Vinyl additive.
 

As we seek even better sound reproduction with pure analogue pressings, 45 rpm transfers, direct to disk etc then why are we still accepting carbon black as a constituent part of the vinyl mix.

Surely vinyl is not naturally black so unless such addition is beneficial to the medium why do we still accept it.
If it covers up manufacturing defects maybe thats even more reason to loose it.

I have numerous colored pressings .....

Its easier to see the dust! :D

I think the carbon black added to vinyl makes it slicker and helps reduce surface noise.

Interesting new topic. I have no idea what vinyl looks like if not colored black. Would it be "ugly" and therefore this just makes it acceptable to look at?

Glad you asked....

http://cen.acs.org/articles/94/i24/G...ce-behind.html

Michael Hobson of Classic Records maunfactured records from 'Classic Clarity' vinyl (Clarity SVP II), which is clear and did not use carbon black.

Here's a mildly informative Stereophile article on Clarity pressings.

Some had a single piece of music in 45rpm on one side and 33-1/3rpm on the other.

Reviews were somewhat mixed. I have a copy of Shoshtakovich's Symphony No.5 from Pavel Kogan and the Moscow State Symphony produced by Classic and pressed on Clarity vinyl in a 33-1/3 issue. I can't tell how much difference is made by the clear vinyl, but the sonics are very nice, the performance is excellent.

http://www.elusivedisc.com/images/evs2001qp.jpg

Carbon black contains some amount of metal and is a purported reason for LP demagnetizers, such as the one from Furutech.

There are a limited number of vinyl pellet makers. Hobson probably had to have a special order to get pellets without carbon black.

There can be other stuff in vinyl to aid thermal buffering and mold release during the pressing process, such as: dibasic lead stearate or cadmium or other esters of stearic acid. Formulations vary over the years; some vinyl is 'cleaner' (less noisy) than others.

Thanks for the article. I don't normally peruse this magazine.

Interesting responses, thanks. I hadn't heard of Clarity records, think I'll give them a try as I may prefer records that needn't be degaussed :)

If you want to hide manufacturing defects then coloured (non-black) vinyl and clear vinyl would be the way to go. Black vinyl would make them easier to spot in my experience.