Vinyl Pressing Guides

Which pressing to buy and which to avoid — runout etchings, labels, reissues and mastering notes, so you can tell which edition you own and what it is worth.

How to identify your pressing

Two copies of the same album can be worth wildly different amounts. A first pressing and a reissue might look almost identical on the shelf and differ by hundreds of pounds. This guide walks you through the clues that tell them apart, in the order that’s quickest to check — most pressings can be pinned down in a couple of minutes once you know where to look.

The quick version: check, in this order, the matrix / runout etchings in the run-out groove, the catalogue number on the label and sleeve, the label design, the sleeve and inner details, and finally the country and year. The runout is the single most reliable clue, so start there.

01 · The matrix / runout etchings

In the smooth space between the last track and the label, look for small letters and numbers scratched or stamped into the vinyl. This is the matrix or runout, and it is the closest thing a record has to a fingerprint — it often identifies the exact stamper, mastering engineer and pressing plant. Tilt the record under a bright light to read it, and note everything on both sides, including hand-etched initials and stamped codes. A first pressing usually has the earliest matrix numbers; later runs add suffix letters or higher numbers. Write the runout down exactly, character for character, including spaces and symbols.

02 · The catalogue number

The catalogue number appears on the label, the spine and usually the back cover. The same album reissued in a different country or decade typically carries a different catalogue number, so matching it narrows things down fast. Watch for small differences: a prefix change, an added letter, or a stereo versus mono suffix — mono and stereo versions of the same record are different pressings and can have very different values.

03 · The label design

Record labels redesigned their centre labels every few years, so the artwork in the middle of the disc dates a pressing. Look at the label's colour, the logo style, the typeface and the rim text printed around the edge — “made in” wording, rights-society logos, or a change from a textured to a glossy finish all place a copy in time.

04 · The sleeve and inner

Sleeves carry plenty of clues. Check whether the cover opens (a gatefold) or not, how the edges are finished (a laminated front, a flipback edge), and what is printed on the back: the price code, the printer's mark, and any catalogue or order numbers. The inner sleeve matters too — an original may include a printed inner with lyrics or photos, while a reissue uses a plain paper or poly-lined inner. Promotional copies often have a stamp or a hole punched in the corner.

05 · Country and year

Finally, place the pressing geographically and in time. The label, the rights-society marks and the catalogue prefix usually reveal the country of manufacture. Beware of dates printed on the sleeve: a copyright year tells you when the music was released, not when your specific copy was pressed. The runout and label design are better guides to the actual pressing year.

Still not sure?

That is completely normal, and it is fine to add a record to your collection without choosing a pressing — it sits there unvalued until you identify it, and your collection view flags anything that still needs a pressing. On this page in the app, two identifiers do the matching for you: type the runout etching (or the catalogue number) exactly as it appears and we match it to the catalogued pressing with current prices. Every album on the list also carries its own pressing guide — which edition to own, and what each is worth.