The Beatles — Meet the Beatles!: How to Identify a First Pressing

• Label: The original-issue Capitol label had a black background with a colorband around the outer rim and silver print — the key visual for identifying a genuine 1964 first Capitol pressing rather than a later orange- or purple-label reissue.
• Runout / matrix: Matrix (runout) etchings: Side A reads T 1-2047-G2 (also stamped with an #2 IAM machine code), Side B reads T 2-2047-G2 (also with an IAM code); both sides were machine-stamped by hand.
• Label: On the first-pressing label, the song titles carry no BMI or ASCAP credit; later reissues added these performing-rights abbreviations after the titles.
• Other: In 1964, pressing was split between two U.S. plants: the East Coast plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania (labels printed by Keystone Printed Specialties) and the West Coast plant in Los Angeles (labels printed by Bert-Co Enterprises).

• Later Capitol reissues added BMI/ASCAP credits after the song titles; the first pressing has none of these credits, which is a direct clue for telling a first pressing from a later reissue.

This album is a US-only Capitol compilation that was never released in the UK under this tracklist, so the UK fields are left blank. The matrix etching and pressing-plant details come from the private collector site yokono.co.uk (not Discogs, since Discogs returned a 403 in this research environment and could not be accessed).

• Read the runout (the smooth area between the last groove and the label) with the disc tilted under a lamp: matrix numbers, stamper codes and mastering initials are the strongest evidence.
• Label details change between pressing plants and years: rim text, logo style, address, "Manufactured by" wording.
• Cover printing shows the plant and era: printer credit, catalog number position, barcode presence.
• Match all three. A first-press disc in a later cover, or the reverse, is common.

Shoot the label straight on in even light, then the runout with the disc tilted so the etched text catches the light (a phone torch from the side works). Add the front and back cover, the spine, and any inner sleeve or insert. The app reads the label and cover; the runout photo is what confirms the pressing.