Labels are pressed into the record, not applied at finishing

The docs and the plant page had labelling as a finishing step after the
press. On a record press the bottom label, the cake and the top label go
in between the stampers every cycle and the mold bonds the paper into the
vinyl; the oven only pre-dries them. Corrected everywhere the process is
described:

- process-flow.md: labels are a parallel input to pressing with their own
  row (print inspection, oven, lot per cycle); stage 6 loads label, cake,
  label; stage 7 is trim, sleeve, shrink
- process-flow.drawio (+ regenerated png/pdf): label input now feeds
  stage 6, not stage 7
- README vision list and the business plan source (regenerated docx/pdf):
  pressing paragraph explains the pressed-in label, finishing no longer
  claims to label
- plant-operation.html: label dry oven station feeds two label discs
  into the press with every cake, the cake in the mold shows its labels,
  the cycle log records the label lot, finishing is sleeve + shrink
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grabowski committed 2026-09-21 16:16:18 +02:00
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@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ def blocks():
P("A vinyl record is made by cutting the audio into a soft lacquer disc, growing a set of nickel "
"metal parts from that lacquer by electroplating (the 'stampers'), and pressing hot PVC between two "
"stampers under about 150 tonnes of force with steam heating and water cooling. The record is then "
"trimmed, labelled, sleeved, put into a printed jacket, shrink-wrapped and shipped. Each of these "
"trimmed, sleeved, put into a printed jacket, shrink-wrapped and shipped. Each of these "
"steps has its own equipment, skills and failure modes, and most plants in the world do only some "
"of them, sending the rest out to specialists, often on other continents."),
P("Demand for vinyl has grown for well over a decade from a small base. The 2021 to 2022 boom "
@@ -347,7 +347,9 @@ def blocks():
"between two stampers in a steam-heated mould. The press closes at about 150 tonnes, the mould is "
"then water-cooled, and the record is ejected and trimmed. A cycle takes about 25 to 30 seconds on "
"an automatic press; on a semi-automatic press an operator handles the patty and the record, which "
"is slower but is exactly what colour, splatter and special editions need."),
"is slower but is exactly what colour, splatter and special editions need. The labels are pressed "
"into the record, not glued on afterwards: they are pre-dried in an oven (moisture in a label "
"causes bubbles) and loaded with the patty every cycle, and the label lot is logged per cycle."),
P("**The fleet strategy: 50/50.** Half the fleet fully automatic for standard volume, half "
"semi-automatic for effects, special editions and small runs, where an operator working the mould "
"directly is an advantage rather than a cost."),
@@ -395,8 +397,8 @@ def blocks():
"re-quote. If they hold, they argue for a higher effectiveness on the automatic half only."),
H2("4.5 Finishing, packaging and fulfilment"),
P("After pressing, records are trimmed inline, labels have been pre-dried in an oven (moisture in a "
"label causes bubbles), and records are sleeved, assembled into jackets, shrink-wrapped and packed. "
P("After pressing, records are trimmed inline, sleeved, assembled into jackets, shrink-wrapped and "
"packed. "
"Jackets, sleeves, inserts, J-cards and CD packaging come from **Ploy Printing** (Ploy Karnpim "
"Limited Partnership, Pa Daet, Mueang Chiang Mai), an established print house with offset, "
"digital, risograph, UV inkjet and latex inkjet presses and vinyl packaging production. That "