A new startup based in Sheffield, UK., Stamper Discs will be offering a full lacquer/DMM through to stamper service for the European vinyl pressing industry and hope to be running full production by early December.

The key people in Stamper Discs are Martin Frings and his father Peter. Martin has three years experience in galvanics, primarily at the Vinyl Factory, but he also worked at Microforum in Toronto. Martin’s experience is not just in galvanics but also the operation of EMI, Toolex and Viryl presses. Peter ran a large and highly successful print marketing services business for many years and is providing the financial and business experience.

All Stamper Discs equipment is made to order and they estimate it’s the first new vinyl record plating equipment in the UK in almost 40 years. In terms of their process and capacity, Stamper Discs will have a 4 station pre-plating bath; and initially 2 x 2 cell fast plating baths.

Stamper Discs will be using electrolytic passivation rather than chemical passivation, and from day 1 they will have the forming set-up to produce stampers for all Newbilt, Pheenix, and Viryl moulds in 12”. If there is a big demand for 7”, all they would need to do is buy one new coining die.

Stamper Discs will have the capacity to do at least 16 stamper pairs on a double day with this setup, but it can easily be expanded by buying addition fast plating cells, should they need to.

Stamper Discs will be able to work from either DMMs or lacquers. As for cutting, they won’t do cutting in house but they will be working in collaboration with Curve Pusher and their new state of the art facility in Hastings which houses 3 Neumann lathes, this close working relationship will be able to guarantee speed and quality. But of course, they can accept lacquers from anywhere

More information will be available soon at www.stamperdiscs.com

Photo: Stamper Disc