Custom Vinyl Record FAQs

PhonoLab guarantees a two-week (10 business day) turnaround from payment, plus shipping. The date shown on your order confirmation is the latest we guarantee delivery — we often ship sooner. We can't provide production updates while we're cutting and assembling, but you'll receive tracking from our store the moment your record is in the post.

Our two-week guarantee covers external printing of your custom covers and labels, which typically takes two to three business days to come back to us before we can cut, assemble and ship.

Most likely, yes — but please get in touch before ordering if your deadline is less than two weeks away. We process a high volume of gift orders (anniversaries, birthdays, weddings, Father's Day, Mother's Day) and we can usually move time-sensitive orders to the front of the queue. Note your deadline in the comments box at checkout and we'll do our best to accommodate it. Selecting Express Shipping shaves several days off transit time.

Yes. Express Post is our fastest, most reliable option — typically overnight to most metro areas. Pricing varies by weight, ranging from $15 to $30 depending on how many records you're ordering. The correct price is calculated automatically at checkout.

If you've already ordered with standard shipping and need to upgrade, email info@phonolab.com.au with your order number and we'll send a separate invoice for the difference.

Yes — local pickup from the PhonoLab studio is welcome. Just select Standard Shipping at checkout and add a note in the comments box (or email us) letting us know you'd like to collect. We'll set your record aside once it's ready and email you to arrange a time.

We're at Unit 13/8 Spit Island Cl, Mayfield West NSW 2304, open 9am–4pm Monday to Friday.

We currently ship to Australia and New Zealand only.

Important: Australia Post requires damage claims to be initiated within 10 days of delivery, so please act quickly.

Once you've sent us the images we'll help guide you through the rest of the claim.

It comes down to how much audio you want on the record. Every PhonoLab record is double-sided, so the per-side time limits matter most:

If you're cutting a full album or a long mixtape, the 12" Single LP or Double LP is the way to go. For one or two songs, a 7" is plenty. If you're not sure, email us your tracklist with track lengths and we'll recommend the right format.

This is one of the most common things we flag on incoming orders. If your playlist exceeds the per-side time limit, you have two options:

Pushing past the recommended limit is technically possible but requires lowering the cutting volume, which means a quieter record. We always reach out before cutting if your audio is over the limit, so you can choose.

What if I want 20+ minutes of music on one side? Occasionally we get a request to squeeze 20, 30 or even 40 minutes of music onto a single side, often as a long playlist of multiple songs. We physically can't fit that much audio within our per-side limits, so if you want every one of those tracks on the record you'll need to pre-edit the playlist yourself — shortening or fading tracks so the total side length fits within the per-side limit (e.g. 17 minutes for a 12"). You can do this for free in a browser tool like AudioCut, or in free desktop software like Audacity. Send us a single edited audio file at the correct length and we'll cut it as-is.

Custom Vinyl Records are available in eleven colours. Standard colours are included in the listed price.

• Clear
• Black
• White
• Translucent Red
• Orange
• Red
• Yellow
• Green
• Blue
• Pink
• Purple

Colours on screen are approximations — your record may differ very slightly from the swatch above due to monitor settings.

Yes — although the option isn't selectable on the website, we can mix custom colours on request. Pricing usually starts at $40 per record, and the final cost depends on the complexity of the design. Email info@phonolab.com.au before ordering with what you have in mind and we'll give you a quote.

Please note: anything other than a solid colour is experimental. Splatters, swirls, multi-tone effects and similar finishes can be attempted but we can't guarantee how they'll turn out — every disc comes out a little differently. If you need consistency, stick to a solid colour.

No. Clear, Black, White, coloured — they all sound the same and they're all equally durable. Don't second-guess your favourite colour; we cut records regularly on every colour we offer and they all hold up beautifully under normal home use and even DJ scratching.

Yes. The 12" Double LP can be ordered with a Gatefold Cover (+$50) for that classic album look, and we offer a range of add-ons including outer protective sleeves and gift cards.

→ View Custom Vinyl Record Add-Ons

Yes — this is one of the most common ways people order. You don't need to own the audio files. Just paste the link to your Spotify or Apple Music playlist (or list out the tracks) in the box on the product page, and PhonoLab will source the music on your behalf. Since April 2022 we've spent over $25,000 buying tracks from artists and bands so we can transcribe them onto your records — yes, that money goes directly to the artists you love.

Under Australian law, a duplicate can be made for personal, non-commercial use. A quick search for "format shifting" explains it in more detail — think of it as ripping your own CD, except we're transcribing your music onto a vinyl record.

In Spotify, open the playlist, tap the three-dot menu, then "Share" → "Copy link to playlist". Paste that link into the box on the product page before checkout.

→ See our blog for picture walkthroughs

Absolutely — if we can play it, we can cut it. Lossless formats like WAV and FLAC are ideal, but we also accept AIFF, MP3, OGG, M4P, AAC, ALAC, WMA and most other common formats. We can convert anything we receive. We can also extract audio directly from CD if you've got an old album you'd like committed to vinyl.

The box on the product page accepts download links from WeTransfer, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox or any other file sharing platform. If you'd prefer to email after ordering, send the files to info@phonolab.com.au with your order number in the subject line.

The easiest way is to use our free Canva templates — there's one linked on each Custom Vinyl Record product page, sized correctly for that record. Canva works in your browser on phone, tablet or desktop, and the templates handle the bleed and dimensions for you. You can also browse all our blank templates on the Free Canva Templates page.

Whether you use Canva or your own design software, please keep text, logos and key artwork away from the edges — anything close to the edge may be trimmed when we cut the covers. The same applies to centre labels — we punch a small spindle hole through the middle, so avoid placing faces or text right in the centre.

→ Read our full Canva tutorial

Yes — if you'd rather start from a polished design than build one from scratch, we've put together a small collection of pre-designed Canva templates for the most common occasions. Open the template you like, personalise the names, dates and photos, then submit your finished design with your order:

If you're not using our Canva or PDF/PSD templates, please supply your artwork to the following specs:

Export settings:

Cover dimensions:

Centre label dimensions (circular):

About the centre hole: the spindle hole is approximately 7.2mm in diameter. You do not need to add this to your design — we punch it during finishing.

Need a full-page PDF or PSD template? We've got artwork templates in both formats with all the bleeds, dimensions and guides pre-set. Email info@phonolab.com.au and we'll send them through.

If you'd like to see a proof before printing, just leave a note in the comments box at checkout asking for one. We'll then email you a digital proof of your cover and labels so you can catch typos and check colours before anything goes to print.

(There's no "proof" checkbox or tickbox option on the website — a note at checkout is all you need to do.)

The most likely cause is that your uploaded artwork files total more than 20MB — that's the upload limit on the product page. The fix is easy: there's a box on each product page where you can paste a download link to your files instead. We accept WeTransfer, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox or any other file sharing service.

If it's easier, complete the order without uploading and email the files to info@phonolab.com.au with your order number.

Most likely not. If an image looks pixelated, blurry or low-res on screen, it will look the same or worse once printed at record-cover size. While we try to catch low-resolution artwork before sending it to print, we can't always spot every issue — which is why we strongly recommend designing in one of our free Canva templates (or asking us for the PDF/PSD versions). The templates avoid the problem entirely by handling resolution and sizing for you.

Yes — and most of our customers do. You can put a personal message anywhere on the front cover, back cover, spine or centre label of your custom vinyl record. Just add it to your design in Canva (or your own software) before submitting your order. If you'd like us to add a short note for you, mention it in the comments box at checkout.

It depends on where the artwork is in our workflow:

Either way, email info@phonolab.com.au as soon as possible with your order number and the change you'd like, and we'll let you know which option applies.

A lathe cut vinyl record is a one-off record made by transcribing a digital audio file directly onto a blank vinyl disc using a heated diamond cutting stylus. Every PhonoLab record is cut direct-to-vinyl in real time — the record takes as long to make as it does to play.

The heated diamond stylus minimises background noise and produces a deep, lasting groove that holds up to normal listening, repeat plays and even scratch DJing. Our German lathe is driven by a Technics SP-10MK2 turntable, which operates within ±0.03% of rated speed even under the load produced by the cutter head.

There's a common myth that lathe cut records don't hold up to pressed records. They do. We've been DJing our own lathe cut records in venues around Australia for years and the sound, durability and longevity are all there. The other myth — that lathe cuts wear out faster than pressed vinyl — applies only to old-school acetate lathe cuts, not the polycarbonate discs we use, which are just as durable as anything else in your collection.

Every record is processed through a sophisticated audio chain that accurately transcribes your audio to the groove. If your audio isn't in a lossless format, no worries — our lathes accommodate everything.

Every record we cut is monitored during playback as it's being made. If the playback monitor flags anything off, the record isn't sent. That's our standard quality check — straightforward, every time, every record.

Email info@phonolab.com.au with your order number and a description of where on the record the issue happens. To help us diagnose the problem as quickly as possible, please include:

From there we'll send you a return label, and once the record is back with us we'll examine the grooves under a microscope to work out what went wrong. If the fault is on our end, we'll recut and replace the record free of charge.

Yes, as long as we haven't already shipped. Email info@phonolab.com.au with your order number and the new address and we'll update it for you.

Yes — get in touch as soon as possible and we'll either add it to the existing order or send you an invoice for the extra item so we can ship everything together.

Yes — provided we haven't cut yet. Email us with what you'd like to switch to and we'll handle the price difference via a top-up invoice or partial refund.

Both are lathe cut on the same machines using the same vinyl, so the sound quality, durability and time limits are identical. The difference is the packaging:

If you want personalised artwork, choose a Custom Vinyl Record. If you just want the audio on wax, choose a Dub Plate.

Same as Custom Vinyl Records: 5 min/side for 7", 12 min/side for 10", 17 min/side for 12". All dub plates are double-sided.

The polycarbonate discs we use are equivalent to a 180gsm record in feel and durability.

There's no automatic bulk discount on dub plates — pricing per unit is the same whether you order one or ten. If you're after a larger run (10+ identical records), our Short Runs service may be more cost-effective per unit.

→ See the Short Run FAQ for full details

If your track is already mastered, no further mastering is needed — and we'd actively recommend against re-mastering an already-mastered track. If your audio is a rough mix and hasn't been mastered yet, we can master it for $50 per track. Email us before ordering if you'd like to add mastering.

Yes — we can cut a 7" dub plate (or Custom Vinyl Record) with a large centre hole ("dinked") to fit a jukebox. Note this in the comments box at checkout and we'll set it up that way.

Paste a download link in the box on the product page before checkout (Google Drive, WeTransfer, OneDrive, Dropbox all work). If you're using Google Drive, please share the full folder containing all the tracks you want on the record — not just one file — and make sure sharing permissions allow us to access it.

Yes — for runs of 10 to 50 identical records with full-colour covers and labels. Short runs are a popular option for independent artists, record labels and bands releasing limited-edition vinyl.