Message-Id: <200204251627.g3PGR3x23237@sitelicense.arizona.edu> Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 09:26:19 -0700 From: Hannah Frost <mailto:hfrost@STANFORD.EDU> Subject: Re: pens for marking CDs To: mailto:IMAGELIB@listserv.arizona.edu
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Guenter,
You are probably right. Why would manufacturers go to the trouble of
coordinating their serial numbering schemes? For our benefit? Highly
doubtful. But, for a small-medium scale project, it doesn't mean these
numbers can't be used to create an index. As long as you document the range
of serial numbers and the media brand on a per-project basis, the
likelihood of duplication is minimized greatly. This approach may not work
for those institutions that are burning scores of CDs on an on-going basis.
Another approach is possible, no matter the size of the project: use a
water-based ink pen to write a cataloging number of your own creation on
the claer inner hub of the disk.
As for CD pens created by manufacturers, I would check into the composition
of the ink. Just because the manufacturer designed it for their product, it
doesn't mean that it is any good for their media over the long-term or for
a different company's product for any time period at all. Claims of
longevity on the part of manufacturer do not necessarily take into account
all the factors which may influence media longevity. It reminds me of a
story I heard from a reputable source in the moving image preservation
field, which is germane to this topic: he discovered, after many calls to
the research and testing labs of a major DVD company, that the adhesives
used to laminate the two recording layers are only tested to last one year.
Cheers,
Hannah
At 08:33 AM 4/25/2002 -0700, you wrote:
>I know I'm sounding anal now, but I've heard people claim before that
>CDs have unique serial numbers generated by the manufacturers, and I
>feel somewhat cautiously doubtful of that statement's implications.
>That serial number would probably be only unique to a specific
>manufacturer, not across the board for all manufacturers. If you need
>to switch to a new manufacturer (as many of us had to with some
>popular CD-Rs not being produced anymore), you could potentially get
>the same numbers again. Somehow I even doubt that they would be
>unique to one manufacturer - it seems to me that the process of
>creating unique id's across different plants etc would be somewhat
>daunting. All of this to say that I'd be very hesitant to use this id
>as my only identification for the CD. Lynn seems to have a system of
>the disk no and another Id, which seems like a very prudent approach.
>
>I happily stand corrected, though. Any thoughts? Does anyone have the
>inside scoop on how those numbers are created and in what context
>they are positively absolutely unique?
>
>Cheers,
>Guenter
>
> >We have labels on the CD cases for our photodigitization project because
> >everyone told us not to label or mark on CDs. Each CD does have a unique
> >serial number generated by the manufacturer. I keep a database of
> >information that includes an ID #, the disk #, collection initials, photo
> >numbers on the CD, shipment #, batch #, manufacturer's serial #, QC
> >performed (checkbox), loaded (checkbox to indicate that the images have been
> >loaded on our image server), and comments.
> >
> >This has worked well for us. When we want to retrieve a CD, we check the
> >database and can tell immediately which ID# it is. CDs are stored in
> >numerical order by ID #.
> >
> >Lynn
> >Lynn Ewbank, CA
> >Photo Archivist
> >Arkansas History Commission
> >One Capitol Mall
> >Little Rock, AR 72201
> >Phone: (501)682-6896
> >Email: mailto:lynn.ewbank@mail.state.ar.us
> >Website address: http://www.ark-ives.com/photo
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: Hannah Frost [mailto:mailto:hfrost@STANFORD.EDU]
> >Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2002 4:14 PM
> >To: mailto:IMAGELIB@listserv.arizona.edu
> >Subject: Re: pens for marking CDs
> >
> >
> >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
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
________________________
Hannah Frost
Media Preservation Librarian
Stanford University Libraries
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