Electroplating is the process of creating ‘stampers’ from the master lacquers for the purpose of replicating your vinyl record. The stampers are the negative metal moulds (both A-side and B-side respectively) that we use in our record press to press your record. Basically, the stampers have the ridges that press the grooves into your vinyl. We use the industry standard practice, the two-step plating process:

Silver And Nickel

Once the lacquers are cut, cleaned and thoroughly inspected, they are sprayed with a thin layer of silver and then placed into a series of electroplating baths. This process involves using an electrically charged nickel solution to transfer metal onto the surface of the silvered lacquer.

The Father and the Mother

This metal is then peeled off the surface of the lacquer, thus creating a negative copy of the lacquer - which is affectionately called the ‘father’.
From here, the father is used to create a metal mirror image of itself (in a similar way the lacquer was used to create the father). This is called the ‘mother’ and is ultimately an exact metal copy of the original lacquer. As it carries a copy of the original sound grooves (as opposed to ridges like its male counterpart), it is often played on a turntable to check for impurities and to ensure that its audio meets the highest quality standards.

Stampers

Once the father and mother have been made, the mother is cleaned and then plated to create stampers. These are basically replications of the father as they are negative metal copies of the lacquer and have ridges. These stampers are then used in our pressing machine to press the grooves into your chosen vinyl, and thus creating your vinyl records!

Although extensive, the two-step process guarantees high-quality pressings and reserves the mother plate as a backup in case more records (i.e. more stampers) need to be produced in the future.

All Holiday Records come with electroplating as standard. That said, we are happy to receive stampers direct from you if you have trusted platers you would like to use instead. Although, please speak with us first as it is important that the stampers fit our machine.