Hard Copy House

Guides / Record sleeves

Record sleeve sizes and printing

Design a record jacket and everything that goes in it: the sleeve, a card insert or printed inner sleeve, and the labels for each side of the record. Download one PDF for your pressing plant, a print shop or your own printer.

Open the record sleeve maker

Sizes

7-inch sleeve
7 1/4 in square, no spine. Insert 6 7/8 in.
10-inch sleeve
10 1/4 in square, 1/8 in spine. Insert 9 7/8 in.
12-inch sleeve
12 3/8 in square, 1/8 in spine. Insert 12 in.
12-inch gatefold
12 3/8 in square, 1/4 in spine, room for two records.
Inner sleeves
7 1/8 in, 10 1/8 in or 12 1/4 in square, with an optional label window.
Record labels
85 mm on a 7-inch, 100 mm on 10 and 12-inch, with a small or large center hole.
Bleed
3 mm on every edge

Paper

Jacket
14 pt (300 to 350 gsm) C1S board, printed on the coated side. It's what pressing plants make jackets from.
7-inch fold-and-glue sleeve
80 lb cover (216 gsm) on an 11 × 17 or A3 sheet at home.
Insert
100 lb text or 80 lb cover (150 to 216 gsm), printed both sides.
Inner sleeve
70 to 100 lb text (100 to 150 gsm), thin enough to slide in easily.

Print, cut and fold

  1. Print at 100% (Actual size), never Fit.
  2. Cut on the solid marks. Score the folds with a ruler and a dull blade, then fold print side out.
  3. Making 7-inch sleeves by hand? Fold the front over and glue the flaps down inside, keeping glue off the opening.
  4. Sending it to a plant? Line it up with their own template first; spine widths vary with how many records go in.

Questions

What size is a 12-inch record jacket?

About 12 3/8 in square, so a 12-inch record slides in with room to spare. A single LP jacket has a 1/8 in spine, a gatefold 1/4 in.

What size is a 7-inch sleeve?

About 7 1/4 in square, folded at one edge with no spine.

How big is a record label?

100 mm across on a 10 or 12-inch record and 85 mm on a 7-inch. The center hole is punched after printing.

Are my images uploaded anywhere?

No. Everything runs in your browser, and your art stays on your computer.