I’ll send you an e-mail so we can discuss things in more detail.

Here in Poland, we also had singles released on plastic. Technically the proper term for them is “flexidisc” I think. They were sold by the Polish Mail as “Musical Postcards”. There was always a selection of local and foreign hit songs available and one could stitch a message on them with a marker and then the post office would send it. Problem was that the material used was really cheap so the discs degraded quite quickly. I think that such singles were also popular in Russia and the other Eastern block countries back in the day.

By the way,most foreign 45 r.p.m. singles were vinyl pressings.But in the USA,the vast majority of them were pressed on plastic.How to tell is quite simple.

A plastic record has light showing through when held up to a light.It usually had a red tint but there were times that they were clear.Over time with each successive play,the record would start hissing and a white powdery film would appear on the surface of the record.This film can not be cleared off with a simple record cleaner.Most labels pressed their singles on this because it was a way of saving money.The labels that did this in the USA were the CBS family of labels,A&M,Bell,Casblanca,Polydor,Mercury,ABC Records,Arista,Sceptor,Eric,Philips(when they were in the USA)& Warner Brothers.Though they did at times press their singles on vinyl,this was extremely rare.

The labels that pressed on vinyl in the USA were the Atlantic family of labels,Motown,MCA,Capitol,RCA pressed most of their singles on vinyl until the 1980’s when they switched to plastic for their singles until the late 1980’s when they reverted back to vinyl.The vast majority of these singles,when held up to the light,would not have light shown through.The first four labels at times did use plastic,but it was used strictly for promotional reasons.I happen to have a couple of promotional Capitol singles and they are plastic.

I only share this because there are not too many web sources out there that have this information proving it.If there is anybody who can find one and share,please do so.Thanks.

I just thought that I would pass this along and share.

For more photos, less functional detail, more emphasis on design, please see my blog
“Record Players and LP Savers”

Latest series on tone arm styles. Also - influences of 1940s automobile design on record player cases.

Google blog search for it by name, or see
dschmidt14.wordpress.com.

Keep up the blogging.

-Dave

According to the facts that you presented on the subject of why does colored vinyl sound worse, one can assume that it’s the same story with picture discs. That’s useful info.

As for the record weight, from my experience most heavy pressings (180g-200g) are not as thin as the regular pressings. Probably that’s why most people think that such records have deeper grooves. Thanks for clearing that up.

I would like to address a couple of points above.

Firstly, the major difference between black and coloured wax is that the additive used in black vinyl (graphite) is harder and more resistant to wear than materials used in coloured wax. This usually accounts for why a lot of coloured vinyl is thought to sound worse. Furthermore, high-end pressing plants like RTI seem to no longer press coloured records, at least in North America.

Also, the weight of the vinyl has nothing to do with groove depth. No idea where this myth comes from, but records are pressed from the same stamper with the same depth of groove. Whether you stamp into 140 grams of vinyl goo, 180 grams or 220 grams, the grooves in the stamper remain the same depth. Imagine making wax seal - whether you use a huge glob of wax or a tiny one, the depth of the impression remains the same because the stamp you use is the same one.

The only (and dubious at that) benefit to heavy vinyl besides aesthetics is that some claim a heavier disc is steadier and less prone to vibration, but that doesn’t really have much consensus as scientifically valid amongst most vinyl types. Furthermore, at heavy weights like 220g have often had quality control issues. Ever try to stuff too much into a sandwich and then try to smush it down?

Cheers,
Piotr