Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Pitman

A vinyl, cassette and CD manufacturing facility that operated in Pitman, New Jersey from 1961 until 1988 and continued to operate under different names until 2011. History: Designed by Minoru Yamasaki on a 72-acre site, CBS Inc. (Columbia) officially opened the plant on May 17, 1961 as a high capacity record production facility operated on two shifts by staff of 300 employees managed by Joe Massimino (although the facility actually began limited operations on Oct. 29, 1960, per the booklet that came with The Pitman Family Of Music: Our First 20-Years). In the fall of 1986, CBS Inc. announced that it would convert the plant to compact disc manufacturing by 1988 and would reach an annual production goal of 20 million units while consolidating its US vinyl record manufacturing business to the Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Carrollton, GA facility. In 1988, it became part of the Sony Corporation when Sony acquired CBS Inc.'s music business, which ultimately realigned it as a part of the Sony DADC network. During this time it grew into a 500,000 square foot complex with a purported average monthly output of 18 million CDs. DADC, Pitman is the preferred entity for CDs produced by this plant. Sony DADC closed the facility in early 2011 and migrated the CD manufacturing operations to the DADC, Terre Haute, Indiana facility. At the time of the Pitman plant's closure, its average daily output had decreased to 16,000 CDs. Pitman Vinyl Record Identifiers: - CPFR, - PIT etched (See profile image) - P hand-etched (and in a rather big size) instead of machine-stamped as up to 1981-82. (See image) - P or p or CP - Stamped or etched. Pitman, NJ (see image) - On Capitol Records contract pressings, the number 54 in the runout and a large sized pressing ring (68.5 mm) on the labels. - 2.69685" (68.5 mm) main pressing ring diameter. A secondary small pressing ring of 14/32" (11 mm) may often be found on Side B. (Useful tips for correctly identifying Pitman vinyl records) It should be noted that, in some cases, locating the plant identifier "P" can be challenging. A good magnification tool is recommended for this task, as the stamping can be very faint sometimes. The "P" is often inverted at an angle so that it may seem like a "d" when viewed from the disc edge. The stamp is most commonly found in the near vicinity of the matrix string, sometimes appearing an inch before it, or directly after it. Many unusual configurations also exist, so check carefully. Pitman identification is one of the most commonly overlooked in the DB. IDs in runouts for mastering / metalwork done at Pitman but pressed elsewhere: Pn = mastered at Pitman, pressed at North American Music Industries. PXS or P XS mastered at Pitman, pressed at Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Santa Maria. PXT or P XT mastered at Pitman and pressed at Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Terre Haute. Pitman CD Pressing Identifiers: Shortly after the plant adjusted to compact disc manufacturing it was acquired by Sony. See DADC, Pitman for correct company name and identifiers. Miscellaneous: Customatrix, a division of CBS Inc.'s Columbia vinyl record manufacturing operations, handled the making of metal parts (e.g. mothers, stampers) for many pressings by Columbia's plants, including those used at the Pitman facility. However, parts from other companies, such as Longwear Plating were also used. The Pitman Plant was known to have pressed for: -Pitman pressings on PolyGram labels (such as Mercury, Polydor, RSO and Casablanca) from 1979-80 were indicated by a '56' code on the label. -ECM product (ECM Records) was pressed by Columbia Pitman plant only in the period when Polydor distributed that label. -A&M Records -ATCO Records -ABC Records -White Whale -K-Tel - indicated by a '16' code on the label. -Gordy with metal parts supplied by Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Santa Maria -Blue Thumb Records -CTI Records with metal parts supplied by Audio Matrix, Inc. -Original Sound The below A&M Records label codes also contribute to pressing plant identification which include the Pitman plant and others; X = Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Pitman Y or y = Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Terre Haute Z = Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Santa Maria W = Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Carrollton, GA C = Monarch Record Mfg. Co. (pre-1985), Electrosound Los Angeles (1985-86) B = Electrosound Group Midwest, Inc. R = RCA Records Pressing Plant, Indianapolis Note that some releases in the mid 1980s have a ⎊ (upside down triangle in a circle) symbol on record labels. This mark, which helps designate the A side of LPs or 12" singles, also appearing on some CDs and cassette tapes, is found on Pitman and Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Carrollton, GA pressings.