Please find below some of the questions we are most commonly requested to answer. Please feel free to call or email us if you are unsure of anything and we will do our best help. If there is a question we don't immediately know the answer to, we most certainly know someone that does!




For pressing of vinyl you may supply us a master with tracks as CD audio, WAV or AIFF files or a finished Laquer. You may supply masters on CD, DAT, 1/4" analogue tape or as a DDP image file. You may also email any WAV/AIFF files to us but please make sure you Zip the files before sending. Large files can be sent via www.yousendit.com A tracklist detailing the name of each track and running time should be supplied with every master. Please ensure that the master is free of any errors or defects as although we check every track carefully we cannot be held responsible for errors caused by incorrectly edited files. DMS Ltd offer a full CD mastering service so if you need any alterations to your tracks please contact us to discuss your requirements. Vinyl and CD mastering is available at £50.00 plus VAT per hour.




At DMS Ltd we are great believers in getting your graphics prepared to the highest quality before going to print. We have a full range of templates available for all VINYL products including labels, inner sleeves, outer sleeves, gatefolds, box sets..........the list goes on. Please call or email us and we will send the relevant templates to you immediately if you cannot find teh correct template on our site. We also suggest that you should speak to our graphics department before starting your designs as often a five-minute chat can give you all the information required to make your task much easier and your final files much sharper! We accept files for PC and Mac in PDF, Photoshop, TIFF, EPS and Illustrator formats. If you need to supply in another format, please discuss it with us first. Basic requirements for designs are: all files to be in CMYK, minimum resolution 300dpi for paper parts and labels. 3mm of bleed required around outside of all paper parts and no text within 3mm of cut or folds on paperparts. Graphics may be put on CD or sent by email. DMS Ltd also offer a full graphic design service and we can simply transfer your graphics from an unprintable format into one of the above files or we can listen to your brief and design your packaging from scratch. Prices start at £40.00 plus VAT per hour although we have special fixed priced packages for design and production. Please direct all enquiries about graphics to: info@discmanufacturingservices.com or call 01752 201275.




We recommend that once your master and graphics are complete you should send them to us by Royal Mail Special or Recorded delivery. This guarantees Next Day delivery to us ensuring we start your production immediately. This service is available from all Post Offices and costs approximately £5.00 for an average weight package. If you are in a real rush, we suggest that graphics should be sent in advance of the master by email to info@discmanufacturingservices.com or by FTP transfer in zipped folders. Our full postal address is: DMS Ltd, Grosvenor House, Belgrave Lane, Plymouth. PL4 7DA.




Below are the recommended maximum playing times per side for vinyl records prepared at standard recording levels.

12" - At 33rpm - 19 minutes 20 seconds
12" - At 45rpm - 14 minutes 20 seconds
10" - At 33rpm - 13 minutes 37 seconds
10" - At 45rpm - 10 minutes 05 seconds
7" - At 33rpm - 6 minutes 50 seconds
7" - At 45rpm - 5 minutes 00 seconds

The recording time available on vinyl records depends on the frequency spectrum, the dynamic range, the width of the stereophonic signal and other characteristics of your recording. The playing time figures which are listed above are recommended maximum times. If the playing time of one side of a record does not exceed the figures above, the quality of the recording will usually be limited only by the quality of your recording. If the playing time exceeds these figures, it may mean that the recorded signal will not fit into the available space under normal levels of volume. In such a case the level of the recording must be lowered, or an appropriate compromise must be reached. We will discuss this with you before proceeding and in such cases it is recommended you order test pressings to check how the finished records will sound.




Aside from black vinyl, DMS can manufacture your records in 18 standard colours of which 11 are solid colours and 7 are transparent colours. We are also capable of making special colours from a Pantone colour reference. We cannot guarantee an exact colour match but we create a colour that is as close as possible to your chosen colour. You can download our standard colour chart here that will give you a better idea of the choice available to you. Our standard colours include: Solid Colours: WHITE, YELLOW, RED, ORANGE, BLUE, BROWN, GREEN, GREY, BRONZE, SILVER & GOLD. Transparent Colours: GREEN, YELLOW, RED, PURPLE BLUE, FROSTED CLEAR & ULTRA CLEAR.




Due to the nature of vinyl pressing and that once goods are produced they are unusable by anyone other than the client that ordered them. For that reason we ask for payment in full prior to manufacturing commencing. Payment can be made by sending a cheque payable to DMS Ltd or across the telephone by Debit and Credit Card (certain cards incur a surcharge). Alternatively registered companies and government agencies may apply for a credit account. Credit is generally not available to individuals. For further details on payment options please telephone 01752 201275.




Assuming that your master and graphic files are supplied to the specifications required delivery times are generally as follows:

Test Pressings - 10-14 working days from receipt of master tracks
Vinyl with labels and unprinted sleeves - approx 14-20 working days
Vinyl with labels and standard printed sleeves - approx 14-20 working days
Vinyl with labels and non standard printed sleeves - approx 14-25 working days

These delivery times are a guide only. Please ask for current lead times as they do vary between our quieter and peak times.

We are of course happy to try and meet your deadlines if you have something very urgent, please let us know and we will try and accommodate your request.

All our goods are despatched to you through Business Post or Interlink Express, two of the leading UK courier companies. All deliveries will require somebody to sign for the goods at the address you have specified so please make sure somebody is at home or in the office. We will always tell you when goods are being despatched so you are able to plan delivery.