Anyone know what plant(s) did these? Can't have been many because almost everyone else did the paste on or paint on label methods. I have late 50s/early 60s Sun label rock & roll 45s like this (eg. Jerry Lee Lewis) but am curious are there any soul 45s which appear like this?

Don't know, and, to be honest, I would never notice. When I see stuck on labels I always assume it's styrene, if I see moulded on I assume vinyl. I only do the 'tapping' test with painted on labels...

I mean, finding soul 45s pressed in styrene with moulded on labels would mean tapping every moulded label record you get your hands on!

Don't know, and, to be honest, I would never notice. When I see stuck on labels I always assume it's styrene, if I see moulded on I assume vinyl. I only do the 'tapping' test with painted on labels...

I mean, finding soul 45s pressed in styrene with moulded on labels would mean tapping every moulded label record you get your hands on!

not at all, it's pretty easy to tell the difference by sight/touch.

Bestway in Mountainside New Jersey which was connected financially to Amy Mala Bell invented (or certainly popularised) styrene. From the fifties until the mid 1960s the majority of their styrene releases had screen printed 'paperless' labels. In fact their press ads in the trade magazines boasted about the records being paperless. Other pressing plants specialising in styrene were Shelley Plastics in Huntington Station NY and of course Monarch in Los Angeles. Shelley records can be distinguished by the raised XXs in the run-offs. They were the plant which pressed Shrine releases among others and even experimented with styrene album pressing. Allied in LA also produced styrene 45s.

Numerically the biggest styrene manufacturers were the majors like Columbia and Philips / Mercury. Columbia in Santa Maria California generally pressed styrene records for outside clients and vinyl 45s for Columbia until switching exclusively to styrene in the mid '70s. Columbia's plants in Pitman New Jersey and Terra Haute Indiana generally produced only styrene 45s. Mercury's biggest plant was in Richmond Indiana and produced mainly styrene singles. It later became known as PRC.

Shelley and Monarch always used glued labels as far as I know, but the gluing method was different at the respective plants: you'll notice a lot of label lift on the Shelly 45s and hardly any on Monarch 45s. With styrene pressing the labels were attached after the record had been injection moulded and cooled. With vinyl the label is fused during the pressing process.

Thankyou so much for that big-bag-of-info,and i was only evesdropping!! Top stuff.