Calculators: options from Record Industry's calculator; its prices as a benchmark

Reviewed Record Industry's (Haarlem, NL) public vinyl calculator: a
seven-step wizard with a live itemised cost list priced on its server.
Read its prices for a reference 12" LP at 200 / 300 / 500 / 1,000 copies
and for each option worth copying (checked October 2026).

Both artist demos (make-a-record and artist-order):
- audio arrives as digital files, analog tape (+ tape transfer) or a cut
  lacquer (no blanks, cutting or mastering; mastering choice disabled with
  the reason; cutting and mastering stages skipped in the timeline; the
  passport starts at "Lacquer received")
- labels printed, plain white or plain black (credit line; the label
  artwork drop is disabled for plain labels; the mock-up shows the plain
  label)
- press cleaning before a colour run, on by default, disabled for black
- 7" dinked (large centre hole), 7" only, drawn in the mock-up
- download card and barcode sticker extras
- run-out inscription (A-Z, 0-9, up to 15), scribed along the dead wax in
  the mock-up and named in the passport
- new rates (tape 3,800, cleaning 2,300 per title; plain labels -12 per
  disc; download card 43, barcode 6 per copy) are estimates with Record
  Industry's prices as the basis, each listed in the detailed demo
- make-a-record investor notes: Record Industry's 9 to 11 week quote after
  test-pressing approval against the 7 to 9 week CNX quote, and its 2 %
  reject allowance against 100 % optical inspection

Defaults unchanged (37,836 THB per title, 232 per copy at 100, break-even
41, goal 100, 548 kept).

Docs: artist-platform.md (choices table, benchmark section: what was
taken, what was left out, commercial terms worth deciding);
revenue-model.md (second Western data point: 219 THB a copy at 300
ex-works, per-title and per-copy reading against the assumptions, not a
re-base); production-timeline.md (its published lead times).

docs/artist-platform.md

@@ -93,19 +93,58 @@ their projects. See "Payments" below.
 
 | Choice | Options |
 |---|---|
-| Format | 12" LP, 10", 7"; single or double disc; 33⅓ or 45 rpm |
+| Format | 12" LP, 10", 7"; single or double disc; 33⅓ or 45 rpm; 7" with a small or a large (dinked) centre hole |
 | Weight | 140 g, 180 g |
-| Colour | Black, solid colour, marbled or splatter (the semi-automatic line's speciality) |
+| Colour | Black, solid colour, marbled or splatter (the semi-automatic line's speciality); for colour, whether the press is cleaned first |
 | Quantity | Free entry, with the price-per-copy curve shown live |
-| Labels | Printed, pressed into the record (the only kind this plant makes) |
+| Labels | Paper labels pressed into the record: printed, or plain white or black (white labels for promos and DJ copies) |
+| Run-out inscription | The customer's catalogue number or text, scribed next to the run-out groove of every side (letters and numbers, up to 15) |
 | Inner sleeve | Paper, poly-lined |
 | Jacket | None (customer supplies), plain, printed single, printed gatefold; printed by the local packaging partner |
-| Extras | Insert, hype sticker, shrink wrap, numbered edition |
+| Extras | Insert, hype sticker, shrink wrap, numbered edition, download card, barcode sticker |
+| Audio source | Digital files, analog tape (transferred in-house), or a lacquer cut by the customer's studio (straight to plating; must arrive within days of cutting) |
 | Audio services | Customer supplies a vinyl-ready master, or CNX vinyl mastering per side |
 | Metal | Lacquer cutting and stampers (in-house; bridge stampers from Stamper Discs until the galvanics line exists) |
 | Test pressings | Number of copies for the artist |
 | Delivery | Bulk to one address, dropship to each buyer, or collect at the plant |
 
+### Benchmark: Record Industry's calculator (October 2026)
+
+Record Industry (Haarlem, NL; host plant of Making Vinyl Europe 2026)
+runs a public calculator
+(https://www.recordindustry.com/calculator/, checked October 2026): seven
+steps (pre-production, vinyl, labels, inner sleeve, outer sleeve, extras,
+quote or order) with an itemised cost list beside the form that updates
+on every choice, an info box under each question, and a draft order
+that the plant confirms by hand before the pre-payment invoice. Prices
+are computed on its server. What it shows that this plan had not
+covered, and what the demos took from it:
+
+- **Taken into both demos:** audio arriving as tape or as a supplied
+  lacquer (it charges 470 EUR for cutting plus stampers from a digital
+  master, 570 from tape, 240 for plating a supplied lacquer), plain white
+  or black labels, press cleaning before a colour run (60 EUR, with the
+  warning that without it records can carry the previous colour), the
+  dinked 7", download cards and barcode stickers, and a catalogue number
+  scribed in the run-out (letters and numbers, up to 15). The new rates
+  are estimates with its prices as the basis, listed in the detailed
+  demo.
+- **Left out for now:** label print modes (CMYK, Pantone, one colour),
+  board grades and finishes (kraft, Hansaboard, matt or gloss varnish,
+  laminates), die-cut holes, 6 mm spines, booklets, foil numbering,
+  sticker position, protective outer sleeves, BIO PVC and a recycled
+  colour mix, and multi-address shipping. Each is a price-list line once
+  the packaging partner and the compound suppliers quote.
+- **Commercial terms worth deciding for CNX:** a flat order set-up fee
+  (60 EUR) and a small-run surcharge (60 EUR under 300, 40 under 500);
+  20 copies over the order invoiced to cover under- or over-production,
+  credited if fewer are delivered; customers asked to accept about 2 %
+  rejects; full pre-payment for new customers; minimum 200 copies.
+
+Its prices and lead times are recorded as a benchmark in the
+[revenue model](finance/revenue-model.md) and the
+[production timeline](production-timeline.md).
+
 ### What the customer gets back
 
 - **Every line itemised**, grouped into **per title** (mastering,