Short Run Vinyl Pressing UK

Short run vinyl pressing in the UK: which companies press small runs of 100 records or fewer, and what a run costs. Pressing your own record has never been easier, with several UK plants now taking orders of 100 copies and lathe-cut services making as few as one.

Pressed records or lathe cuts?

Pressed records are made the same way as shop-bought vinyl. A stamper is made from your master, then each record is pressed from heated PVC. The setup costs are high, so most UK plants start at 100 copies.

Lathe-cut records are cut one at a time into a blank disc, with no stamper. They cost more per copy, but there is no minimum order, so they suit runs of one to about 50. The sound is usually a little quieter, with more surface noise, than a pressed record.

As a rule of thumb, choose a lathe cut for gifts and runs under 50, and a pressed run for anything you plan to sell in quantity.

UK companies offering short run vinyl pressing

• Vinyl Press UK, York. Presses 7-inch and 12-inch records, single or double, with a minimum order of 100. Its website lists prices starting from £760 for 7-inch and £820 for 12-inch (Vinyl Press UK).
• Press On Vinyl, Middlesbrough. Short runs from 100, with a 10-week lead time promise. It also offers ECOVIN, a lower-carbon vinyl compound developed with INEOS (Press On Vinyl).
• Sonic Wax Pressing, Leicester. Minimum run of 100, with lead times from about four weeks (Sonic Wax Pressing).
• Unchained Music. Presses runs from 100 at a UK plant, with prices published online. On 29 October 2026 it listed 100 12-inch LPs at £11.49 a record, £1,148.40 in total before VAT, including UK delivery (Unchained Music).
• Bladud Flies. A UK broker that arranges 12-inch pressed runs from 50 copies (Bladud Flies).
• Vinyl Pressing UK. Lathe-cut records from a single copy, from £25 for a one-sided 12-inch, falling to £17 each for 31 to 99 copies (Vinyl Pressing UK).
• Plastidisc. UK lathe-cut records in 7, 8, 10 and 12-inch sizes and a choice of colours, with a lead time of around six weeks (Plastidisc).

Prices and lead times change, so always ask for a quote that includes everything you need.

What a short run costs

The quote for the records is only part of the bill. Check whether these are included:

• Mastering for vinyl. A master made for streaming is often too loud for vinyl and needs a separate cut.
• Test pressings. A handful of early copies to check the sound before the full run.
• Labels and sleeves. Printed centre labels and a printed jacket both add to the cost.
• VAT and delivery. Many quotes exclude VAT, which adds 20%.

As a guide, 100 pressed 12-inch records with basic sleeves cost from about £11 to £15 a record. Larger runs cost less per copy, because the setup cost is spread further.

Is a short run worth it?

For many independent artists, cost is the main barrier. In a survey of more than 1,000 artists by Ditto Music, only 12.8% had released music on vinyl in 2023, and 54.4% said production costs were too high (Clash). A run of 100 can still pay for itself if you sell at gigs and online, as fans will often pay more for a signed or numbered copy.

Our guide to how much vinyl records cost explains how shop prices are set, and our guide to rare vinyl shows why small runs can become collectable.

How to order a short run

1. Get your audio mastered for vinyl. Keep each side under about 20 minutes for a 12-inch at 33rpm for the best sound.
2. Prepare your artwork. Plants supply templates for labels and sleeves.
3. Request quotes. Compare at least two, with the same specification.
4. Approve the test pressings. Listen all the way through on a decent turntable.
5. Production. Most UK plants quote four to ten weeks from approval.
6. Sell your records. Selling online as well as at gigs reaches far more buyers. Our guide to listing records on eBay from Discogs shows how to keep stock in sync across both.