Setting the Record Straight: Handpours

Chapter 1: Pressing a Handpour

The last decade has brought a boom to the vinyl industry. With so many records being pressed, everyone is looking for a way to stand out. Here at Waxwork, we have taken this opportunity to craft our records into playable pieces of art. Each effect we create has its own unique look and feel. There are the splatters and the marbles, the swirls and the split colors. But our favorite effect has to be the handpour. 

For a handpour, our press manager Matt starts by creating a specific color recipe for each title. A carefully measured combination of raw PVC pellets are used to create a run of records. Once the pellets are in the press, it is up to fate how they fall into the extruder. Through the randomness of this process, no two records are ever the same. A blue and red handpour record may come out more red, more blue, more purple, or a beautiful kaleidoscope of color. 

We get a lot of questions about why a record doesn’t look like the product photos, and what goes into making such hypnotic swirls. So, let’s get into how a handpour is created!

Step one: Choosing the Color of the Record

Typically the clients have the most input about the color direction of the LP, but us here at Waxwork can help steer our clients in the right direction for a record that will look slammin’. A common scenario we encounter when dealing with our clients is the mixture of colors and how they end up presenting in its final form. When the pellets are poured into the hopper, they mix together and make a colored puck. Sometimes they end up looking magical and other times they end up making a less than satisfactory brown shade. And don't get us wrong, we love a nice brown tone, but it's not always an ideal color for the records we are trying to create!

Step 2: Developing the Recipe and Color Tests

Each record will have its own unique recipe. For the bulk of our catalog, we already have recipes that all of our press operators follow. Sometimes, however, we have to craft a new recipe for a project that we’re working on. Once we have a rough idea of what the record should look like, we then begin doing color tests. This can be tedious as we try to figure out the measurements of the vinyl pellets and the precise order in which to add them into the hopper to create the desired effect. As if discovering the order of adding the pellets and getting the perfect amounts wasn’t enough, we even have to consider the melting point of each of the different colors! Some colors will require a higher temperature, so won’t blend as well with others. Who knew making records was so scientific!

Step 3: Pressing the Record

After the colors come out looking just right, it’s time to get pressin’! This is where the variations in the look of the records happens. Hand pours are different from other pressing styles because of how the vinyl is added and distributed in the hopper.

The layers of PVC pellets move through the hopper where, inevitably, they will mix. As the name entails, vinyl pellets are constantly being poured by hand into the hopper where it funnels down into the extruder to make a piping hot puck.

Depending on when the record is pressed in the cycle of colors, it may come out looking more like one color or another. As you can see below, each handpour recipe will create about 10 different records through one cycle.

The Final Chapter: The Handpour's Journey Comes to an End

As you can see, the creation of a hand pour is an in-depth and delicate procedure. Our press operators have worked tirelessly to perfect this specialized pressing process. The unique aspects of creating a hand pour make each record an individual piece of artwork to adorn your turntable. Rest assured, we work hard to make your records look as good as they sound!

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