[pavillion]

check out this link

http://www.practicalpc.co.uk/computi...drlifespan.htm

[joliom]

Well, there's a reason the Library of Congress and most major Corporations don't archive on CD-R and prefer to stick with magnetic media and RAID arrays instead. Many of the issues raised by the writer are true. Adhesive labels (all brands) are a bad idea if you want a CD-R/RW or DVD-R/RW to last for 5 years or more. And buying cheapo brands are too. Actually, what the author doesn't mention is that most of the major brands (TDK, Memorex, Maxell, Sony, Fuji, etc.) aren't all that great either. That's because they're usually farmed out to factories in Taiwan instead of the superior Japanese ones. It pays to read the fine print; the "made in Japan" batches are almost always the best. The best brands for archival usage are Mitsui/MAM-A, Taiyo Yuden, Apogee, Quantegy, and Mobile Fidelity Ultra-Disc. Maxell Pros (which are manufactured by Taiyo Yuden) are another good option and are much easier to find in stores.

[pavillion]

Have been noticing that several el cheapo brand cd's i used to record data several years ago cannot be read now, luckely i usully do 2 copies of my data, usually find 1 out 2 still good. As you point out the ones made in japan
i never have problems with.

Have run into this same problem with DVD's.

[joliom]

Avoid those stick-on labels like the plague! A few months ago I had to update my hard drive and pulled files from all my backup CD's. A bunch that had stick-on labels (ranging between 1-5 years old) were unreadable. I've used several of the major brands (CD Stomper, Neato, Memorex, and Avery) and they all have given me problems as time went on. They were all adhered properly using the label applicators and had no signs of pealing or air bubbles/creases. They just went bad. Trust me, don't use those things if you want your recordable discs to last. They rapidly increase the deterioration rate.

[pavillion]

Interesting, never occured to me that the labels could be part of the problem.
You talk from your experince, will not doubt.
Will try to see if i can find some documentation on the net.

Thanks for the warning

oh no, I use this stick on lables....

and I have a lot of discs like that

[joliom]

You'd be well advised to make some unlabeled backups. That's what I do. I keep a labeled copy for playback (direct-cd printed, though - not the adhesive kind), and at least one unlabeled backup copy with nothing more than sharpie writing on it. Although, truth be told, all the reports warning against writing on recordable discs with Sharpies (because of adverse chemical reactions that can take their toll in the long term) are beginning to make me paranoid about that too, even though I have yet to encounter a problem with standard Sharpie ink. Lately, I've been considering replacing all my archive backup copies with CD-Safe penned ones instead jut to be safe. One other smart thing to do is to make your duplicate backup copies on different brand discs to guard against faulty batches. These things don't cost all that much anyway, so it's best to hedge your bets, imo.

[alexs]

I have been using Maxell DVD-R and DVD+R, all made in Japan bought at Staples. I hope they have more than 5 years shelf life. I am actually counting on 20 years life span. Wishful thinking???

[chrisis1033]

What does the label do to the DVD? How does it mess them up?

I've come across the odd DVDR that I know I have burned something onto appear blank on my PC a few months later. It's an awesome feeling.

Anyway, all the good stuff comes from Japan.