Can CD labels hurt anything?

[hikeNM]

I've been looking at buying a CD label machine. It's the kind where you print them on a home printer.

I've noticed on CD's that have these paper labels, with my powerbook, every now and then the CD will hang coming out of the slot drive because the CD is thicker than without the label.

It got me wondering if these kinds of labels can possibly be harmful to any part of my disc drive? Does anybody know if it's possible for these labels to harm any part of a computer?

 

[clayj]

As long as the label is correctly placed onto the CD (you need to use one of those round spring-loaded doohickeys that let you press the CD onto the sticky side of the label... I use a Fellowes Neato, for example), there should not be a problem. What you DON'T want to do is to put anything on the CD whose edge doesn't line up with the edge of the CD... for example, a piece of tape. Stuff like that will inevitably catch on something and come off inside the drive, ruining it.

A CD label, properly installed, will evenly distribute its weight across the CD, so there won't be any wobbling problems, and will not provide any ragged edges to catch on anything inside the CD/DVD drive.

 

[hikeNM]

Thanks a bunch

 

[Lacero]

I talked to my supplier and he say's labels should not be used in any circumstances, especially with DVDs as they spin faster. All drives give off heat and this can cause the adhesive in the labels to come off.

Look into printers such as the Epson R200 that retails for around $79 US that can print on CDs, and the results are much nicer.

 

[tech4all]

Look into printers such as the Epson R200 that retails for around $79 US that can print on CDs, and the results are much nicer.

Isn't that printer on display at Apple Stores? Does the printer actually print onto the CD itself without paper? If so, will the ink cover up the graphics that are already on the CD or will they show through?

 

[CanadaRAM]

Isn't that printer on display at Apple Stores? Does the printer actually print onto the CD itself without paper? If so, will the ink cover up the graphics that are already on the CD or will they show through?

You buy special printable CDs with a blank white, silver or gold top surface that is specially prepared to take the ink. You cannot print on standard CD blanks.

 

[tech4all]

You buy special printable CDs with a blank white, silver or gold top surface that is specially prepared to take the ink. You cannot print on standard CD blanks.

Where do you get these special CDs at? Any particular brand make them?

 

[Daveway]

I talked to my supplier and he say's labels should not be used in any circumstances, especially with DVDs as they spin faster. All drives give off heat and this can cause the adhesive in the labels to come off.

This is something that has been proven by almost every manufacturer. I would not use labels if I were you. I have experienced this first hand and it WILL ruin any player. I also heard that using labels cuts down the life of your data considerably. Stick with a Sharpy.

 

[DougJrS]

Lots of places sell the printable CDs and DVDs on line. They seem to always be at least double the $$ of the non-printable ones.

When I purchased my new car the dealer told be NEVER to put in a CD with a stick on label. I have a Honda and a "slot" load CD player. My mom also has a hond from a differnt sales guy that told her the same thing. I guess that Honda has an issue with the CD players breaking because the labels come off in the CD player. ( More than likely this is not limited to Honda, but just about any slot load CD player could have this problem.)

Doug

 

[Balin64]

Not True

I just bought a pack of 100 DVD-R's with the printable faces, plus 100 sleeves for them for only 22 USD. Talk about a freakin' deal. I do not own a printer that is able to print directly to the DVD's, but it will be easier to write on them. It was listed last week (Thursday or Friday I believe) on sitelink. Check it out every two or three days: they list the best deals on Mac stuff every day.