It doesn’t come as much surprise that vinyl pressing plants appear to be in short supply as the demand for vinyl records is steadily increasing. Vinyl sales have shot up in the last six years but this increase has unfortunately not translated to a resurgence of vinyl pressing equipment manufacturers. As a result, many of the existing plants are out-of-date with old equipment and cannot keep up with the growing demand for the product.
Vice’s Motherboard recently published this video about Detroit’s last vinyl pressing plant, Archer, narrated by DJ/producer Theo Parrish. It’s a series of still images that highlight the pressing process as Theo Parrish and the shop’s owners discuss the issues the industry is facing and how the local Detroit music scene is keeping Archer in business. Derrick May, Theo Parrish, Carl Craig, Kenny Dixon, as well as many other local artists have all had their music pressed there.
Check out this list from 2012 of the world’s existing vinyl record pressing plants.