Pre-printed Mylar hub labels better for discs?

[jwillis84]

I have been reading how disc labeling unbalances or destroys discs.

In particular full paper labels.

Hub labels (tiny center ring labels) that don't cover the media and minimally effect balance seem better tolerated by forum members. And I noticed Dymo mini-lablel printers actually have rolls of paper hub labels ready for printing out custom hub rings for labeling discs.. I would imagine however they would similarly peel from the center.. but with less risk of unbalancing the disc or destroying the polycarbonate shell.

But I also noticed that library supply stores will print a plastic mylar (very thin) hub label with a sequential bar code number (in ascii) on the ring label, and a small constant blurb like "From the Library of John Smith".. some also include a corresponding seperate barcoded strip label with the barcode and the (ascii) text.. so no printer involved.. and the adhesive is supposed to be "stable" non-acidic. In rolls of a 1000 these seem very reasonably priced.

The most interesting features are (a) no setup or waiting to print these library labels (b) the hub ring label can go on a DVD or BDR disc, while the corresponding strip label can be put on the edge of a VHS tape its made from.. to (link) them. That way the VHS tape is both [barcode scan-able with a cell phone] and has a human readable ascii number on the same barcode label to match up with the DVD or BDR made from it. At some point the VHS tapes will become unreadable, through decay, flux fade, or no machines left that can play them and they can be tossed.. but until then this would provide an easy method of inventory.

Perhaps this it over thinking things.. but I was wondering if [even] thin mylar hub labels is too risky.. or that organic dye vs m-disc is a far more productive thing to think about. To my way of thinking m-disc except for special cases is somewhat overkill.

Thanks

[lordsmurf]

To be blunt, some librarians/archivists are morons.

Anything you stick to a disc throws off the delicate balance. Sometimes it causes a very audible wobble, yet still be readable. Other times the disc just fails. Sometimes the disc "reads fine", but what you don't understand is that the drive has to constantly re-read the sector for the data, thus stressing the drive and wearing it out faster.

Even inkjet surface technically can mess with discs, and is a reason some cheap quality discs (even if otherwise good ID/dye) generally fail earlier than branded or unbranded media.

[jwillis84]

then i guess the recommendation..

is all discs should be unlabeled and never touched by anything but laser light

[latreche34]

Avoid paper labels, They cause the disc warping, When the disc is played the laser beam heats up the metal layer and the heat gets transferred to the transparent plastic layer and warms it up which causes it to expend but the back side where the paper label is affixed won't expend, It causes the disc to warp in a shape of a satellite dish, If you continue to play it the laser will fail to focus on the data and the outer edge of the disc starts to rub against the inner mechanism housing.

I assume thin plastic labels are okay, But Inkjet printable blank discs are the best, After printing you can apply a glossy coat of special spray for long term protection.

[dpalomaki]

Anything applied to the surface of a disc can effect balance, this becomes more problematic at higher rotation speeds and as I recall goes up as the square of the speed. The further the off center weight is from the center the greater the effect as well.

Applied labels, (e.g., paper), can be relatively heavy, and may be hydroscopic, have different thermal properties than the disc, and have potential to induce problems, especially in environments with variable temperatures and humidity. And the glues used are yet another issue.

While the paper labels worked for short term storage on slow spinning media (e.g., CDs), they are another risk factor for long term storage.

And of course, anything applied by hand is limited by the precision of the hand applying it. Easy to get a label off center, or wrinkled, even with guides, and easy to over spray one side effecting balance.

The small vinyl labels of which you speak may well be lower risk - how low is low enough for your purposes is the question only you can answer. Your data, your discs, your time and money invested.

[BarryTheCrab]

Regarding sticky labels on a disc....no no no no no no.

[dpalomaki]

A directly related experience this week. Was talking with a dance instructor. She has her music for classes on CDs. Several have paper labels that have wrinkled over the past weeks rendering the disc unplayable. The discs were OK for several years 'till now.

[jwillis84]

I have learned that the Casio CW smoke soot black ribbon printers work quite well, and deposit so little material that unbalancing is very unlikely. They also can't shrink up and warp the disk or peel off in the drive. Although monochrome for the most part, very small images and logos are possible, as well as any true type fonts.

Further I learned the difference between "soft" surface printables, and "hard" surface printables, and "lacquer" printables or "logo" printables.

1. logo printables - intended for sharpies
2. lacquer printables - intended for dye sublimation printers
3. hard printables - intended for soot ribbon printers
4. soft printables - intended for deskjet absorption printers

The media is getting harder to find in each category, but I've found soot ribbon printers work on most even if they are not supposed to. And sharpies work on everything.



For what its worth...