Have you tried to find album cover frames? It’s a size you’ll rarely find on the shop’s shelf, ready to pick, pay, pack and go. Most likely, you’ll need to order from a custom framer or shop around online for custom frame sizing. You don’t need to pay an expensive fee for a custom framer to make a frame and professionally fit your album cover inside.
It’s a job you can do yourself by ordering a custom frame size. It’ll cost you far less.
The sizing for album cover frames
Vinyl record covers measure approximately 12.5” x 12.5”. The actual size is 12.375”, but that 1.25mm extra gives a little breathing room inside the frame, yet not enough for it to move out of position. If you want an edge-to-edge finish, it’s a 12.5” square photo frame to use for a vinyl record album cover.
Selecting the frame material to complement the cover
Vinyl covers are printed on cardboard, giving the art a matte finish look. You won’t get a glossy print unless you take a digital scan of your album cover, then print and frame that. Assuming you are framing an original LP cover, a good choice would be a metallic picture frame, such as those used to frame poster art. Aluminium photo frames are lightweight and give the metallic look, creating a vibrant surround helping the colours stand out more than they might if they were behind a coloured wood frame.
If you want to frame your cover with a mount surrounding the art to either compliment with an additional coloured border for better protection, you’ll need to increase the size of the frame to accommodate the picture mount.
Getting the style and design perfect
Album art doesn’t need to be standalone. It’s possible to frame a vinyl record cover and the LP in a single frame using a double photo mount. Alternatively, use a square frame for the album cover and a circular frame for the record, then display them side by side. This can look spectacular on vinyl records with printed art on the record itself.
For record collections by the same artist or the same collection such as Top of the Pops through the decades, sort of the Now That’s What I Call era of the last century, a longer rectangle frame with a multi-aperture mount for as many albums as you want or your wall can handle is another way you can add some flair to your record display.
Use a UV filtering glazing to prevent colour degradation.
Given the era LP covers were printed, the inks and materials are unlikely to be of the same quality that’s available today, making them more susceptible to sunlight damage. UV filtered glazing is an extra precaution, preventing sunlight damage to framed materials. It’s ideal for displaying quality prints you want to keep that way, on display in any room that gets lots of natural light.
Hanging the framed album cover
Always consider the total weight of the framed cover and use suitable anchors to attach it to the wall. Keep in mind that if you have the record still in the album, there’s going to be added weight, even more so if they’re in a multi-aperture frame.