Pennyroyal 3 - Official Nirvana Releases Main  Pressing plants  Pennyroyal Tea  Test pressings  Collection 

Orlake Records
Orlake was founded in 1963. It is the only pressing plant in UK which offers full range of vinyl products; picture discs, shaped discs, and colored vinyl, in addition the the regular black vinyl. They also do processing, both from lacquers or DMM masters. They pressed most of, if not all, UK Nirvana picture discs and colored vinyl, from Tupelo to Geffen releases. They can be identified by "ORLAKE" written in the matrix codes, usually deep but not always very smooth, which suggest that it was added to the lacquers when they received them. It seems they had Abbey Road Studios cut most of their lacquers.

They pressed the Bleach and Sliver colored vinyl versions for Tupelo (they did all of Tupelos colored vinyl). Tupelo had originally placed the order with Mayking, though they let MPO press the black editions, and Orlake the colored editions. These were all made from duplicate metal plates received from MPO, so they have the same matrices as the French black editions. On at least one occasion they etched over MPO on the mothers, but they didn't bother to inscribe their own name into the matrix codes.

It is also possible that they received stampers and not mothers from MPO, on which no additions can be made as they are negatives. That would explain why they didn't etch their name in the matrices, but I doubt MPO would bother to etch over their own name.

Other than that, they made some 12" picture discs and a colored 7" edition of Heart-Shaped Box for Geffen. ORLAKE is handwritten in the matrix codes on all these releases.

Orlake Records
orlakerecords.co.uk

Location
Plating sign.
Dagenham, UK
ORLAKE
 Main  Pressing plants  Pennyroyal Tea  Test pressings  Collection