I am a musician (by avocation) and made a CD of my music once time, and used it as a raffle prize for our MUG. The CD had a printed label on it. One person who won the CD had problems, and had to take her Powerbook in for repairs, because of all the issues caused by the label. Apple was able to repair her PowerBook, but it was quite an ordeal (at no charge to her), from what she explained to me. I would agree with the recommendation to not use labels on CDs, from personal experience.
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Let me add 3 more comments against the use of the gummed labels on CDs or DVDs
First, If you go to (hold the option key to download the pdf document) <http://homepage.mac.com/naplesmac/.Public/JWKing/CDandDVDCare.pdf>
you will have an extensive document from the National Institute of Science & Technology titled "Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs", "A Guide for Librarians and Archivists.” This document recommends AGAINST the use of labels on CDs and DVDs. Part of the reason is that the glue on the labels can cause de-lamination of the CD or DVD In addition, the glue chemical can migrate through the surface AND cause problems in reading the written data
Second, along the same line, you need to be very careful with the use of pens and other marking devices to write on the disc. Two problems: i) solvent in the pen ink bleeds into the written data area; ii) pressure from the pen can distort the recorded layer. The above report makes recommendations about the characteristics of the marking pen. I have found some Sharpie pens that are defined for marking CDs / DVDs.
Third, and from a different direction. it is very difficult to get the label to be perfectly placed on the CD / DVD blank so that the center of gravity of the result is in the center. (I won't even address the smoothness problem). Our disc readers spin at higher and higher rates. There have been problems of the reader / disc "exploded" from high spin rates. Think about your wash machine when the towels are on one side during the spin cycle
Use an appropriate marker on your CD / DVD blanks If you want "artistic" CD / DVDs then get one of the many printers
that print upon the blank
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That, may, in deed be the problem. But I might suggest that it is
more a matter of friction. The paper labels seem to be much slicker (friction-wise ) to the eject rollers than the plain plastic surface. I have heard many people say the labels are potentially dangerous to the CD and/or the player. I'm sure this would be so for a CD left in the sun and then slipped into a player in a car. And who really knows how long the adhesive will last much less what it might do to the layers of plastic and lacquer. But I have mostly stopped using labels on CDs because they are so hard to read after they get put into the player! I think it's much more user-friendly to have some kind of label on the sleeve/jewel case.
BTW, iTunes now claims to be including 'text' on the CDs you burn in it! I really need to stick a newly burned CD into the player in the
car and see if that's true.
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My church has an Epson R-300, and two R-200's that are used mainly to print CDs They buy printable CDs from Meritline.com or another place, for about$.19 each. You can get a R-200 Refurbished from Epson's web store for about $79, last I checked. My son has an R-200 with which he prints CD's for passing out to our customers, and they work beautifully. I get white hub-printable CDs from Meritline.
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