SUSTAINABILITY AT DMS!

MAKE YOUR RECORDS ECO-FRIENDLY!

There are now more options than ever to reduce the carbon footprint when producing your records!

Reducing and minimizing the ecological footprint of pressing records is an important part of our ethos here at DMS and requires a coordinated effort from suppliers, manufacturers and customers working together.

We’ve always strived to engage with projects to impact change locally with the ocean close to our home (and hearts), such as the ‘Pack It In’ initiative with Pete Goss MBE to highlight the impact of plastic in our oceans.

When it comes to making products that are ‘green’ and that have a minimal environmental impact, it is not only limited to the manufacturing process; every step of order fulfilment has an impact on our planet.

MASTERING & STAMPERS

DIRECT METAL MASTERING (DMM)
DMM is our recommended eco-friendly option due to the lower chemical and energy consumption, coupled with the lack of material transportation. Once stampers are made, the plate and coating are recycled and used for future orders.

LACQUERS
A blank lacquer travels from the supplier to a cutting studio and then finally to the production facility. Lacquers require two additional steps compared to DMM; manufacturing of the Original (also known as the ‘Father’) and the Positive (‘Mother’). These additional steps require the use of more chemicals and higher energy consumption.

Lacquers are made by coating an aluminium plate with nitrocellulose which renders the plate unrecyclable.

TEST PRESSINGS

PHYSICAL TPS
A small batch of TPs are pressed and shipped for review and approval, using properly calibrated stereo playback equipment.

DIGITAL TPS
Physical TPs are pressed and transferred to high-end digital audio and sent for approval to avoid the need for shipping.

COMPOUNDS

The plant produces its own vinyl compound in-house (the only pressing plant in the world to do this, minimising transportation) and recycles the vast majority of defective discs and trimmed flash (the excess vinyl trimmed from the pressed disc).

Picture Discs are unable to be recycled, whereas single-colour discs pressed with black or any other compound from the available colour range can be recycled for eco-mix vinyl.

GREENPOWER BIO-ATTRIBUTED COMPOUND

For £0.50 per unit (ex. VAT), your vinyl compound will be produced using a mass-balanced renewable ethylene made from non-food 2nd generation biomass, such as plant residues and waste materials, produced with renewable power from hydropower, wind power or solar energy.

GREENPOWER COMPOUND

For just £0.07 per unit (ex. VAT), your vinyl compound is produced with renewable power from hydropower, wind power or solar energy.

LUCKY DIP ECO-MIX VINYL

Eco-mix vinyl is a 100% recycled compound made of trimmed flash and leftovers from previous pressings. Each record will come out with its own unique colour effect, giving fans a super-cool collectable item. This is matched to the same price as our entry black vinyl option!

COLOUR ECO-MIX VINYL

Love the idea of eco-mix but need your records a certain colour pallet? We are pleased to announce we now offer an eco-mix range where you can choose from 6 different colour pallets! Check out the colour options here.

PACKAGING

MATERIALS
Components made of mixed materials such as laminated or hot-foiled stamped sleeves cannot be recycled.

FSC-certified materials come from recycled sources and/or well-managed forests registered and audited by The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international non-profit organization. The majority of printed materials you can order are available with FSC certificates and provide the best ratio of eco-responsibility and quality.

If we allow additional time we can ensure FSC-certified stocks and appropriate logos/identifiers are added to artwork too (for applicable charges).

PRINTING
Environmentally friendly inks may not be applicable for UV-printed materials such as offset papers or for printing on the reverse sides of the card. Raw plant-based inks and water-based dispersion varnishes are used as standard. Plant-based inks do not contain any cobalt or mineral oils.

FINISHES
We’re now able to offer both gloss and matt eco laminations that are recyclable and better for our planet! These are made of a plant-based, cellulose material.

- The material is completely cellulose, they have home compost certification and are also recyclable together with paper!
- Delivery lead times can be slightly longer on the eco laminations; ordering and availability is upon request
- Please note that the eco laminations are not anti-scratch.

BIO-SHRINK WRAP
We’re now pleased to announce we can also offer a new bio-shrink wrap to our clients. This environmentally-friendly option is made using a combination of tall oil and PCR (Post-Consumer Recycled material). The raw material is produced with a bio-based polymer that comes from the residue of non-food production. Another great feature is that this wrap is also itself recyclable.

- 50% bio-based film (the other 50% is produced from local vegetable oils)
- Fossil free
- Reduced Carbon footprint
- Resin from EU tall oil
- Not from sugar cane or Brazil
- No direct or indirect change in land use
- No impact in packaging performance or appearance at point of sale

SHIPPING

CO2 NEUTRAL TRANSPORT
Sometimes it is possible to opt for carbon-neutral transport, subject to availability based on the destination and details of the delivery. Couriers providing CO2-neutral solutions calculate their greenhouse gas emissions and invest equivalent resources in projects that aim to reduce emissions by the same amount.

SHIPPING BOXES
Goods are shipped in up to 93% recycled and 100% recyclable shipping boxes.