7"s - I reccomend pressing all 7"s at United, they are the cheapest and extremely reliable. A lot of people talk s hit about them having thin vinyl. But I don't think that that really matters in the long run.... Here is how to get ahold of them:
United
453 Chestnut ST
Nashville, TN 37203
(615) 259-9396
For 12"s and picture discs I have used both Alberti and Erika. Erika is more professional and reliable about giving you times and stuff, but I have heard they've dicked some fulk around although I've never had a problem with them myself. Alberti is WAY more laid back, they never know exactly when your record will be pressed (say next week a lot, but never mean it....), they are real nice though and do get the job doen and as far as I know they have never screwed anyone. Erika is a little better with handling crazy ideas (weird shapes and sizes).
Erika
12031 Regentview
Downey, CA 90241
(562) 904-2701
Alberti
312 Montrey Pass Rd.
Monterey Park, CA 91754
All records need to be mastered, some of these pressing plants can do it themselves, a lot opf people say to never do it with United, they fuck it up. When I visited United 3 years ago it was just some old country guy mastering a punk record so it's ewasy to see why he wouldn't care or know if it sounded fucked. I use Matroplois Mastering. So does Havoc, Profane Existence, Bovine, Rhetoric, etc...... He is REALLY fast and has always done a good job for me. If you want to do crazy stuff you can use Aardvark, who I have heard can be sketchy (they fucked up the first press of the E.T.O. 7" that I repressed with new mastering), but they are the place to go for neat stuff like records playing inside out (like the new drop dead LP) and lots of lock grooves.
Metroplis Mastering
6400 N. Leoti Ave.
Chicago, IL 60646
(773) 631-3526
Bags Unlimited - 1-800-767-BAGS. That's who I've always used. they have a variety of thickness and other shit they can offer. I usually just go with the cheapest.
Printing can always be done locally or even photocopied if you know what youre doing, which is what I did for my first few records..... Now I use Imprint in Florida for 7" covers, they're nice and they have some tie-in to the punk scene which I always think is the best places to use. For LP covers it's a little more tricky, and I have used Dorado who do a lot of record Jackets although I have heard that Ross Ellis is good too.
Imprint
5330 Citadel Rd.
Venice, FL 34293
(941) 497-0510
Dorado Press
717 Arroyo Ave
San Fernando, CA 91340
Ross Ellis
1-800-223-6105
I know that Erika Records (listed above) does CDs and that some people use them. I use Furnace which is a pretty new company, but it is run by Eric from Art Monk and as I believe in keeping things within the punk community as much as possible I use him. His prices are standard and he does good work and can do layout etc....
Furnace
PO Box 6332
Falls, Church, VA 22040
(703) 271-6344
Flexis are weird. Everyone thinks that theyre really cheap, but it's a misconception. If you do 1000 they cost just as much as a regular 7"! It's only if you do more that it saves. The difference between doing 1000 and 2000 is like $40 literally. So if you want to do a ton then it'll be really cheap, otherwise I wouldn't recomend it. Important things to know about flexis too. The company Evatone that makes them doesn't like them being called flexis, they are "sound sheets" that's all you should call them when you talk to them, also, they have a weird thing in their catalog specifying that they are not records and therefor it is in some way illegal to have the word "record" "recording" or anything with "record" in it on the flexi or with its packaging. Obviously this is ridiculous and probably won't be true, but don't tell them that. I also hear that they might be Christian so watch whats printed on what you what you want them to print on the disc too.....
Evatone - 1-800-EVATONE
Putting out a record is really easy. It's not very expensive either, so if you want to do it, you should! Although as I was told when I was doing my first record of my first band (this was thankfully never released due to this advice actually...) "there's a lot of crap out there, and even good stuff is hard t sell, so it's not worth it to put out something that isn't very good." There's also just way too many crappy records in the world, so if you want to put out some quality shit, please do, but don't flood the market with crap (as if it wasn't already).
Hope this helps.