No more toxic chemicals. No more stamper wear. No more copying.

HD Vinyl stamper production is efficient, eco-friendly and offers a consistently high quality. Compared to the traditional process, the benefits of HD Vinyl become clear.

Traditional stamper

Lathe-cut LacquerA master recording (usually digital), is played through a machine that cuts the grooves into a polished aluminum disc coated with nitrocellulose lacque which is similar to nailpolish.

Father copyWithin 24 hours the lacquer has to be cleaned with stannous chloride and coated with silver or else the grooves can start to deform. This silver disk is then electro-plated to create a nickel cast which is called the father.

Mother copyThe father copy is also electro-plated with nickel and its negative copy produces the so called the mother.

Stamper (Son)Finally the stamper (son) is created by recasting and electro-plating the mother.

Record PressingA traditional stamper can be used to produce 500- 1.500 records.
After this a new stamper has to be made from the mother.

HD Vinyl

3D topographyA high resolution audio file is converted into a 3D topography.
The parameters for playing time and audio-quality are optimized with our Perfect Groove Software.

Laser-cut stamperA high precision laser cuts the 3D topography into a ceramic plate.
In just two steps we produce the stamper.

Record pressingThe laser-cut stamper can produce up to 10,000 vinyl records.
Each copy has the same high quality as there is no stamper-wear.

Highly deserved improvements

Manufacturers

Produce faster, avoid toxic chemicals, suffer no stamper wear

HD Vinyl records are pressed from the original stamper, not from a copy of a copy of a copy. Production is faster and suffers no audio loss from multiple copying.

A precision laser chisels the ridges from the ceramic stamper. The current practice of electro-plating is eliminated along with all its toxic chemicals.

Due to the superior nature of ceramic over nickel, the quality remains the same regardless of how many copies are pressed.

Labels & Artists

Get the most precise reproduction and push the limits of sound

Our software Perfect Groove HD allows mastering engineers to optimize the gaps between the grooves. The additional space can be used for higher dynamics or a better signal-to-noise-ratio.

You get the best representation of your music, including high frequencies but without skipping and distortion.

Engineers can furthermore optimize HD Vinyl for either radial or tangential scanning.

Consumers

Enjoy the best sound possible with any standard turntable and in consistent quality

HD Vinyl enables a higher frequency range than traditional records, thus preserving the full spectrum. Instead of pressing from a copy of a copy of a copy, you get the sound from the original stamper.

You can enjoy HD Vinyl on any standard record player, as it is backwards compatible.

And no matter if you own copy No 1 or No 5,000, quality will always be the same because HD Vinyl has no stamper-wear.

HD Vinyl technology in detail

1. Audio to 3D conversion

Mastering is exactly the same for HD Vinyl as for traditional records with one difference: engineers can use our „Perfect Groove HD“ software to push the limits of sound quality.

First, the software transforms the audio file into a 3D topography, which provides the cutting pattern for the laser. Mastering engineers can then minimize gaps between grooves and use the additional space to increase the amplitude. As a result HD Vinyl enables better dynamics and a better S/N ratio. In addition the studio can optimize the record for either tangential or radial scanning.

The studio can check the sound quality at any time and listen how the record would sound. In the traditional process engineers rely on their experience, hearing the sound only after the master disk is cut.

2. Laser cutting

The mastering studio sends us the final 3D topography for stamper production. With an ultrafast, high precision laser we chisel the ridges in a ceramic plate. Those ridges become the grooves of the record.

The laser beam can be positioned within a nanometer and – opposed to a traditional etcher – it cannot overheat and thus cuts finer structures. We can cut up to 100kHz onto the outer edge of the disk. By comparison, a traditional vinyl record can realize a maximum of 15kHz, losing higher notes in the process.

This is it, no more copying, no more toxic electro-plating. Records are directly pressed from the laser-cut stamper. As a final quality check, a playable wax copy is cast.

3. Pressing up to 10,000 copies

In the traditional pressing process, the nickel stamper has to be replaced after a maximum of 1,500 copies because the aggressive PVC slowly erodes the soft nickel surface with each pressing. This is called stamper wear and causes quality to deteriorate with each pressing.

We expect HD Vinyl stampers to last for 10,000 copies since the chemical composition and smooth surface of ceramics allow the vinyl to seperate easily and residual-free.

Our HD Vinyl stamper does not wear down, you always have the same high quality, no matter if you buy the first or last copy of a release.