Lacquer cutting is the first tangible step in the record-making process in which your master audio recording (mastered specifically for vinyl) is transferred onto a lacquer disc using a record-cutting lathe.

Lacquer discs have an aluminum base with a thin layer of lacquer on the surface – it’s malleable and soft which makes it perfect for the lathe’s needle to physically cut grooves. The lathe carves your audio in one unbroken spiral looping from the outside inward to the centre. The lathe transforms auditory energy of the recording into the physical movement of a needle – the opposite of a turntable – turning sound into movement instead of movement into sound.

Lacquers have only one side that can be cut onto, so a standard 2-sided 12” LP requires two lacquers to be cut – the A-side and the B-side.

Cutting a lacquer is ultimately creating your first temporary master record and looks similar to a finished record upon completion. The cut lacquer is created solely to be used in the electroplating process to create stampers which are used in our machine to press your record.

It is worth noting that we do not accept cut lacquer direct as an audio source. To ensure high fidelity records, it is important that lacquer is plated as soon as possible, hence why we get both cutting and electroplating done together in UK. That said, if you have your own trusted lacquer cutter, we can organise for this to get shipped to any electroplating manufacturer nearby.

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.

Holiday Records provides an extensive range of high quality packaging and printing options for your release. All of our printed packaging are printed using eco-friendly inks and FSC sustainable certified paper stock. If you are looking for something especially personalised, get in touch and we will do our best to accommodate. Please find templates for our packaging options on our Resources Page here.