Printing vs labels on CD-Rs?

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Grotius

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I'm recording solo piano music for friends and family, and I used CD Stomper to make my first sets of jewel cases and CD labels. The labels look quite spiffy (especially since we have a new *color laser* printer), and they seem secure; the Stomper thing works well. I nonetheless worry that a label might somehow gum up the CD player of one of my listeners. I've taken to issuing a 'companion disc' -- a CD-R marked with a Sharpie marker, which is like a felt tip marker -- for use in car stereos and other environments in which humidity might loosen the label.

My question is this: is it feasible for us amateurs to print onto the CD directly? I've investigated some CD printers, and the cheapest is an inkjet for around $300; 'thermal' printers, which are apparently superior, start at $1000. Are there cheaper alternatives? Or should I just stick with my felt pen/Stomper?
 
Grotius said:
I'm recording solo piano music for friends and family, and I used CD Stomper to make my first sets of jewel cases and CD labels. The labels look quite spiffy (especially since we have a new *color laser* printer), and they seem secure; the Stomper thing works well. I nonetheless worry that a label might somehow gum up the CD player of one of my listeners. I've taken to issuing a 'companion disc' -- a CD-R marked with a Sharpie marker, which is like a felt tip marker -- for use in car stereos and other environments in which humidity might loosen the label.

My question is this: is it feasible for us amateurs to print onto the CD directly? I've investigated some CD printers, and the cheapest is an inkjet for around $300; 'thermal' printers, which are apparently superior, start at $1000. Are there cheaper alternatives? Or should I just stick with my felt pen/Stomper?
Click to expand...

Any decent brand of labels(I use Fellows) stick pretty well. In fact they are a bitch to get off.

THey have the added advantage of protecting the cd. You see the side the label is on is the most susceptable to damage from scratches, so putting a label on protects the cd more than printing directly on it. I have a cd printer at work, and I still use my labels for my stuff I use regularly. You polish out a scratch on the bottom side, but if you get one on the label side, you might as well chuck it.
 
Thanks for your reply.

<< THey have the added advantage of protecting the cd. >>

Good point; I hadn't thought of this.

<< You polish out a scratch on the bottom side, but if you get one on the label side, you might as well chuck it. >>

So the label side is more important than the bottom side? I'm showing my ignorance here: I thought the data was on the bottom side.
 
The data is on the bottom, but a scratch on the top will still affect the laser that reads the c.d.
 
Nope, the data is on the top.

Imagine the cd starts out as a clear disc of plastic. Then the media the data is actually stored is put on the top. The laser in your CD player fires through the clear disk from the bottom, and hits the back side of the label. Try taking an aol cd(since thier free), and scratch off the label side. You will be able to see completely through the cd because the material that the laser hits is the underside of the label. Putting an adhiesive label on the cd gives an extra layer of protection.
 
if you use the cd-printer, you'll have to get special printable cd's. While your are getting these special cdr's you might as well get some good ones. I normally print on Taiyo Yuden printable, and I am happy to repor
t that out of over 1000 cd's I've printed and burned so far I didn't get one rebound. A lot of low budget productions leave the studio with 50 or 100 copies of their own printed cd overhere. For premastering I use normal Quantagy studio gold, but for normal production cd's those Taiyos with our logo are kinda cool.

My printer has sold itself over 4x now!
 
<< The laser in your CD player fires through the clear disk from the bottom, and hits the back side of the label. >>

Interesting, bdgr. I didn't know that.

<< Putting an adhiesive label on the cd gives an extra layer of protection. >>

Hmm, so maybe it's *better* to use a CD Stomper label than a printed CD?

<< if you use the cd-printer, you'll have to get special printable cd's. While your are getting these special cdr's you might as well get some good ones. >>

Sounds good, Downside. So do you prefer a printed CD over a labeled one?
 
Grotius said:

Sounds good, Downside. So do you prefer a printed CD over a labeled one?
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Yes, I come across several demo's every month with bad sticking labels. Although the label might give good protection at first, after the cd's has laid in the car for several weeks in the sun etc, most labels will start to degrate in quality.

So first comes : no label/print, second print third label.
 
Mixonic.com has full color printing right onto the cd, not a label, for $200 a band i just recorded got 100 cds, this seems to be the best company i have found for demos. By the way they are cd-rs, which shouldnt be a problem for family and friends, and eliminate the cost of an expensive cd creation process, that could take a long time, mixonic guarentees two business day turnarounds.

P.S. By laying a cd out of the case on the label actually more detrimental than laying it on the silver side?
 
Some of those stick on cd labels get stuck in some car cd players, and thats when you break out the needle nose plyers.
 
Downside Studio said:


Yes, I come across several demo's every month with bad sticking labels. Although the label might give good protection at first, after the cd's has laid in the car for several weeks in the sun etc, most labels will start to degrate in quality.

So first comes : no label/print, second print third label.
Click to expand...

Good point, I dont use mine in the car, so I havent left one out in the heat....And so I havent run into this myself.

So for durability, the stomper type label protects better, as long as it is not exposed to adverse conditions. I may get some use out of that cd printer at work after all

I have irretrevably lost several cd's to scratches on the label side(mostly data, however), so I tend to use a label on anything I care about.
 
Just a note about sharpies. I've heard a few accounts of the solvents in sharpies eating through the plastic surface of some CD-R's and corrupting the data. While I don't understand how the solvents get through the reflective metal film (which is generally gold or silver and should be very solvent resistant) to actually attack the dye layer, better safe than sorry I guess. So, I suggest using a water-based marker or a sticker.
 
Any suggestions?

Downside Studio said:
if you use the cd-printer, you'll have to get special printable cd's. While your are getting these special cdr's you might as well get some good ones. I normally print on Taiyo Yuden printable, and I am happy to repor
t that out of over 1000 cd's I've printed and burned so far I didn't get one rebound. A lot of low budget productions leave the studio with 50 or 100 copies of their own printed cd overhere. For premastering I use normal Quantagy studio gold, but for normal production cd's those Taiyos with our logo are kinda cool.

My printer has sold itself over 4x now!
Click to expand...

Not that I'm fishing for free product placement here, but would anyone care to suggest some noteworthy CD Printers?
 
here at work we have 2:

A Signature Series dedicated cd-printer - does a great job but VERY expensive (around $1200!!)

We just got in one of these:
http://www.ezcdprint.com/

Specifically, we got the EZ/CDPrint Plus......based on an Epson print engine - high res, 6 colors, prints 1 CD/minute, prints full-color paper too!! So far, it's done a really great job and it's only $399
 
gnarled said:
Just a note about sharpies. I've heard a few accounts of the solvents in sharpies eating through the plastic surface of some CD-R's and corrupting the data. While I don't understand how the solvents get through the reflective metal film (which is generally gold or silver and should be very solvent resistant) to actually attack the dye layer, better safe than sorry I guess. So, I suggest using a water-based marker or a sticker.
Click to expand...


Sounds like UL to me. I have been using Sharpies on cd's for as long as there have been cd burners
 
Me too. I've never had a problem with Sharpie's, but my fiance' stumbled on a Maxell CDR Pen (she rocks). I couldn't tell you what the difference is (other than maybe a little softer tip and bit quicker drying), but I somehow feel better using a marker that was designed for CDR's.


Would that include your genitalia?
Click to expand...
actually, I do this too. I have to buy the full-sheet labels though :D :D :D
 
Well, I found these links that support the sharpie myth in a quick google search:

http://www.mscience.com/faq508.html
http://www.graphic-design.com/Waldron/image/marker.html

but this one contains some quotes from Sanford to the contrary:
http://www.cdrfaq.org/faq07.html


While I concede that this might be a myth and I have yet to see any real hard data, I've stopped writing on my CD's with sharpies. I listened to a guy from EMTEC talk about it and he suggested to use a water-based marker. From everything I've read in my little hunt for data, it seems that the damage does not occur rapidly, but takes some time. So, maybe your CDs have worked for the past 10 years, but I want to make sure mine last as long as possible - its not a very robust medium to start with.
 
Pratt, thanks for the link to that EZ/CD Printer; for that price, it's kind of tempting. I noticed that it is an inkjet printer. Do you have much experience with it? Does the print smudge or wear off? The only alternative CD printer seems to be a 'thermal' printer, which starts at $1000+.

Seanmorse, do you know where your fiancee found your alternative to the Sharpie? I use Sharpies primarily to mark my golf balls, for which they are ideally suited, so I have a big supply. <g>

Finally, where do people find 'fancier' CD-Rs? I'm willing to pay more for media that look better or last longer, but my local Staples/CompUSA/Office Depot/whatever all carry the same Sonys, Fujifilms, Maxells, etc.
 
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