Vinyl records might be old technology, but they sold 13 million copies in 2016 and an Addison company is churning them out with a pioneering press machine.
Hand Drawn Pressing boasts the world’s first fully automatic, modernized record press, dubbed the Warm Tone press, GuideLive reported.
‘WE FINALLY HAVE A BETTER RECORD MAKER’
The computer-controlled machine can pump out a new record in 25 to 30 seconds, about three times faster than traditional presses. The technology comes from Toronto, Canada-based Vinyl Technologies.
“The big thing we tout is North Texas. … It’s music-first, artist-first, how do we take care of our brethren in the communal space …”
DUSTIN BLOCKER
While mechanical or operator error could lead to a 30 to 40 percent product loss for traditional presses, the Warm Tone press can reduce margin of error to less than one percent, Wired reported.
“Waffle makers are better today than they used to be because the machines continued to improve,” Hand Drawn Records Chief Creative Officer Dustin Blocker told Wired. “Record presses have actually gotten worse because the technology hasn’t changed in half a century. The machines are falling apart. It took a while, but we finally have a better record maker.”
Hand Drawn Pressing told GuideLive it expects to produce 1.5 million records this year for local artists and national musicians.
MUSIC-FIRST, ARTIST-FIRST
Blocker stressed to Forbes last fall that Hand Drawn is focused on offering artists a quicker turnaround in getting their albums to the public.
“The big thing we tout is North Texas. … It’s music-first, artist-first, how do we take care of our brethren in the communal space and do something bigger and fulfill a need that we’ve seen get crazy these past few years and will grow another 55 plus percent all the way through 2020,” Blocker told Forbes.
GALLERY
[ Photos: Courtesy of Hand Drawn Records ]
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