Soundscriber, an early dictation machine that recorded sound with a stylus on a thin vinyl disk. The system could record 15 minutes of dictation on each side of the 7 inch disk at 33 RPM, at a density of 200 grooves per inch. Disks cost about 10 cents. Unlike conventional records, in which the sound vibrations were recorded as lateral, sideways motions of the stylus, and the groove is actually cut into the record, the Soundscriber records sound by "vertical" motions of the stylus, so the depth of the groove represents the amplitude of the audio signal. The stylus embosses the groove into the vinyl without cutting, so no plastic waste is produced.