RCA Records Pressing Plant, Washington, UK

RCA's UK record pressing plant, opened on May 7, 1970. Record pressings can be identified by a 'W' in the runouts (often at 12 o'clock) and by a "letter number letter" string (e.g. 'A1C' or 'A1H'), usually found at three o'clock or nine o'clock. Occasionally, the string can have 4 or 5 letters, e.g. 'A1AT' or 'A1AAB'. The string identifies the Father-Mother-Stamper numbers. Another identifier is a ✓ (checkmark). In the 1970s one of the most advanced record producing factories in the world, pressing 18 million singles and albums per year in the mid 1970s. However, until March 1975, roughly 50% of all RCA 7" singles were pressed by CBS Aston Clinton. The visual differences between RCA and CBS 7" pressings are as follows: a) The pointed ends of the 4 prongs as well as the dinking perforations are narrower than those from CBS, and b) there are 2 rings on both sides (CBS had 4 rings on side A and 3 on side B). The Washington plant used two pressing ring configurations for their LPs: a) a single 25 mm ring on flat labels, or b) a 25 mm inner ring with an elevation starting at ca. 83 mm. Declining record sales forced RCA to close the plant in June 1981, making 270 people redundant.