Labeling CD-R's
- Thread starter none
- Start date
Amon
Staff member
Some cd players have trouble with labels on cd-r's. Most cd spindles and packages say not to add a label. The company I work for adds labels on all of their cd's that they hand out and havent had a single complaint. My Ex girlfriends car cd player could not play a music cd i burnt her with a label on it. I ripped the label off and she didnt have a problem. Havent tried with any backups but 99% of the time they should be fine if placed on properly.
There's a number of reasons why they say not to add labels to discs. An uncentered label can cause a disc to be heavier on one side and spin crooked, scratching the disc. The acid in the label's adhesive can cause faster deterioration of the disc material. Some front-loading systems (such as car stereos) will scratch the label, and the adhesive will cause the disc to become stuck in the drive.
The only problem I've ever had with a label on a disc was a CD I bought from a local band. The discs had been produced localy by a company that basicaly just burned them in a multi-disc recorder thing and then had printed labels applied. The label had gotten damp and for some reason the disc would no longer play. The band ended up getting a new batch of the CDs pressed by a better production house, and the discs had the artwork printed directly on them, so I just bought a new copy.
My advice: For your own stuff, just use a Sharpie. You probably won't have any problems using labels, but if you need artwork on the disc, you're better off just getting discs with a printable surface. They may cost a bit more than regular CD-Rs or DVD+Rs, but by the time you add the disc plus the label, plus the time to apply the label, it's cheaper to get the printable ones.
The only problem I've ever had with a label on a disc was a CD I bought from a local band. The discs had been produced localy by a company that basicaly just burned them in a multi-disc recorder thing and then had printed labels applied. The label had gotten damp and for some reason the disc would no longer play. The band ended up getting a new batch of the CDs pressed by a better production house, and the discs had the artwork printed directly on them, so I just bought a new copy.
My advice: For your own stuff, just use a Sharpie. You probably won't have any problems using labels, but if you need artwork on the disc, you're better off just getting discs with a printable surface. They may cost a bit more than regular CD-Rs or DVD+Rs, but by the time you add the disc plus the label, plus the time to apply the label, it's cheaper to get the printable ones.
lordofduct
Established Member
I never had problems with labels either except in car stereos. I used to put them on all my backups and never noticed any problems.
I no longer do as I don't own a printer worth 2 squats of printing anything other then text. I hate printers... as I've always said "AI was already invented in the form of the printer... and he hates me!"
In my office I've come to notice that envelope sealing machines may have minds of their own as well. The one in my office hates everyone except me. It will malfunction and all I have to do is come over and start feeding it envelopes and it just starts working it again.
Personally though I want to start trying out those 'light-scribe' discs.
I no longer do as I don't own a printer worth 2 squats of printing anything other then text. I hate printers... as I've always said "AI was already invented in the form of the printer... and he hates me!"
In my office I've come to notice that envelope sealing machines may have minds of their own as well. The one in my office hates everyone except me. It will malfunction and all I have to do is come over and start feeding it envelopes and it just starts working it again.
Personally though I want to start trying out those 'light-scribe' discs.
