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Test pressings
Vinyl test pressings Vinyl test pressings are made to test the sound quality of the stampers, to make sure they are not faulty before they press retail copies. As they are pressed with the same stampers which will press the retail albums, they always have the same matrix codes. However, unsuccessfull test pressings do exist, which stampers obviously never pressed any retail copies. Test pressings are usually pressed about one month ahead of release date. Test pressings are usually pressed on black vinyl, even though the retail run will be on colored vinyl, or a picture disc (more later). They either come with white labels or with pressing plant labels. Catalog numbers, side A/B, date, and titles may be handwritten or stamped on the label, or the inner sleeve (which is usually the only sleeve they come in). Test pressings are pressed in very limited quantities, often no more than ten. To verify a test pressing against the master recording, perhaps one copy would go to the cutting engineer, one each to the band members, one to the record company A&R person, one to the manager, in addition to being inspected at the pressing plant. Sometimes record labels, mostly indy labels, also use test pressings to gather advance orders from retailers. The test pressings are then brought to the retailers by reps from the distributor. These test pressings are often accompanied by a release sheet, as for example the Tupelo test pressing of Bleach. If the test pressings are going to be used for this purpose, more than ten may be made. The Cartel, which distributed Tupelo releases, often had 25 test pressings made for such purposes. Test pressings are also somtimes used as promos for press and radio, and may come with an info sheet or a press kit, such as the Sub Pop test pressing of Bleach. Again, this is mostly done by indy labels, as major labels press unique promo records. More test pressings than usual may be pressed if they are to be used as promos, but not always. With dance-related material, they go to DJs.  Picture discs and "color test pressings" Although the process is slightly different when pressing picture discs, test pressings are usually made as regular black vinyl, like the Oh, The Guilt picture disc, because it costs too much to set up the machinery for just a test pressing. Pressing it on black vinyl tests the audio quality of the stampers just as well. Still, a Come As You Are picture discs test pressing with blank papers inserted has been found. To get multi-color effects on vinyl, the different color vinyl, which are made in pellets, are mixed together when they are placed in the hopper which feeds the melted vinyl into the stamping machines. It is impossible to guarantee an exact result when colors are mixed this way. You usually get a swirling effect, but other effects can happen. Plants won't really make test pressings for color, because to make them you have to empty the hopper of all the existing black vinyl pellets, clean it and then put in the colors you want. This whole process is much too expensive to only make a few tests, and no pressing plant would do it for less than a minimum 500 pressing quantity, then or now. Retail copies with odd colors may exist if the record label hoped for a particular effect, and ordered 500 copies. If the result was unsatisfactory, they may have decided not to release it. It's unlikely that any small indy label would do that, because they would have to absorb the cost of the manufacture. Major labels apparently do this "all the time". Another possibility for odd colors is that a pressing plant keeps a variety of colored and mixed-colored vinyl samples that they can show to customers who are interested in having a colored vinyl pressing made. The pressing plants will invariably use random metalwork and labels to make these samples, basically whatever was lying around when they had some spare time and an empty hopper.  Handwritten text on labels Many vinyl test pressings have handwritten text on the labels or inner sleeves, and many does not have any text at all. The text added by the pressing plant, distributor, or record label is often minimal, just the catalog number and side A/B, and if so, only one side may be marked. It may also have been added by a later owner to keep track of the different white labels, and this text isn't "official". Sometimes employees may be given test pressings when there are no more need to keep them, and add more text. Whether that qualifies as record label or later owner additions is hard to say. Point is it's usually very hard to determine where the text is from. One clue is if the text on different copies of the same test pressing varies, however some may have been done by the pressing plant, and some by the distributor. One Love Buzz test pressing has text in two different colors. The black catalog number may have been added first, and the blue text added by a later owner. The catalog numbers and dates on the Tupelo test pressings with Mayking labels were for sure added at the pressing plant, but the titles on the sleeves were most likely added by the distributor reps when they were on the road, to keep easier track of the different releases. In Erika's case, which in Nirvana context means Sub Pop, it appears that the test pressings came blank from the pressing plant, as the writings seem to differ from copy to copy, while some are still blank. The text on the Molly's Lips test pressings with with red and blue text were done by Hannah Parker-Pavitt in the direct sales department. She labeled many Sub Pop test pressings.  CD "test pressings" CD test pressings aren't really necessary. A person reported "working for 15 years in CD production no one ever asked to have a test CD made". Throughout the manufacturing process, digital quality assurance tests are done, data verification system (DVS) tests and signal verification tests, and others. The DVS test is a bit-for-bit comparison between the replicated discs and the image ready CD-R to make sure they are identical, while the signal verification test makes sure that the discs' playback parameters are within specification. Nobody has to listen to it to check that it is OK. The closest you get to a CD test pressing is the image ready CD-R created from the non image ready music received by the plant, though it is not really to check for manufacturing errors, but to make sure it sounds the way the record label wants it to. Another category covered on my test pressings list is in-house reference discs. These are silver factory-pressed discs discs, the first ones being pressed. They have the same matrix codes as the retail copies made from the same stampers. They usually have no disc artwork, as pressing and screen-printing are two different processes. Often the catalog number and/ or titles are handwritten on the disc. Sometimes custom inserts are printed, probably in record label offices. In-house reference discs are used within the record label, for internal presentations or given to executives. A very limited quantity is produced, these are not for regular promotion. Still, the handwritten text or the custom printed inserts sometimes claim "Promo only" or "Test pressing". One back insert has the text "Confidential!!", which suggests that the tracklist should not be leaked, and that it's an advance pressing. One category not covered by this webiste is CD-R promos, often referred to as CD-R acetates. (Calling them acetates is actually wrong, but it's widely used in the industry.) CD-R promos may be made if the record label requires a limited number of promos quickly. This can be done as soon as the image-ready master is ready.
Thanks to Special Agents Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, and Dale Cooper. Special thanks to Audrey Horne.

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