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All new jobs are assigned individual work order numbers to provide for status checking along the way to project completion.
Properly submitted CD-R/DAT masters and artwork or typeset information enables us to proceed expeditiously and provide the
"quick turnaround" (10 days) that our customers enjoy.
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The vinyl manufacturing, DVD, CD ROM or CD replication process should take no longer than 10 working days. If a master needs to be EQ'd
(levels set for maximum sound) this is done by the mastering engineer prior to cutting lacquers. The process for vinyl
manufacturing begins with the cutting of lacquers which appear to be thick records. Lacquers are made in the mastering studio
by playing the mastered source which causes a needle resting on a acetate disc to vibrate. This needle cuts a groove in the
acetate and those grooves correspond to the sound vibrations of the source. Two lacquers are needed for a single record, side A
and side B.
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TRIVIA: How many grooves are there on a 12" 33 1/3 RPM record? Two! -- one continuous groove on each side!
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These lacquers are then electroplated using nickel or silver. When separated from the lacquers these metal "negatives" become
the metal stampers which are installed on a press. A 2500 lb. press compresses softened vinyl between two labels to form a record.
Initially, vinyl tests are made by the 4th or 5th day after receipt of the masters to verify the stampers are flawless. During
this time label printing is completed. Once test approval is received, finished product will be ready to ship within 4 or 5 days,
sometimes sooner.
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CD/CD-ROM production is actually quite similar to vinyl record production. For CD replication, a CD-R digital master must be provided.
SUN can provide CD-R conversion services if your master source is on analogue tape or DAT tape. Once the CD-R verified to be
free of digital flaws a "glass master" is made. This is done by laser etching a glass disc with tiny holes corresponding to the
digital on's and off's that code the original source. During this time label copy and artwork is finalized.
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TRIVIA: the tiny holes are arranged in a continuous spiral track from the inside of the disc outward. The width of this track is
0.5 microns and if it was unwound and laid out straight, it would be 5 miles long!
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Similar to the lacquers made for vinyl record production, this glass master is then electroplated with nickel or silver to form
a metal negative stamper. However, in this case of CD's, only one stamper is need because a cd only has one side. These stampers
are installed on an injection molding machine which molds the CD's out of Lexan plastic. These are then metalized and provided
with a thick plastic protective coating.
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From here the CD's are printed on and packaged. Finished product will ship no later than the 10th working day after project
submission. For those in need of "rush Products" 2-5 day turns are available (see pricing).
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TRIVIA: the first CD ever commercially released was Billy Joel's 52nd Street in 1982.
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Mastering is when the finished recording is duplicated onto a media that is used to mass produce more duplications. During this
process the source is optimized for maximum audio levels and equalization. Mastering also makes sure that the entire record or
CD sounds cohesive and balanced.
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Mastering is a critical step in the manufacturing process and can make or break a recording. DynamicSun provides mastering services
and works with premier mastering engineers and studios.
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The simple answer to this question is that all major record companies still provide vinyl records as well as many smaller labels.
While most record companies don't have their own record manufacturing facilities any more, they do get records made for many of
their acts. It is because of this that DynamicSun has thrived. DynamicSun has pressed records for the largest acts and some of
the most successful albums released.
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But why would records be made at all? After all, CD's and MP3's dominate music sales and distribution. There are several reasons:
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Promotion
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In the competitive market for popular music, record companies rely heavily on promotion to gain attention for their acts. Vast amounts
of resources are spent on gaining attention from radio stations, club DJ's, distributors and retail stores. Promotional records are
often provided to these highly influential segments to get them to remember, play or merchandise a new release.
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DJ's
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Club DJ's are one of the largest influencers of popular music. They represent the cutting edge. Radio stations often take their cues
from what the most popular clubs are playing. Key to this is that most club DJ's still spin records in the DJ booth rather than playing
CD's. Records give them more versatility to creatively 'mix', 'cut' or play segments of the songs. It is much easier for them to
manipulate a record than a CD.
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Many DJ's also prefer the "feel" of vinyl as opposed to the somewhat more removed feel of CD's. Playing and manipulating a record by
hand is much more tactile than pushing a button which makes a machine read the data on a CD. And over a club's sound system, a well
made record is indistinguishable from a CD.
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Audiophiles, Collectors & Vinylists
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For most of the buying public vinyl records have gone the way of the dinosaur. If fact today's college students have NEVER purchased
a vinyl record and many may have never even seen a vinyl record! But vinyl is still demanded by collectors and audiophiles.
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Many collectors pursue owning not only original pressings of vintage records but also acquiring the newest releases in an effort to
have a "complete collection."
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There are also a group of people known as audiophiles who are interested in the highest quality of sound reproduction possible.
A subset of these people include vinylphiles or vinylists who believe that a well made record provides better fidelity than a CD.
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They argue that a vinyl record has a much wider dynamic range than standard compact discs and that this range, though beyond the limits
of human hearing has an effect on the sound of a recording. This is because the audio recorded at the extreme ranges still provides harmonics
which are within the range of human hearing. CD's do not reproduce these harmonics. The argument continues that the standard CD bit rate of
705,600 bits per second (bit rate determines fidelity of sound reproduction) cannot deliver all the information that is embedded in a vinyl
records groove.
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DynamicSun's position is that both media provide excellent fidelity.
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