Born To Run original US pressing 7-inch variants (addendum)

In response to the recent three consecutive blog posts on the original Born To Run US 7-inch variants, an expert and dedicated record collector from 45cat (whose comments found on this tremendous 7" resource website were cited here on this blog) has kindly sent me an e-mail message providing the accurate and detailed information on the US Columbia styrene and vinyl 7" discs. As the info is valuable and useful for readers of this blog, it is reprinted here upon the permission.
 

"Of the stock copies, the vinyl pressing was from Santa Maria, CA, while the styrene was from Pitman, NJ.  Pitman used label typesetting from Mergenthaler Linotype's VIP typesetting library (the "normal" fonts), while Santa Maria had a combination of Varityper fonts and Varityper Headliner typesetting (the latter of which had the "tall" fonts).  Pitman, also, by that point pressed some if not all of their WLP's in vinyl.  (I've always been preferential towards Pitman typesetting, anyway.)"
 
"Styrene labels were what, on a few label sheets I've investigated, were characterized as "heat seal," that is, glued onto the record, while vinyl labels were deemed "compression," with them losing about ~0.5% of its original size when stamped onto the record."

Thank you, B.W.!

Born To Run original US pressing 7-inch variants (concluded)

Although well-known to audiophile record collectors, it seems relatively less common among casual collectors that Columbia Records were the major issuer/supplier of the styrene-made 7-inch discs in the United States. Back then, using styrene rather than vinyl as an analogue-sound storage medium was probably company's strategy to save costs of manufacturing 7-inch singles. While cost effective and resistant to warp, records made out of styrene are prone to be physically damaged due to its more fragile nature than vinyl. So, it is generally acknowledged that styrene discs tend to wear out in much shorter playing time compared to vinyl discs, with pronounced surface noise and distortion. The deterioration of styrene disc is accelerated further, unless played with the right equipment setting (especially, the choice of stylus is critical).
 

When exposed to a strong light...  From left to right: a stock copy made of vinyl (opaque black); a stock copy
made of styrene (translucent red); and a promotional copy made of vinyl (opaque black).
Note that each photograph was taken of a disc that was kept inside an anti-static plastic bag.

Born To Run original US pressing 7-inch variants (continued)

Based on the "Sunburst" (also known as "Orange/yellow") label of the Columbia Records, there are at least two different issues for the original Born To Run 7" single released in the US back in 1975. Then, as I have given in the last post, the next question is whether there are any differences between the two copies in addition to the label design. The answer is yes, but before coming to the definitive difference, let me make the comparison more closely.

Left and middle: Label with "stamper ring" around the center hole (left) and plain label without it (middle).
Right upper and lower: labels attached on disc loosely (upper) and tightly (lower). Note the syntax error "Take from ..." printed on the "tall font" label.
 

Born To Run original US pressing 7-inch variants (not LP this time!)

Stamped on the dead wax areas are ZSS160700-1H/ZSS160700-1J (left) and ZSS160700-1C/ZSS160700-1C (right)

Take a look at the above image showing two regular copies of the original US 7-inch pressing of Born To Run (US Columbia 3-10209), backed with Meeting Across The River and released in 1975 (more than 40 years ago!). Here my question is how they differ from each other?  All the information provided on the sunburst labels is the same between the two copies. At a glance, you can easily recognize the difference in typeface used for the track title and artist name, with one looking normal (right) while the other being apparently taller (left). So are the other descriptions and there is some variation in font size and layout as well. These differences mostly indicate that they are pressed and manufactured at different locations because label designs often differ slightly among different pressing plants (back then, Columbia Records owned three pressing plants located in Terre Haute, IN, Pitman, NJ, and Santa Maria, CA). So, is it just that, or are there any more major differences?  The answer is yes, there is another substantial difference although it's hard to explain that with the label pictures alone.
— To be continued.

Collecting log: Trivial questions on Born In The U.S.A. white label US promotional 12" vinyl

All the promotional 12-inch discs from BITUSA come with red labels
 except for the title track release whose labels are white (see below).

Revisiting the vinyl bootleg on the last three consecutive posts (April 20, 23 and 24) brought me back to the era of BORN IN THE U.S.A. Around 1984-85, not only had we the flood of live bootlegs from the 15-month world tour, but also we saw plenty of official 7" and 12" vinyl releases from various countries worldwide. While I was looking forward to collecting every forthcoming 7" single from the album with a previously unreleased track on the flip side, it was a series of promotional 12" vinyls that also called my attention. This was simply because the format would at least theoretically provide better sound than 7" or LP format for a given song. My favorite was, and still is I'm Goin' Down (US Columbia CAS 2174), not lyrically but for its enjoyable melody. So, I occasionally pull the copy from my record shelf and give a listen to it played loudly on my DENON turntable.