.
Vinyl projects also require a completed Track Sheet.
Both of these forms can be downloaded from the Templates section.

Responsibilities

• The primary role is to work closely with our client base to understand their release schedules, priorities and to ensure the best possible customer service.
• Work with internal art department trafficking jobs through design/proofing stage.
• Issue purchase orders to all vendors.
• Traffic all pieces through print, manufacture and into distribution.
• Communicate (phone / email) on a regular basis with the client as to the status of the job, the key is to be proactive NOT reactive.
• Monitor print samples for quality issues.
• Ensure that all shipping requirements are given to the vendors in a timely manner
• Maintain an accurate production schedule.
• Once the order is complete, enter the correct invoice for the client and ensure that all billable parts are included. Liaise with in house sales personnel as and when necessary.
• Other tasks/duties as requested.

Qualifications

• The ideal candidate must be enthusiastic and level headed.
• They must be able to multi-task and work well under pressure
•  Have excellent computer skills.
• Previous experience in a similar environment a huge plus.
• Intelligent, motivated and great people skills.

Compensation commensurate with experience including vacation/health benefits.

Please submit resume to hr@atozmedia.com

All of our orders are subject to an over/under quantity tolerance that ranged between 5-10% of the entire order quantity. This is an industry standard that ensures that sufficient quantities are on hand to complete your minimum order and accounts for units that fail quality control.

We try to deliver as close as possible to the quantity you order, but individual components can finish up to 10% over or under this amount and are considered within acceptable order tolerance.
For example, if you order 250 records, you may end up with any quantity between 225 and 275.

The IPR/IRMA form is a standard anti-piracy document that must be supplied for all CD, DVD, and Vinyl content. It essentially confirms that you are the sole owner of all supplied content or that you have obtained all necessary licensing which allows the content to be replicated without violating any intellectual property rights.

Yes, you should have one for your product if you plan to sell your product through distributors or stores- online or brick and mortar.  A to Z can provide a UPC Barcode free of charge.

Please upload all of your content to our Client Center. If that is not possible for whatever reason please send us a link to the files via services like Dropbox, We Transfer, etc.
If you would prefer to send physical copies of your master please speak with your sales or production contact to confirm correct address.

We stand behind our products and service 100%. 
Please get in touch with your production and sales contact straight away to discuss the issue.
Please be prepared to send photos and share pertinent details as we work with you to resolve.
Please understand that custom printing and replication is an imperfect science subject to slight variances of colors and finishes.
Please refer to our Terms and Conditions for specific details.

If the damage is visible upon receipt, please sign for the product as DAMAGED.  Regardless, get in touch with us right away and send photos of the damaged product, photos of the damaged boxes (if applicable), the total quantity of damaged goods, and any other relevant details.  We require this information as soon as possible in order to enter a claim with the carrier.

Please check out the A to Z Cares link in the About/Company section.

The easiest way to insert a or in your artwork is by using the font: Bundesbahn P3i
It is available for free at: www.ufonts.com/fonts/bundesbahn-pi-3.html
Type a capital ‘C’ for and a capital ‘P’ for.

Yes, we are happy to do so.  Please reach out to your production manager to confirm specific shipping instructions.

We work with a variety of carriers to ensure the best pricing and time-in-transit. Domestically, we ship via UPS, FedEx, or freight (for larger shipments on pallets).  Internationally, we ship via UPS, DHL, TNT, Dachser, or direct air or sea freight.  
Please discuss your shipping needs with us and we will work with you to determine the best options for your project.


We are proud members of A2IM ( American Association of Independent Music) and WPO (Women’s President Organization)

Overt audio, video and graphic representations of misogny, sexual violence, homophobia, bigotry, anti-semitism, racism and all around hate are not welcomed.

500 units for glass mastered and molded discs with silkscreen or offset imprinting. If you are looking for smaller quantities please check out our sister company, mixonic.com for a complete range of on demand short run printing and duplication of optical products.

Supplying audio at the highest original sampling rate and bit depth is something that should be at the top of the list to consider when creating a vinyl master. We can cut from audio files at resolution of up to a192 KHz sampling rate and 32 Bit depth.
Up-sampling does not help the quality, but rather sending files at the highest rate they were recorded at during tracking and mixing will benefit the project.

You can send us audio files peaking near 0 dBFS, but leave at least 0.1-0.5dB headroom for D/A conversion.
With that in mind it is actually best to not use hard-limiters (brickwall, peak limiters) to a great extent.
We have to reduce the cutting levels if there are a lot of heavily limited sections in the supplied audio.

A good and safe dynamic range is around DR12 but if mixed and (pre-)mastered well, it can be up to DR8 for some genres.

The project should be in phase, out of phase audio can cause skips during playback.

Bass below 300 HZ and Treble over 18KHz tend to be areas that need addressed. It is typical to use an elliptical EQ on low range bass during cutting generally up to 150Hz and low pass filters on treble over 18KHz.

Sibilants are also problematic, so de-essing is recommend especially on tracks near the inside of the record which are at risk for inner ring distortion ( the grooves toward the inside of the record distort more easily than the ones near the outside).

When building the track list louder tracks normally fair best at the start of a side and quieter tracks toward the inside of the record near the label.

CD text is embedded in your CD during mastering. The text will show up on most CD players, though some very old players aren’t equipped to handle this function. Didn’t add the text during mastering? Not to worry–you can add your text for free using Gracenote (which can be done easily via iTunes), so anytime your disc is in a player connected to the internet that text will automatically pop up.

The simple answer is no.
There is no difference between the grooves pressed onto a 180 gram record and a standard gram record, so it’s the same exact groove being played back on your turntable. There is a school of thought that believes the heavier weight helps absorb vibrations from the turntable and keep that noise from passing through the needle, but other than this minute detail there should be no discernible sonic difference between a 180 gram and a standard weight piece of vinyl.

So why would I want to press on 180 Gram?

In practical terms it is harder to warp a 180 gram record – not only coming off press, but in shipping and storage as well.
It has a durable and lovely solid feel that is aesthetically prized by collectors and marketers alike. It just won’t sound any better if at all.

These are general guidelines as the length of music for each side is impacted by numerous variables including the content and dynamic range of the recorded music.
Please feel free to reach out and discuss the running times of your project and we will gladly provide audio counsel to ensure that your record is pressed at the right speed and sounds as good as it can.

Recommended Running Times

12” LP @ 33 1/3 RPM – 14-18 minutes per side is ideal and will provide a great sounding cut.
At 20 minutes and longer overall levels start to drop, surface noise will become more noticeable and bass may need to be trimmed. Sides over 24 minutes are possible but greatly compromise the final product.

12” LP @ 45 RPM – 12 minutes per side is optimal. For sides over 15 minutes, changing to 33 1/3 RPM might make sense.

10” @ 33 1/3 RPM – 12 – 13:30 Minutes per Side
10” @ 45 RPM – 9 – 10 Minutes per Side

7” @ 45 RPM – 3:30 is the optimal. Leading up to and after 4:30 level starts to drop a bit. Max recommend time is 5 minutes. Most cutting engineers recommend cutting a lower level at 45 RPM on 7 inch as opposed to doing a 7 inch at 33 1/3.

7” @ 33 1/3 RPM- Cutting at 33 1/3 on 7 inches is typically not recommend because of added distortion and some of the lowest cutting levels around – but it can be done up to 7 minutes per side.  Records will not sound good.

Once artwork has cleared the preflight process, a complete set of PDF files will be prepared for you to review and approve.
Revisions can be made- via submission of new files or having our pre-press operators- prior to formal approval of proofs.
Please be mindful that we will provide assistance for the first set of changes required after the first proofs are issued but reserve the right to begin charging a fee of $75 per hour for subsequent changes. As such, it is really important to check your files before submitting and certainly to carefully scrutinize the initial set of proofs provided.

Yes, we offer a very large variety of varnish options that can help enhance your design and impact the final look and feel of your product.

Common Varnish Options for All Products
Aqueous coating: Commonly referred to as ‘AQ coating’. This is the most standard coating and has a semi-gloss to it. Most frequently.

Matte coating: Matte UV imbues a dull/flat look and touch. Has the least amount of shine and slightly darkens the print. Options include UV, Film Lamination and Anti-Scratch.

Gloss coating: Gloss UV imparts a super shiny “high gloss” look that is the most light reflective of the coatings. As such, you will see finger prints and oils once touched ( can wipe off)

The actual weight of a record is constantly in flux and will slightly differ on each and every record that is pressed.
The fluctuations depend on the vinyl material and other variables in the pressing process and are adjusted in order to obtain optimal sound quality. 180 gram and the standard gram weight (approximately 140-150 Grams) are benchmarks.

Yes, always include all fonts used to design your project.
Adobe products allow you to package the fonts easily.
You can also outline all type BUT please note that the text will no longer be editable. To avoid potential mis-registration in printing please make sure your font sizes are not too small, especially if you are dropping out to white from a dark background.

100 units.

100% yes. If a template does not exist, we will create a dummy sample for you to review and then issue templates. Likewise, please contact us with any crazy ideas and we will do a little brainstorming to provide best solution.

All booklets have to be printed in groups of 4 panels. You can print a 10 panel folder though.

If you have any questions while preparing art please contact us for assistance.
That said here are a few basic pointers:

Make sure the template is on a separate layer.
Make sure you don’t flatten the template within the art
Template guideline spot colors should only be used on the template and are for reference only. If these colors are part of your art they should be removed when the template is removed for print.
For example, as our cut line color is red, if you want to make the title text red, please create a new swatch for your text. 

Numerous safeguards are in place to ensure that your content is properly processed. For extra assurance, you can request a DDP check disc for CDs or a test tape for cassettes prior to full scale replication.  We do always recommend check discs for DVD/Blu Ray.

Spot Varnish provides a reflective contrast between two different varnishes in a defined area of your artwork. Most effective use is to apply a flood matte varnish a and spot UV gloss.

Computer screens don’t really do this process justice so again ask us for a print sample of this process.

In order to press a vinyl record, you need to create a physical etching on electroplated stampers that will press each of your records.

There are two methods of creating these stampers- Lacquers and DMM.
A to Z works with both mastering technologies.
Below is a brief summary on the primary differences between the two equally viable solutions.

Lacquers are created by coating a silver metal disc with plastic AKA lacquer ( similar to nail polish.)  The audio from your master is physically etched into the lacquer master disc by a vinyl cutting lathe. A lathe operates like a glorified reverse record player (only way more expensive and precise) to transcribe the audio information onto the lacquer.
While the needle of a record player reads the grooves of a finished record, a lathe physically etches the audio in the soft lacquer creating a master disc that looks very similar to the grooves on a finished record.
This is the stage when the program level (or loudness,) side lengths and speed come into play. Once the Lacquer is created, Stampers are then manufactured from this lacquer master.
Stampers are electroplated metallic plates that are attached to a vinyl press to mold the grooves of a finished record. A to Z will coordinate both lacquer and stamper production or you can arrange for this step on your own.

Please allow upwards of 30 business days for complete duplication, imprinting, packaging and assembly

Yes, we have literally thousands of different templates and configurations to choose from for all packaging options. We have chosen to include only the most commonly utilized styles but please contact us if there is something specifically you are looking for.

A common cause of files not transferring correctly are the presence of special characters in the filename.
Filenames should consist only of letters, numbers, underscores, and hyphens.
Other characters (examples: @$#/&? etc) may halt the uploading process.

When trying to print a specific color that is hard to match within a CMYK build.
Pantones are also commonly used for metallics and for flood color applications.