labeling dvd backups

[gmartin]

what is the forums views on whether to label the dvd's or not.
gmartin

[PC-GUY]

Label it!!! With a sharpie only other wise you could have play back problems and or high errors.

[The-poacher]

There is lotsa conjecture on this (will they come off etc <> I've never heard of it though <> it belongs in the "it did - well I dont believe it SHOW ME" & of course they never do.

I would recommend u get a printer that can print onto blanks & use printable media gives far better results than paper label's

[scarecrow]

Printable media (Taiyo Yuden strongly recommended) and a printer which can print directly to media is the only acceptable way.

[gmartin]

Thanks for the info. Two movies that wouldn't play , when I removed the label they played fine. A very good lesson learned the hard way, of course, Maybe this info will help someone else dow the road.
gmartin

[LTR12101B]

Removing labels can be even more harmful than sticking them - on CD-R at least, delamination is a distinct possibility - the label takes part of the lacquer and silvering with it.

The problems with labels:
1. Impairment of balance, though with competent use of an applicator, this should not be too bad
2. Increased drag, a paper surface is not as smooth as the normal top surface, and the rotation speeds for 52x CD or 16x DVD are pretty fast
3. Adhesive attacking the top coating and silvering - with better top treatments, this should be less of a problem, but old silver media with single lacquering could deteriorate very quickly.
4. Peeling, the mosty serious problem, as this can jam slot loaders - Ideally, you should NEVER insert adhesive labelled media into a slot loader.

For archival use, it's better to mark only in the clear area around the hub, even when using a "safe" pen.

Best advice - never label your only copy!