I printed four records with this company in 2023. Here are some things to be aware of if you choose to work with this company. THE GOOD 1. They are reasonably priced for the market, and have comparatively fast turnaround times I've seen compared to some very slow pressing companies. Amazing when you need vinyl printed on a tight timeline! 2. When all was said and done, they did deliver my product on time, it looks and sounds right, and ~close~ to the price they said they would. 3. One of their staff, Adam, was incredibly easy to work with a communicate with, and made order storage and pickup super easy. THE BAD Communicating with this company, in particular with the owner James, was SO hard and needlessly stressful. Before I signed and sent them money, communication was prompt and I got the sense they cared about me as a customer. The moment money changed hands, the energy totally changed. They became unresponsive and sometimes downright rude in their communication with me. I consider myself fairly reasonable. I was not nagging these people or micromanaging their work. I was checking in monthly, asking reasonable questions, and inquiring about progress. Normal behavior from a customer who is working with you over a nine-month period. I would email, they wouldn't respond - sometimes it would take 5 or 6 follow up emails to get a response. If I would call them, they would passively aggressively refer me back to email -- the email that they refused to respond to. No one seems to be empowered to answer any questions except the owner, even if the question was in their area of expertise. Sometimes James would reprimand me if I sent them an email at 6pm, because "they close at 5pm." When my product was finished, the company overprinted by about 10%, and expected me to pay the difference (a difference that amounted to thousands of dollars extra.) To be quite honest, I have no idea if that's standard or not, but I paid it -- I agreed that I was ultimately getting extra product and that I (hopefully) would be able to sell it. You can decide for yourself if you're comfortable working with a company where your costs might be 10% higher than quoted. For me, it was a shock, but it may be industry standard, I really don't know. I was constantly reminded by the staff at this company, and by the owner James, that my project was low priority to them, as I wasn't a major label who needed a massive order. You know when someone is talking to you and you get the sense that they think you're stupid, or they resent having to talk to you? Working with Unified was basically that, for nine months. THE UGLY On the day of my order pickup, James took me aside to LECTURE me -- acting as if not answering emails, or rudely ignoring reasonable questions, was standard business, and somehow I was rude or crazy for seeking clarity via email on valid questions. It is difficult to work with people that ignore you. But it is VERY frustrating for the owner of that company to condescendingly lecture you right after you hand them a check. TAKEAWAY I am totally fine with not being the highest priority customer for Unified. But I personally will not work with them again, because they made me feel like sh*t for nine months! It's such a shame because they did great work! But they also made me feel like I was a burden for giving them tens of thousands of dollars, a burden for asking questions about my printing times or seeking clarification on important questions. And that sucks! So, if you're comfortable feeling like you're a burden, go get your vinyls made with Unified. If not, consider going somewhere else. read more

Truly terrible. My wife ordered various custom merchandise for a new company opening and was told 100% everything would be ready in time for the specific date. Nothing was ready as promised & arrived in different parts over the following weeks. We were met with no care or concern from company owner just a pack of lies and arrogance. I even drove to the address to see what was going on & there was a couple of kids making CDs they said the owner was not around. No accountability or care. read more

On March 29, 2022 I paid Unified $3064 to produce 500 vinyl records of my bands album. Nov 29, 2022 I paid another $477. This was my first time ordering vinyl from any company. On their website they state it takes 24-26 to deliver. It's been 18 month and the owners last email to me claimed it was all my fault that he could not give a delivery date. I asked for my money back and received no response regarding a delivery date of the product or a refund. I have never had a company so unhelpful and unclear on manufacturing a product. And then to refuse to deliver the product at all. i was told by another manufacturer that Unified farms out their vinyl records manufacturing, they do not do it themselves. That explains why I could not get a delivery date from the company. read more

terrible service terrible communication terrible products lousy lousy lousy you've been warned don't look puzzled give them a try fuck around and find out read more

Amazing people and service! Unified was there immediately right from the start with their live chat...James, the CEO was so accommodating and at every step of the way. Justin, Carl and all their staff helped me transform my old jewel case CDS to cardboard sleeves and were very responsive with emails, tracking numbers and kindness all along. I've now ordered several batches of CDs and all my clients have loved them! I have been getting tons of orders from libraries now and so I've had to order bigger batches from Unified and each time it's been a pleasure. Great prices too! I wasn't sure at first since I just found them with an online search, but they've proven themselves and have better rates than my usual sources so I'm sticking with them. Thanks all! I highly recommend these guys! 5 Stars are not enough!! Bravo Unified Manufacturing! Dave Mampel (aka "Daffy Dave", Seattle, WA) read more

The most important things: 1) Would I recommend Unified? Yes 2) Would I order from them again? Hell, yes. Unified Manufacturing not only delivered on the promise of high quality CD manufacturing at a good (no, GREAT) price, but the customer service that James and his team provided were as good as any I've ever had. We had a few hiccups along the way: Twice it was on our end, and once there was a miscommunication from a Unified employee. But James instantly put me at ease with "We WILL take care of this for you," and he absolutely did. Even with these problems, our order came in on time for our event, looking and sounding fantastic. What do you want from a service industry? I'll tell you: you want to feel like you are important to the business. Unified excelled at making me feel like my business mattered. read more

This place is amazing! They can do anything you think of :) I was extremely pleased with the customer service and my final product. From the start they gave 110%. If you need your CDs done, Unified is the way to go!!! P.S. James is awesome. read more

Really, really awful customer service AND quality. Firstly, a large portion of our vinyl jackets came with torn spines and creases in the jackets. We paid in full upfront, which was supposed to negate us having to pay for overages, but we were still charged for overages despite no overages being produced, which would have been really helpful in replacing the damaged jackets. It was a fight to get sales tax removed despite completing all necessary reseller documents. We had many complaints of scratched records, which may have been due to the lack of dust sleeves. Customer service was largely non-responsive and often dishonest when finally able to connect. Our last order was placed with Unified back in 2015 and I'm still mad about it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ read more

I love Unified Manufacturing. I've been using their services since our first album six years ago. They have the best prices anywhere. They produce killer quality merchandise that keeps our fans coming back for more. I've reordered our first album now four times, the second album two or three, and I'm already gearing up to get our third printed and ready for its release in the coming months. A huge thanks to James and Honey and Leroy and everyone else at UM who ensure that I have a solid product to sell. Their customer service is top notch, their turnaround is blazing fast, and they're always happy to help when I drop the ball and need some help. Thanks again, and I'll be ordering again very soon! read more

For the second time, I have used Unified Manufacturing for my CD duping needs, and for the second time, they aced it. I've been a musician for quite some time, and I am SO very thankful to have found them! To actually be able to call and get a kind and knowledgable person on the phone is certainly a rarity in the CD duping business. They are always responsive, always helpful, and they were able to turn around our CD very quickly, in time for the CD release party, which of course is helpful! James is FANTASTIC! Thank you James! And a big thank you to Priyanka as well for all of your help! Cheers! read more

This is actually only our 2nd order with Unified and our 1st time getting a disc authored. 1st order was cases (which they had under the wrong name when we picked them up). The cases turned out fine though. read more

I run a small DIY label and need a place to do short-runs of CDs for local retail and radio. We've done several projects with Unified and have always been satisfied. Great customer service. Highly recommended! read more

I value face to face business so I decided to ask this company/James to do my CD replication project back in last October 2018. I do not recommend anyone who needs cover art and booklet design for your CD. Too much time and energy to communicate via email because of time difference between L.A. and Philippine which I discovered after I was rejected to talk with the designer on the phone for faster communication. James first concealed that fact the designer resides overseas by saying "He communicates via email only". I was puzzled first, frustrated after, then found out that fact. Yet, the staff talked with him EVERY DAY. I had a master sound done by a Hollywood professional who sends his files to Universal plant all that time, yet I had to pick up physical master CD from him for Unified to proceed due to Mac and PC comparability issue!? We both didn't understand. Moreover, they told me they upload info. to Gracenote, but there is no images and no track info. when I insert my CD to computer. I asked James about it, and he emailed me stating " We can't upload cover art image to Gracenote. You have to ask a different company." I replied "...then who can do it? Please advise." After that email, I was completely ignored. I paid everything already, and as of today 6/11/19 they still have 250 more CDs there with no image no track info. on Gracenote. I spent too much energy for dealing with so many things. I don't believe any his -sounds sincere-comments on Yelp. It is sad to say that I should've done this project with Disc Makers without face to face interactions, then I could avoid unnecessary frustrated long communication with them. read more

Unified Manufacturing made my band's album in exactly the amount of time they said it would take, being very transparent about the process. The final product was exactly as I imagined it! Their template was easy to use, and their website very simple to navigate. Could not be happier with the outcome. Thank you Unified Manufacturing! read more

Unified Manufacturing - Just what I ordered! - Customized Merchandise Near Me - Los Angeles, California

I'm a Medicare-age, disabled Vietnam veteran who decided to start seriously playing guitar a few years ago. One thing led to another, and before I knew it I had twelve songs--enough to create a CD album that I could use to compare my progress from year to year, and also give away to my friends as gifts for putting up with me. I have many friends in the music business (one Golden Globe winner and several noted professional sound engineers). Everyone recommended Unified Manufacturing for what I wanted to produce. "But it is only a small project--maybe 250 CD's," I told them. They told me it would not matter to Unified. One CD or a million CD's, Unified would treat me like I was Ringo Starr. They were correct! I had a graphic designer create a 16-page CD booklet for the CD album, and Unified reproduced it with amazing result. From my previous profession as a retired Chief Administrative Officer at the University of California, I expected perfection, and I got it. I am such a complete novice to the music world that I knew nothing. Justin Sutherland, who took my initial phone call, explained the whole process of what would be involved in producing my CD and was with me through the entire, very involved process. One Saturday, I went on their website with a question, and filled out the online "chat" request. I figured I would get a response in a week. Noooooo! I got a response within two minutes from James Hill, the CEO. When does that ever happen? There were some problems with the transferring the artwork, so Carl Conanan jumped in and worked directly with my graphic designer so I wouldn't have to get involved. I just received the 250 CD album this afternoon. They are amazing! I can hardly wait to finish the next album. Next time, I am going for a 24-page CD booklet to go with it. I cannot wait! Cheers. read more

Unified Manufacturing - The actual printed CD artist proof. - Customized Merchandise Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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It's really pissing me off that they won't even acknowledge that they sent us BLANK DISCS. The owner is only saying he'll give me my money back after i made it very public and also started a case with the BETTER BUSINESS BURO as well as our credit card company. James was not very willing to talk or make things better when we were speaking to him directly to resolve the issue. It's very nice to know I spent hundreds of dollars shipping out BLANK CDS. I've now got screenshots, videos, emails and testimonials from fans who received these blank CDs, which Unified claimed were liars. We'll be providing that information to the BBB as well. James does not consider the hardship we've endured the last week notable at all, even though it was explained that this is what we do for a living. It's not a hobby. He said there was NO SWEAT EQUITY in this for us. As far as I can tell, I've spent the last several days not sleeping, dealing with reems of complaining customers, sending them new stuff (WHICH COSTS ME MONEY) or comping them other merch (WHICH COSTS ME MONEY). And of course my personal labor, which costs money. It's completely unreal that he'd even say that to me. If James wanted to make things right, he would have called me. He has my number (obviously). He just wanted to post a reply here so he can look like the good guy trying to help. It's completely empty. If he cared not only would he have refunded my money but he also would have comped the shipping costs for another run. Who has the money to ship blank cds with nothing on it to customers? nobody. And the cherry on the top? James keeps spelling my name wrong even though he's looking right at it. -- a prime example of their attention to detail. The problem obviously comes from the top down. read more

I have been using Unified for years now, since at least 2012, and I couldn't be happier with the quality they provide. Unified is attentive and available, and whenever i have been concerned about my submissions they have helped guide me to ensure the end product is what i am hoping for. I once took a Lyft to their shop, to pick up my order, and when i told my driver he was taking me to pick up CDs he said "You're going to Unified aren't you?" - how rad right? - we proceeded to talk about our experiences and the whole ride there became us both swooning over James and his team. It really says something when two random strangers can nerd out about how great your business is. read more

Such a refreshingly wonderful company to work with! I have been dealing with Unified Manufacturing for years now, for myself and also have recommended them to friends of mine. James is a force to be reckoned with! He's very knowledgeable, helpful, and will literally go out of his way to help you out. He will do anything possible to make sure you meet your deadline. I've had instances where I've needed him to finish something that specific day for an upcoming show, and he has kept his employees overtime and gotten it done for me. He knows what he's doing and I wholeheartedly trust him with my work. The quality always comes out amazing and the service is unbelievable. Trust me, you will not regret it. Unified Manufacturing is the way to go!! read more

I can't imagine any of those negative reviews coming from anyone who has worked with James, Steve or anyone in the Unified staff. Everyone at Unified is extraordinarily please, polite and accommodating. I co-run a diy distro and record label and have done two projects with Unified. Both projects became last minute (suprise invites to fests can do that to a project) and each time both James and Steve have been flexible, and treat me and my projects of high priority and importance even thought they may be considered small orders to them. As for pricing, Unified by FAR has the cheapest service for a great product around. I have been working in the music industry for almost 10 years and I have never come across such a good product for such an incredible price before Unified. Literally the only thing I could possibly imagine making Unified Manufacturing even better would be detailed images of what their templates are for. For those who are not well versed in the graphic design field, and considering it seems like every print house has a different definition for everything, it would be even more helpful for some sort of guide or explanation of what certain terms mean and how the templates are laid out. (a real image of a type of packaging and labels maybe?) Summary: +By far the greatest customer service you will ever find +fantastic variety in products and services +AMAZING prices +Extremely eco-conscious +super accommodating I recommend Unified Manufacturing to everyone I work with, whether they are a coin-counting punk band or a super polished pop band. read more

yeeeeah! I am glad I came across Unified for my 1,000 replicated CD's with full color print on the discs because I do not regret a single thing from it! Initially, I had discovered Unified after a failed attempt of reaching another manufacturing company and I was in urgent need for an alternative affordable place with a fast turn around time. James and the staff not only helped me better understand the process of CD replication/duplication but also assured to me that my project will be ready on time. Due to a very minor error on MY END, my master copy had a scratch on it which was detected upon testing for replication printing and I was immediately notified by James about the issue... I revisited the same day and dropped off another master copy. As a courtesy, James was generous enough to offer me 75 free duplicated CD's & they were ready for pick up before my release date... a couple days after, my 1,000 replicated discs were ready as well! I'm glad I came across this business because these guys are honest, kind and very hard working! I highly recommend them to anyone, any company or even for the doubtful independent artist who has never tried having their music printed/duplicated/replicated before. They offer a variety of promo needs that helps us independent artists big time! I will definitely be back for a re-run! read more

Unified delivers a quality product. I was very pleased once I received my CD's. Very professional, great packaging, and solid work. It was a very tough time to release an album (around Christmas) but everything was done accurately, at a decent price, and Steve was wonderful to work with. James is very kind as well! read more

Ordered 1k bulk replicated audio CDs with full color front (no packaging). Quick delivery + great quality. Everything came as expected well within the expected delivery time. All email and phone correspondence was very speedy as well. Would definitely use these guys again. Thanks! read more

As the owner of a medium sized commercial printing company, I work with a LOT of vendors for misc items. I discovered James and the staff at Unified Manufacturing 5 or 6 years ago and haven't looked back since! For all things CD and DVD related, they are my "go to" shop. They have terrific quality, competitive pricing and outstanding customer service which in my industry.....is important. When I tell MY customer that their project will be done on Tuesday......I NEED it to be done on Tuesday. Not Wednesday, not Thursday. Tuesday. And this is where Unified REALLY rises above. I have seen them perform miraculous turn arounds and they've taken on projects when NOBODY else could promise to meet the delivery date. And they do, every single time. Thanks guys! read more

I was contacted by Denise in March of 2014 when she came across our Kickstarter video. She stayed in contact with me until July when we were finally ready to send album art and sticker work over to her. She was so polite and persistent via email and even called on many occasions. Any time I needed to get a hold of her she was instantly emailing or calling me back. This was one of the best companies we have worked with and would refer them to every musician friend or anyone else in the business that needs work done. Also, Steve would personally message me with tracking and shipping info as soon as my items were sent. I've never had this kind of personal interaction with a company when doing printing. OH, and they were ALWAYS nice, they never were annoyed even when I changed things last minute. We printed a 6 panel digipack "retro" (uncoated) album with CD art and it came out BEAUTIFUL! Every person that picks up an album LOVES it! We also had stickers and t shirts made through them. The T SHIRTS came OUT AMAZING!!! The colors were vibrant and the work is very very clean! And they worked very hard for us finding the right shirt that was in our price range and of good quality. The stickers were really great too. The only complaint would be that our vinyl stickers weren't as thick or vinyl like as I expected. They appear more like high gloss roll stickers. But other than that I LOVE working with U.M. You will not be disappointed! read more

I run a business and I know how demanding customers can be. I expect top notch customer service and quality on anything I order from anyone as thats what my customers from me. Most of the time I get let down as its not easy. Well unified Manufacturing made my day. I had a job that meant a lot to me. I looked around online. There pricing was good. They had decent yelp reviews. There customer service was really good and that was the win for me. I could get someone to email me back at most hours of the day and it made me feel I was in good hands. I was not wrong. Thank you Unified. read more

I want to thank James and the entire Unified team for doing a tremendous job with my new "Calling On You" album. James worked with my budget and delivered the finished order in a timely manner. Great print quality, all my questions were answered, and I was kept up to speed every step of the way! I'm really glad I found Unified here in LA. I was able to go straight to the warehouse to pick up all my units in person, which felt really nice. This will be my go to company from now on. THANKS UNIFIED!!!! See you on the next one! Anthony Fedorov. read more

I worked with Unified for several months on manufacturing and fulfillment of a large crowdfunding campaign. With 1200 orders and almost 8000 items, it quickly became a very large undertaking, which took several months to complete. I have worked with other vendors & fulfillment companies that can deliver when everything is very straightforward and standardized. But that type of service would not have worked with this job because of the unique level of detail we required. Unified provided a level of personal, customer service that I have never found with other companies. By working with Unified on the manufacturing of our T-shirts, stickers and DJ slipmats, as well as fulfillment of 1200 orders, I not only got the best price and eliminated the shipping cost from manufacturer to warehouse, it helped to streamline and expedite the process. When one outside vendor was unreliable and failed to deliver on time, they stepped in to help us get a new order in a week. Plus, all our crowdfunding donors were thrilled with the quality! To complicate things, we had a lot of one-of-a-kind collectors items which needed special packaging & handling, along with extra insurance. Hundreds of orders were very customized, so packaging and shipping rates were not consistent across orders. Again, I know this would have been a problem with another fulfillment company but they were responsive and flexible. I will definitely use them again on my next job and strongly recommend them for both manufacturing and fulfillment. read more

This is without a doubt the best manufacturing company my band and I have ever worked with. The entire team over at Unified Manufacturing took pride in their job to ensure that we received a quality product. James was an awesome manager from the start to help me get our CD project rolling. From thereon, both James and Rob have been nothing, but the most super helpful people ever. We've constantly went back and forth on the artwork to ensure it was ready for printing, and they have been nothing but patient with us. Plus, the prices are fantastic for the quality you are receiving. These guys are the real deal and I can't thank them enough for the phenomenal work. Super nice people, great prices, and ease of mind? What more can you ask for?! Don't miss out on a chance to work with these guys, believe me, it'll be well worth it. Thank you James and Rob for making our vision come to life!! read more

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James and the crew at Unified provided me with personalized customer service. They bent over backwards to deliver everything I wanted on my CD project and more. Unforeseen circumstances led to it taking a little longer than expected, but it was all good in the end. I would use them again and recommend them to other artists. read more

Unified Manufacturing - Customized Merchandise Near Me - Los Angeles, California

In my life I have never experienced such stellar customer service. When I go to visit them I actually look forward to it as if I'm visiting old friends! The product is first-rate and they take themselves seriously as crafted professionals. I couldn't be happier!!! Do not go anywhere else! Reasonably priced too. :) read more

I run a record label and we get all our CDs made here. Really good customer service and fast turnaround time. If you pick up, they also open a CD for you to check and then reshrinkwrap for you on site which is a nice service we've never had with any other company. read more

Just received our DVDs with special marketing stickers attached. The DVDs look beautiful and professional--great quality. Unified does a great job with product and customer service is prompt, cheerful and charming--very much appreciated in this world where sometimes it takes days before you hear back. Was pleasantly surprised to learn that Unified can also help create other branding and marketing merchandise for our business--super helpful! read more

not sure about eric's review, as i never once had that sort of service. my first project was to get a record printed for my artist. never had to worry about that before as his distribution should have taken care of it, but they didnt, so i did it. i went in blind to the process and james and patrick went above and beyond to help me get everything done. this all happened very shortly before sxsw and we were on a huge time crunch. they did everything in their power to get these records printed and shipped directly to the driscoll hotel in austin in time for sxsw, and thats where we picked them up. every other project we've needed printing, we've gone back to these guys. i wouldnt even trust anyone else at this point. in la, no one cares about you as a person or on a first name basis. especially in this business. they started out as a company i had to work with, and ended up as friends! if you want great work and great "customer" service, this is the place to go! read more

I'm really happy I placed my order with Unified. I had called around LA and checked out options online but ultimately went with Unified because of how professional they were on the phone. They had experience that I didn't and helped me prepare all the details. My order was on the small to medium ish size but they treated it with utmost importance. Throughout the manufacturing processes they kept up excellent communication with me. They were able to meet my rushed time frame too which was a huge relief! I will definitely use them again!! read more

The team at Unified Manufacturing has done a fantastic job for us on an independent film project. They manufactured our dvd's, printed our postcards and posters, and made our t-shirts. We received great service, prices, and quality in all cases. A true one-stop shop! read more

I can't say enough good things about these guys. I recently had the pleasure of working on-site with James and his focused, hard-working team. They are a great group of people who work together to turn out a superior product for their customers. read more

They were everything I needed. Even though I had a smaller job they treated me with respect and answered all my questions. I won't go anywhere else. read more

James and all at Unified were super helpful. Excellent customer service, friendly staff and great products. Can't say enough good things.

The first time I used Unified Manufacturing services it was a super rush job (three days) and the folks at Unified got everything done and the product looked great and was in my budget - my event was a success and the CD's generated buzz. Naturally, when service is good and staff helpful, friendly and interested you go back. Looking forward to getting my next shipment tomorrow and excited to bring you more business in 2012. Thank you. read more

Had to make a short run of 150 CDs and found Unified online. Price was great and ordering was simple with their online quote/order form. I had a switch up with artwork and had to put the project on hold for a couple of weeks, no problem. Once I had got the new artwork submitted they were quick to point out an error (my fault), which kept the project moving forward quickly. Once that was resolved they emailed daily reports on the progress of the project. The CDs were finished on time and the pick-up location was in Culver City, easy for me. Once at the office I met James, who was nice as can be. He thanked me because as I was waiting for my project to finish I had recommended Unified to another artist that ordered CDs. James offered me a discount on my next order and I already need to reorder! read more