Is black vinyl better than colored vinyl?

A question we often get: Is colored vinyl of lower quality than black vinyl? Here we explain!

In the previous century, colored releases were generally of lower quality and were seen more as collector's items. Fortunately, the production process is much better these days: The difference in quality is negligible. The raw material for vinyl is basically transparent PVC. This means that a dye is also added to black LPs. This is where the (now negligible) difference in quality comes into play: The black dye is carbon. This dye also has the property of making the vinyl somewhat harder. Other colors are colored with other dyes that do not necessarily make the vinyl harder. However, the difference is negligible. Colored LPs could wear out somewhat faster when used with a bad (blunt) needle.

Why were LPs black as standard in the past?

On black LPs you can see imperfections much better than on any other colour. Scratches, stains and production errors are much more noticeable. This is why black vinyl was chosen at the time, so that better control could be carried out during the production process. Another reason was the fact that the predecessor of the vinyl LP, the shellac 78 rpm records, were black. They did not want to make the transition to the new LP too big psychologically for the customer.

Conclusion: So you can buy those cool colored releases without any worries!

Exceptions: Glow-in-the-dark vinyl and Picture discs have a different production process and are generally of lower quality.