DVD Lables?

[Bob Hughes]

I have been puting labels on some of my SVCD productions with no problems, but have read conflicting reports about putting them on DVD's. Does anyone have any experience with this. I have read that it is not a good idea, but can not understand why.
Bob

[phd]

Its recommended not to put labels on DVDs due to the significantly higher velocity. If the label is not perfectly balanced it can cause bad vibration causing the DVD not to play correctly to potentially shattering or flying off.

It is the same concept as why you get your wheels balanced on your car.

Do a search on the internet regarding this subject. The main supporters of labels are OK are the label manufacturers. (No surprise there.)
Here's a few additional comments:
http://www.freephotopaper.com/CDlabelinfo.htm
http://www.dvdtech.com.au/info/FAQ.htm
http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthr ... adid=28604

[david reece]

if you check the DVD pack itslef it says do not every stick anything to the surface.

you are better off with printable surface discs such as verbatim.

also be aware of DVD rot as well. it has been reported that ink as well as the glue have on cheaper discs have simply rotted and disc is unplayable.

as to PHD's comment.

I have a disc here that i put on a label which was supposedly DVD safe. i can vouch the rattle and nouse it makes, and is even spat out on occassions.

the disc isnt at fault. i created another disc same content no problem.

basically you put a lable or print to the disc at your own risk!

[Bob Hughes]

Now we have established "no labels". What about markers? I started out using non-permanent, but was given a set of permanent markers labelled "CD/DVD markers"
Any opinions or experiences?
Bob

[phd]

Solvent based permanent markers are generally not recommended due to attack of the plastic. It dissolves the plastic and can affect the dye. Supposedly, especially bad are the Sharpie brand markers. The water based ones are recommended. I do plead guilty to using Sharpies sometimes though.

[rwindeyer]

I use an Artline CD-R marker. The newsagent assured me that this one was safe - ie the dye didn't eat through the disc.
Hope he's right

[jwarner]

I label my DVD's (and CD's) with a fine-point permanent marker by writing in the clear centre. That's the way commercial 2-sided DVD's are labelled (since they have information on both sides).

It's small, I think neater looking and can't affect the part of the disk where it is recorded.

[pjensen12]

Interesting that this would come up on this forum, as I have been curious to see what others have experienced.

I discovered that my DVDs with labels seem to play OK for about 20 minutes and then start to pixilate and "break-up". If I remove them and let the DVD player "rest" a bit, then they play fine for another short while. I finally ended up copying all of my labeled DVDs onto unlabeled DVDs and I have no problems at all. Sort of sad, because they look so GREAT with the labels!!

[THoff]

I stopped using labels about a year ago, I now use an Epson R200 printer with CD/DVD labeling tray (MSRP US$99) to print on inkjet-printable media. There are no more wobble problems, and the print quality is far nicer than with labels. I can't really comment on long-term durability because I've used this setup for only about a year, but so far no problems.

I often select a key scene from a video and use it as the background of the disk image, and by using media without a stacking ring, the entire disk area except for the center hub is available for the label design.

[erock1]

I never use labels for the reasons stated and because I believe (my own opinion here) that because of the heat that a DVD's laser produces, some where down the line this heat will negatively effect the glue on the label. I sure don't want a label coming off inside my DVD palyer!

As for using Sharpies, there are the 2 camps, the users and the don't use them groups. I haven't read any definative lab studies on using Sharpies on CDs or DVDs. Personally, I have been using them on my DVDs & CDs for years and have not experienced any disc degredation or problems playing in a PC or set-top player. I guess only time will tell.

This is what the Sharpie company has to say on the subject. It is on their web site at the FAQs, http://www.sharpie.com/sanford/consumer ... qcode=1200

" Is the SHARPIE marker safe for writing on CD's? "

"Sanford has used SHARPIE markers on CDs for years and we have never experienced a problem. We do not believe that the SHARPIE ink can affect these CDs, however we have not performed any long-term laboratory testing to verify this. We have spoken to many major CD manufacturers about this issue. They use the SHARPIE markers on CDs internally as well, and do not believe that the SHARPIE ink will cause any harm to their products."

[Black Lab]

For what it's worth over the past 2 years I've produced nearly 100 DVD's, all with printed labels, and have not had a problem yet. I will take into consideration, though, the Epson printer. I'm sure it looks much better, and for a 100 bucks you can't beat the price.

[kebrinton]

That Sharpie comment referred to CDs, and as we all know, DVDs are different: thinner. They also spin faster, phd said. And soon we'll be burning double-layer disks which may be still more sensitive to glues and penetrating solvents.

Thanks, jwarner, for the central-ring labeling idea. That really does take away the worry.

pjensen12: Total agreement with you: It's a crying shame we can't use labels! I mean, if you were a disk, wouldn't you prefer a short, glorious life with a label, than a long, humdrum life with marker-pen around your hole?

I use the SoniX label-maker: It's probably the cheapest and best.

Keith

[lotsavideos]

Yes, no more labels on my video DVDs. The labels do seem to be the culprit in problems that have appeared when the labeled DVDs are played on tabletop DVD players. They play ok in my PC though. So I still use labels on some of my data DVDs. For the video DVDs, I just put some abbreviated notation in the center non-recorded area using my trusted fine-point Sharpie. No problems to date.

BTW, I "discovered" the label issue when, for no apparent reason, I found a previously functional labeled disc started to have playback problems. I dup'ed the disc and the new disc (without a label) worked just fine. The only difference between the two disc was the label.

[dbz2000]

I will take into consideration, though, the Epson printer. I'm sure it looks much better, and for a 100 bucks you can't beat the price.

Labels are a mixed bag for me; sometimes they do fine and others..well you can imagine. Like THoff I have moved on to the R300 by Epson and as was stated, the labels are a lot nicer. However, I find that the ink replacements are a bit expensive, thus the cheap price for the printer. javascript:emoticon(':)')
Smile

If you don't do a lot of other work usiing the ink, you have a winner; however, If you do a lot of printing, you will find replacing the ink a tad expensive. At least that how it is for me!

[THoff]

Ink prices are ridiculous across the board, Epson isn't the only company that deserves criticism in this area.

Awhile ago I went to get new ink cartridges for the R200. It uses six cartridges, one black, and several color cartridges that can be replaced as needed. The advantage is that if you you some colors alot, and others less, you don't wind up throwing away a single multi-color cartridge.

Anyway, I decided to get all of them at the same time so I wouldn't find myself suddenly without ink. Buying all six Epson cartidges from Staples left me with a bill just a few dollars short of the price of a brand-new printer (US$99). I could have had another printer for free, and maybe donated it to a school for a tax writeoff, but I didn't want to burden the school with a printer without ink that required another $100 to make usable.

All of my data disks and backups of video projects are printed on silver inkjet printable media with black ink only (black lettering / grayscale graphics, if any). This really stretches the mileage you get out of your ink. The Epson Print Monitor application estimates that I can print at least another 100 disks like that even though the black ink cartridge appears to have only about 10% or so left in it.