The production of shellac records continued throughout the 78 rpm era, which lasted until 1948 in industrialized nations. During the Second World War, the United States Armed Forces produced thousands of 12-inch vinyl 78 rpm V-Discs for use by the troops overseas.

These are thick, black vinyl record albums commonly known as LPs. LP stands for Long Play or Long Playing. Most of the time, LP plays at 33 1/3 rpm.

78s hold about five minutes of music, while 33s hold up to approximately 20 minutes. 78 RPM records have a faster RPM speed than both 33 and 45 RPM records. 78s have wider grooves than vinyl records, which means that the stylus also needs to be wider. 78 RPM records are mono and are only heard through one channel.

A Brief Record History 1887 – Emile Berliner developed a method to record onto a flat disc. 1901 – 10-inch 78rpm disc record is made from shellac. 1910 – 78rpm becomes the standardized speed for all records. 1925 – Electrical recording takes over acoustic recording.