Message-Id: <200204242243.g3OMhix03218@sitelicense.arizona.edu> Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 16:42:05 -0600 From: Tim Au Yeung <mailto:ytau@UCALGARY.CA> Subject: Re: pens for marking CDs To: mailto:IMAGELIB@listserv.arizona.edu
<pre>
Actually there's a couple of manufacturers that have put out markers for
CD-Rs. Whether they work any better than normal markers or not is something
I haven't heard although we've been using them (Maxell brand) without
problems for the last year or so. Mostly though, the markers are better than
your average marker by virtue of a much softer tip that prevents damage to
the CD surface which is also the caveat -- they wear out very quickly if you
don't use them fairly gently.
Another thing that might help is to purchase CD-Rs with the printable
surface. While primarily targeted for special ink jet printers, the surface
of the CD-R is coated with a fairly thick coating that's designed to hold
ink. Mitsui is a good brand but as they manufacture for all markets, I've
seen Mitsui discs without any coating over the recording media itself which
means that if you're using a marker on these discs, the ink is actually
being absorbed into the media itself which does not bode well for long term
preservation.
Tim
----------------------------
Tim Au Yeung
Manager, Digitization Initiatives
Information Resources
University of Calgary
----- Original Message -----
From: "Guenter Waibel" <mailto:guenter@UCLINK4.BERKELEY.EDU>
To: <mailto:IMAGELIB@listserv.arizona.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2002 4:20 PM
Subject: Re: pens for marking CDs
>
> For whatever it's worth, the good folks at MITSUI have turned this
> perennial question into a marketing ploy and now offer a pen designed
> for writing on CD-Rs, guaranteed not to damage your media. Check it
> out at:
>
http://www.mitsuicdr-store.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.100.exe/online-store/scsto
re/p-00000100.html?L+scstore+xscn4273+1023060764.
> I have used a regular felt-tip permanent marker for numbering our
> CDs, and so far (knock on wood!), no problem. My take on the issue is
> that there might be something there (meaning in the long run, some
> markers probably do corrupt the media), but I'm slightly consoled by
> the fact that we'd never keep our archival files on the media long
> enough for that to happen. Just as an example, our oldest archival
> CDs are 5 years old now, and they're currently being transferred to
> DVD-R. I have no doubt that 5-10 years down the road we're looking at
> the next migration. Despite Larry's observation, I'd be very
> surprised if a good archival cd-r such as ricoh platinum (no longer
> made - r.i.p) or mitsui couldn't withstand the marker for that
> time-period. However, caution is indicated, and I think this post
> will prompt me to go looking for a water-based ink pen as well...
>
> Cheers,
> Guenter
>
> >Some folks say that using a water-based ink pen is OK, but in general
> >writing on CDs should be avoided if at all possible. I believe all CDs
(at
> >least the good ones) have a unique number assigned by the manufacturer
and
> >located on their inner hub, which you can use to create a separate index
to
> >their contents.
> >
> >________________________
> >Hannah Frost
> >Media Preservation Librarian
> >Stanford University Libraries
> >
> >
> >
> >At 04:46 PM 4/24/2002 -0400, you wrote:
> >>I feel odd asking the listserv about pens, but this does have to do with
> >>imaging, indirectly.
> >>
> >>I was in the process of backing up our image files onto CD and looked at
a
> >>CD I had burned 6 months ago. The ink from the permanent ink pen I had
> >>used (Kaiser - Schreiber) has bled from the letters into the surrounding
> >>white on the label layer. I don't know if it's limited to the label
layer
> >>or it has/will bleed into the CD substrata (I can still use the CD, so
this
> >>is not an impending crisis). I was wondering if this is a common
> >>experience or if there are other pens I should be using. Perhaps the
PEC
> >>Pens?
> >>
> >>Feel free to reply directly to my e-mail.
> > >
> > >--Larry Wentzel
> > >--Digital Preservation Coordinator
> > >--Penn State University Libraries
>
> --
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Guenter Waibel
> Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive
> Digital Media Developer http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/
> Digital Imaging SIG Chair, MCN http://www.mcn.edu/visig_subscribe.taf
> mailto:guenter@uclink4.berkeley.edu
> Phone 510-643-8655
> Fax 510-642-4889
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
</pre>
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