Is it Safe to Play a Picture Disc Vinyl Record? It All Depends on Why You Bought it

The answer to whether you should actually play your picture disc all depends on what you want to get out of it.

If your top priority is actually hearing the music on the record you just bought, then you can certainly pop your picture disc on your turntable just like any other vinyl. It will play the same way and likely sound like most other versions of the band's album.

According to music retailer The Sound of Vinyl, a picture disc may have a "bit of extra noise in the signal" depending on when it was manufactured. As technology to create picture discs has improved over the years, so has their sound, making the added noise significantly less noticeable.

Then, there is the artwork, which is most likely why you bought the picture disc version of the album in the first place.

If you covet the way your picture disc looks the day you buy it, you may want to think twice before consistently listening to it on your record player.

READ MORE: 10 Essential Rock + Metal '80s Albums You Should Own on Vinyl

Repeatedly running a needle around a record can wear down its grooves. This is true with just about any vinyl, including those that aren't picture discs.

If the groove is wearing down, you're eventually going to cut into the picture disc's artwork. And that crisp image is about to have a big circle running through it.

What Is a Picture Disc?

Artists of all genres continue to find creative ways to boost vinyl sales of their albums, including offering picture disc versions of their most popular titles.

Picture discs, on the surface, most often look like a work of art rather than something you'd want to give a spin on your turntable. They're vinyl records with a full photo or design blasted over the entire side of the album.

The example below shows a picture disc version of Dio's Holy Diver that features a design on both sides of the album.

How Picture Discs Are Made

Most vinyl record manufacturers take a sandwich approach to creating picture discs.

The following video shows the process using an automatic LP press. The "picture" portion of the album is a printed image that is held between two clear vinyl discs that are then pressed together.

Atlas Records, a U.K.-based record retailer, has written extensively about the picture disc creation process on its website. The store suggests music collectors should expect to pay higher prices for picture discs compared to the standard version of the album

Atlas says the higher price comes down to the extra steps in the manufacturing process and the album's collectibility.

"Record distribution companies are very savvy to the fact that people will likely buy a copy of their favorite album in picture disc form because of how eye-catching they can look," the store says on its website. "Picture discs will often be bought by people who not only want to listen to their favorite music, but be able to display it at the same time too — and this extra utility comes at a cost. Literally."

If you're looking to add some picture discs to your collection, the Loudwire online vinyl shop has collectible versions of albums from Anthrax, My Chemical Romance and many others.