Some records are music; a few are milestones — the first press you hunted for years, the album that soundtracked a chapter of your life. Shelving swallows those. This guide covers how to store 12″ vinyl properly, and how to display the ones that deserve better — including our custom engraved record box, sized for real jackets.
"12 inch" is the record, not the packaging. Jackets run 313–317 mm square, sealed shrink adds bulge, and gatefolds and tip-on sleeves can hit 320 mm. Cheap "record frames" are cut to 315 mm exactly and jam on anything special — which is precisely the record you wanted to display. Our box pocket is 323 × 316 mm with about 12 mm of depth: sealed singles float in comfortably and most gatefolds close clean.
The lid carries your album like a pressing plate: artist and title in engraved arcs around a vinyl-groove motif, an optional pressing line (year · country · catalogue number) underneath, in silver, gold or white on 15 body colours. Hidden bar magnets snap it shut; a raised rim seat keeps the jacket proud of the base so nothing rubs. Design yours live in the Vinyl Box Studio — or choose the blank lid for a clean minimal case.
A standard 12″ jacket measures about 315 × 315 mm, but printed sleeves, gatefolds and sealed shrink can push that to 320 × 315 mm or more — always measure the actual jacket. Our record box pocket is 323 × 316 mm with ~12 mm of depth, so sealed singles and most gatefolds drop straight in.
Yes — the artist and album go in engraved arcs around a vinyl-groove motif, with an optional pressing line underneath (year, country, catalogue number). Design it live in the Vinyl Box Studio and we confirm a typeset preview before printing. Cover art itself is copyrighted, so we engrave text and motifs, or your own uploaded artwork.
No. Vinyl is PVC with the music cut physically into the groove — there is nothing magnetic to erase (unlike cassette tapes). The box's hidden neodymium magnets are completely safe for records, sleeves and inserts.
Long-term collections belong upright with light, even pressure. A single treasured record in a display box can lie flat safely — the record is supported by the jacket across its whole face. Never stack many records flat: cumulative weight warps the ones at the bottom.
Yes — PLA is inert and plasticiser-free, and unlike some PVC sleeves it cannot leach or fuse with the record. Keep any vinyl away from heat: above ~45°C (a car boot in summer) records warp regardless of what stores them.
Yes — the box is parametric, so 7″ singles, 10″ EPs and box-set thicknesses are custom orders. Ask via the quote page with your measurements.
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All racks are designed and 3D printed to order by Formada3D in Melbourne, shipped Australia-wide. Browse the full range at formada.net.
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