Flexis

[andybee]

Some customers are asking me for flexi discs.
Is there a manufacurter out there?
Piratespress seems like a broker (for GZ Vinyl) so
they don´t do manufacturing?
any idea?
Thanks!

[GeorgeZ]

Some customers are asking me for flexi discs.
Is there a manufacurter out there?
Piratespress seems like a broker (for GZ Vinyl) so
they don´t do manufacturing?
any idea?
Thanks!

https://lathetrolls.com/viewtopic.php?p=12353&mforum=lathetrolls#12353

[Aussie0zborn]

Some interesting flexi-discs....

7" silver single-sided flexi-disc...



and 9" black double-sided flexi-disc...

[andybee]

George, thanks!
I can´t found it.... so, after slow reading, I understand,
they manufacture them inhouse
Nice, nice!

[fraggle]

www.vinylfactory.com.au
they just started making flexies
cheers

[mossboss]

Hey Boris
Where did you see the flexis made in Australia man
I just went to that link Nothing doing
May be I missed it Can you let us know?
Cheers

[fraggle]

Vinyl Factory Australia is proud to announce that we have begun producing flexi-discs.
We have been the very lucky recipients of the last remaining flexi-disc machine, formerly owned by Ambassador press, and last in operation in 1989 in Sydney!
For the last 20 years it has been stored in a shed in Canberra. Vinyl Factory has reconditioned the machine and updated a lot of the gear and are now very happy to be producing flexis.

Pricing is set at the introductory level of 62 cents per disc plus setup costs . Min qty of 1000. Single or double sided available.

Call us or email for more info. Interest very high so orders will be on a first come first served basis.

Vinyl Factory Australia Pty Ltd
1 Mitchell Street
Marrickville NSW 2204
Australia
Tel 02 9557 0100
Fax 02 9557 0600

[fraggle]

I got this email a while ago.
hey if someone from that company has an issue with me posting this, let me know and i am going to delete it.
cheers

[Aussie0zborn]

The flexi-press from Ambassador Press is still around? Remarkable!

This is a good find. I saw this machine when it was first offered for sale in the mid-80s and it needed a lot of work. The $1,000 they asked for it was too much back then.This is a professional flexi-disc press and uses the process I have described previously. Ambassador Press trading as Ambassador Records was a commercial printer and they used a letterpress machine for the label print which gave a nice finish to the product.

[fraggle]

@ Aussie
That might be a stupid Question but what exacly is the difference bewteen a normal (pvc) record and a flexi?

[mossboss]

Well I ll be
Never seen that one coming
Than again why would they send mail to me Ha Ha
Any way at 62 cents each is a dead duck As a guess about $1000 for a run with a cut and a set of plates
There is an old thread here on flexis
Its all there I am sure the market has not changed a bit
If flexi's are to be given away as in the past thats about 3 times what people willing to pay for them
Any way Its a good thing No doubt about that Lets wait and see how it goes
Now we have Pirates press in the USA and the guys in Sydney Australia doing flexis
How about that
Good Luck
They would need a lot of it by the way, With todays clients demands on sound quality its not exactly beer and skittles
Flexis were never an audiophiles bag thats for sure
If it made a sound and send the MSG across it was good enough to go on a pack of Kellogs Corn Flakes or as an insert in Mad magazine
They got better towards the end but not that much
Cheers

[Aussie0zborn]

@ Aussie
That might be a stupid Question but what exacly is the difference bewteen a normal (pvc) record and a flexi?

Well you know how a vinyl record looks and feels. A flexi-disc is essentially a sheet of plastic film, you can roll it up, stick in an envelope, unroll it and then play it on a turntable.

Think of the plastic cover on the box of a new semi-expensive shirt. That's pretty much the material flexi-discs are made of.

Flexi-discs were always given away for free - in a magazxine, in an envelope, on the back of a breakfast cereal box, etc. The manufacturing cost was IIRC about 20% of vinyl. The way to achieve the same thing today would be to email an MP3 file (and it would be totally free). Surface noise on flexi-discs is very high.

[maniman]

Yes , is very strange see "flexis" today , I guess Andreas totally right , the most I saw are speech recordings and in general not great sound , and as very well he said maybe the market quota of that product don't exist as was in the past.

I got one from president Suarez discourse when the democracy comes to Spain !!!!! near 40 years old.

Cheers

[opcode66]

My favorite flexi came in the album Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death by the Dead Kennedys. It had print on it that said if the store tried to charge you for the free flexi that came with the album then you should steel it.

[Aussie0zborn]

The Australian edition of that album included a 7" vinyl single rather than a flexi.

Interesting to note that the copyright ownership of DKs recordings was awarded to the other members of the band and exclude Jello as a payback for him ripping them off all those years.

[d1rk]

I talked to the legendary Eva-Tone people before. I had notes written down lost now, but they had some high quantity minimums I think back then. This was probably right before they closed...

[GeorgeZ]

Very interesting:
http://piratespress.com/eblast/2011/04-26-11.html

[mossboss]

The promoter of Pirates Press!! I thought you where at GZ mate
Again!!
George
Keep it up by all means However they are flogging a dead horse my friend
At these prices who can afford to give them away in quantity
The novelty will wear off quick enough and back to where flexis belong
At the back of Corn Flake packs at around the 5-15 cents each if one can get the film at low enough cost
History repeating itself
Cheers

[piaptk]

I haven't heard the new Flexi's, but there is definitely a charm to flexi's regardless of sound quality. I have very fond memories of Songs of the Humpback Whales from National Geographic and I think it is this kind of thing that drives the appeal. A nostalgia type thing, and the ability to have your music on vinyl for cheap, relative to pressing a 7". Obviously this appeals to people who listen to vinyl for other than it's audiophile qualities, of which there are many.

They definitely aren't cheap enough to give away, but they are cheap enough to sell for a buck or two as a promotion. I never GIVE anything physical away anyway. Back when I used to play shows I would give away cd-rs by the hundreds and no one really listened to them. They had no ownership of them (and the music on them sucked But I started getting a lot more feedback from them when I charged $.50 for them. People had a vested interest in them and at least listened to them once.

[mossboss]

On this you are 100% right
At 1 buck each for 1000 its getting high
60 cents each plus a couple a hundred for cutting plating setting up and delivery it would about 1 buck each to your door
For a grand a pressing plant will do a run of around the 350-400 x 7" records on white labels and white inner bags
The maths just dont ad up
Apart from novelty value of course
I just cannot see the numbers
Than again
Time will tell
Cheers