Here are some authentic, original Blue Note Albums. They are made exactly the same way as our modern LPs are made- rigid chipboard core, book binding construction with an inner wrap glued across the inside, outside wrap laminated in place.

LPs are made with a rigid chipboard core and a 4C wrap is laminated across the outside, and glued across the inside. We can also do a linen wrap instead of a 4C printed paper wrap.
Here are some modern LPs:

What is it about old LPs that make them LP covers? How does one apply that look to make discs look like vintage LPs? Materials & Construction technique.

Materials- retro LPs were made with a rigid chipboard core material that is wrapped with a 4C printed piece of paper (called the wrap) and laminated in place. There is a wrap across the outside and one across the inside. What you notice is the rigidity / thickness and weight of the LP, and that the wrap goes all the way across the inside without disruption. CD Jackets are usually made with a lightweight paper stock between 15/16pt and 21pt thickness. Although not usually done, some jacket modifications to make them more LP like is to add a wrap.

BookBinding Style - this was the construction technique used on the original vinyl LP albums. It’s made by gluing a printed sheet (4C wrap) over a thick piece of cardboard (chipboard). The back panel (or inner panel for 4pp jackets) is covered by a sheet that extends past the edges of the outer wrap , similar to the end paper in a traditional hard bound book. The result is a very thick cover with beautiful printing effects, with those vintage hospital corners. The wrap and inner sheet use either matte or gloss lamination, but most clients prefer matte, or matte with spot gloss. Bookbinding style is the absolute favorite of clients wanting an authentic, vintage mini LP feel to a project. It is however, not for every budget.


Double Wall Construction versus Single Wall Construction

The alternative to doing bookbinding style is to use an approach that is more traditional among CD Jackets; double wall or single wall construction. Double wall construction is done by folding over the paper stock to create the panels. Each wall or panel is a double thickness. The edges on double wall constructed jackets are very neat. If you want a continuous art spread across the inside of the LP jacket, you need to have us print the reverse side of the paper. PIPS (printed Inner pockets and Spines) will give you that effect. Book binding can be simulated in the art. Here is an example using PIPS, and double wall construction with simulated distressed paper and book binding:

See also Molly's Featured Title to see how she did vintage.

Single Wall Construction is done using one-thickness of paper (sometimes called "slabs"), rather than folded over panels. The edges do tend to be a little rough, however it is less cost to manufacture. Another benefit is that one can not have unprinted inner spines as it is a slab and not folded over.
Single wall construction is not typically used by us unless there is a special die cut feature that would require that technique, such as this title:

Inner Sleeves are a great LP touch. They can be unprinted white (with or white a window), a solid colors, or we can print them 1C or 4C. Uncoated /matte paper stock is popular for these inner sleeves. We can also do vellum sleeves.

Outward opening pockets are the number one most popular feature of an LP style jacket, but consider also inward sleeve openings or even top opening!

Swinging sleeves or a vertical pocket glued to the back are also a nice vintage touch.


Check out Featured Title OriaBlue to see some more of this swinging sleeve style and look at the full spec.

Vinyl discs are another great feature to add to a LP look.

Our Art Department has some special info on disc printing

We can make CD sized inner sleeves to go with your LP packages. These can be uncoated white paper, or a colored paper stock, or printed 1C or 4C. We have several sizes and make them to fit the LPs. If you'd like a center hole, please let us know!

Putting out a double album? Choose a double vinyl LP style package that fits in with regular tray or jewelcase packaging.

Just one disc? Add a standard sized booklet!

These titles are made with regular paper stock (rather than chipboard) so they are less rigid but they have some pretty cool retro, vintage looks.

Linen Fabric can be delightfully vintage. It can only be silkscreened in a dark ink (usually black). If you want 4C/full color a slipcase is a great addition. We'll show you a few fun examples:

Taking a look at some vintage albums can help you build up your spec. Two very good features to include are the pocket opening outward along with an inner sleeve. Thick paper stock, often combined with book binding (using chipboard type material/board stock wrapped with a 4C printed paper of about 150 gsm) is another good addition, although somewhat expensive. Oversized is attention catching, but not ideal for retail areas where the LP has to be the typical 5inch packaging.


For some ideas of making projects look vintage or retro, check out these pages- each has a slightly different "flavor" :
Retro Disc Packaging Slideshow
Vintage CD Covers Slideshow

Some of these features get a little hard to describe and see, so here are a few sketches to help clarify. Remember that everything we do is custom, so any feature can be adjusted to your whim.

Our most requested special paper stock is matte uncoated, for that touch me feel me look.


Recycled content is 20-30% recycled, post consumer waste content.

Our Truly Eco paper stock – contains 70-80% recycled content and post consumer waste, FSC. It is a bit softer to the touch as the recycled content is higher. This stock meets & exceeds EPA's definition of recycled paper.

Our fiberboard – lovely unbleached , brownish material, slightly fuzzy texture, , uses end of chain pulp material that otherwise would have been discarded. It is very eco friendly.

Coated Papers – we do that too, of course. Some artwork is not suited to uncoated stocks, or to fiberboard, so starting with a coated paper stock is a good approach. We can help guide you on that when we see your artwork.

Be sure to visit our Art Department- special paper stocks for cd / dvd packaging page.

And we can do all kinds of thickness too. If you need additional choices, ask, but these cover just about everything you might want to create. What don’t we use? We don’t use individual sheets of paper that you might pick up in a stationary store, for example. We use big rolls of paper. If you need help with thicknesses for your spec, this page will help you with pt stock and gsm conversions: Paper thickness / weight.

So, you've gone with a retro look in your CD packaging. How about the CD itself? Well, with the right art tweak, you can make your CD (or DVD) look like an old fashioned (albeit, little) vinyl LP or 45'!
See: Vinyl Disc Record-LP-Style Disc Printing

If you're making your mini LP for sale in Japan, or for collectors, you might want to add an obi strip. These are great for adding marketing in another language, or is meant to be discarded. These are usually placed over the spine, and extend an inch or so onto the front and back panel. AN obi is also a good place to put your bar code.
An alternative to a traditional OBI is a belly band or sash, which completely encircles the mini LP. We use belly bands for other formats, too.






Japanese style jackets (usually oversized, thick paper stock, OBI strips and resealable bags) have become a popular version of 2pp Jackets. Be sure to check out our page on releasing your Japanese LP style title :Japanese-LPs-CD-Jacket-OBI-Packaging