There are many "flavors" of 78 rpm, 45 rpm and 33 1/3 rpm records.  For the purpose of our service we will differentiate between Commercial Releases and what we call "Home Made Records".
   

We call a "Home Made Record" a record that was made by a home recorder, by an "automat" type machine, or was professionally produced as a one-of-a-kind record by a studio.  They are usually (but not always) made of a thin material, coated by a thin film (lacquer).  Some of these records are made out of paper, plastic or metal.  These records were most common in the 1940's and 1950's.
   

The easiest way to tell the difference between a Commercially Produced 78rpm and what we call a "Home Made Record" is the label.  Is the label factory-printed with the name of the artist and the name of the song/album?  It is most likely a Commercially Produced record.  Is the label just the "Brand name" of the blank record manufacturer?  It is a "Home Made Record".  Is the label hand written or typed on a typewriter?  It is a "Home Made Record".
   

There are one-of-a-kind records, produced in a studio, as a demo, or as a one-off record.  For the purpose of our service we consider those also "Home Made Records".  Some customers tell us "but the record was not made in a home, it was made in a studio".  True.  The name we use for this class of recordings: "Home Made Records" is only a convenience, to designate this class of very noisy records.  It really does not matter if a record of this type was produced in a home, in a department store, at the USO or in a professional studio.  What matters to us is the sound quality (which, for this class of recordings is poor) and the technical processes we must utilize in Sound Restoration.  The technology we use for Home Made Record transfers is reflected in the pricing structure for this class of recordings.  We are unable to process records of this class at the Commercial 78rpm prices.  Even if we would try, the result would be poor.  
   

We ask our customers to use common sense in what to expect for final quality from Home Made Records: if a record is in horrible condition, the CD will NOT sound perfect.  It will sound better than the original record, but better than "horrible" is "very bad"!  It is better to have modest expectation that will be exceeded, than to have unrealistic expectations and be disappointed.  Restoring a bunch of 50-60-70 year records that sat in the attic for the last 40 years is a gamble: the end result may be great, horrible, or somewhere in the middle.  We, as professionals, will tilt the odds in favor of "quality".  However, we do not participate in the gamble.

These records are EXTREMELY noisy.

Restoring the sound of these records is by far the most time consuming compared with any of the other formats.

Recording these records is difficult, due to many imperfections in the surface of the record.

The pricing for these recordings is pre-calculated.  You may still add other items, such as Album Cover Art, Individual Restoration Units, extra CD copies, etc.

Some recordings may require more work than the time allotted by these pre-calculated rates.   AT YOUR REQUEST, we will be happy to work on restoring these recordings at our standard studio rate of $115 per hour (no need to worry, we will not charge our studio rate without your specific request or consent).

Occasionally we receive records in such poor shape that additional restoration time is needed.  This usually happens with very faint recordings, recordings deteriorated by mold or records with deteriorated surfaces. In these cases we will charge an Individual Restoration Unit of $14.25 (or multiples of $14.25, depending of the problem) per song.

We ask our customers not to send in records that are warped or otherwise damaged.  Occasionally we receive records in bad shape.  If a record is warped or has other playback problems we will charge a Recording Fee of $14.25 (or multiples of $14.25, depending of the problem) per record.

We ask our customers to use common sense in what to expect for final quality: if a record is in horrible condition, the CD will NOT sound perfect.  It will sound better than the original record, but better than "horrible" is "very bad"!  

Now that you read about all these possible charges, you are all scared and probably think we will rip you off with excessive charges.  No, we will not rip you off!  If we were ripping off our customers we would not be where we are today: one of the best and most reputable Sound Restoration businesses in the United States, at the same physical location for 10+ years, at the same Internet location for 15+ years, and doing this business for 20+ years.  All records sent to us that "behave" (play correctly and do not generate excessive amounts of extra work) do not incur any additional charges.  Only if a record generates additional work (as described above) we will charge additional fees.  Even when additional work is needed and additional fees are charged, we will not "run wild" with charges.  There is a point where, if a record needs that much work, it is a "terrible" record.  A "terrible" record will not sound much better no matter how much extra work is put into it.  We recognize that and for "terrible" records we limit our work to the minimum required in order to complete the transfer.