I feel stupid, oh so stupid...

[ormejaco]

Well, if this had been at all dangerous, I might've won the Darwin Award.
I recently authored a DVD that I duplicated about 25 times to distribute it to a similar number of people. I purchased 4x white-top DVD-rs and burned them. Without thinking of any possible problems, I used an old CD labeling kit I never used to label each of these newly created DVDs. Just after burning them, I had tested them in a DVD player and they had worked fine. After distributing a number of them, I tried to use one of them again in my DVD player (this time with a label) and I received an error. After several of the recipients called me to see what was going on (they had received similar errors) I realized that something was wrong. So, in order to get the label off, I decided to sacrifice one copy of the DVD and immersed it in nail polish remover. The label came off, I rubbed both sides clean, washed it again in water, dried it, and stuck the DVD back into my player. Lo and behold, it worked! So I enlisted the help of a number of my compatriots to streamline the de-labeling process. When we were finished we decided to test them to make sure everything was OK. But, much to our surprise, not a single one of these disks worked.
In my continued stupidity, I do not know if that original sacrificial disk still works. I only hope that: a) There's something further needed to clean off the labels, b) There is some way to restore any damage done by the nail polish remover, or c) Some sort of secret rewind button somewhere that would give me the chance to think straight.

Thanks for your help.

[SLK001]

I would have used a hair dryer to gently warm the adhesive, then gently pulled the label off as it warmed up (you would be holding it in your hand, so it doesn't get too hot). Any remaining glue would have been removed with WD-40 or mineral spirits.

Isn't nail polish remover really just acetone? Acetone will dissolve some plastics. My guess is that it destroyed the adhesive that bonds the two layers together and infiltrated into the dye.

[g_shocker182]

My suggestion: Enlist professional help.

[vitualis]

If I'm not mistaken, most of the common solvents you can use to remove glue will also damage the polycarbonate platter...

Regards.

[thayne]

I label all of mine with the white stick-on labels and have no problems.

[Bob W]

Hmm nail polish remover contains acetone which will damage plastics so that was a very bad choice IMO. Better to just soak the disc is warm water with dishwasher detergent (several hours), then the label will come off.

BTW I have labeled over 300 discs and they all work fine on the three players I have at home.

[ormejaco]

Thank you all for your replies. I've tried the soap soaking, and it doesn't seem to work very well (it leaves a sticky top, which sometimes causes my disc to get lost in the player. ). I'm going to try the blow-dry method on another disc. Are there any other ways by which to remove labels that would work well? Also, how could I label these discs without running the risk of more problems?

Thanks again.

[Kool_Aid]

Put the lables on the right side of the disc.......

[FT Shark]

Some brands that have the back side that is plain silver have problems. I would suggest getting dvd-r's that have a manufature's label on them and then put your label over that. Or buy the ones that have the printable white back side.

[SARK]

@ FT Shark

Bare in mind that DVD's with a printable surface can only be printed with very expensive printers.

[Nolonemo]

Bare in mind that DVD's with a printable surface can only be printed with very expensive printers.

Or Casio CW-50 thermal disc printer. $90 shipped, prints on silvertops, though small area monochrome text. Works great if all you want to do is put on a title with nothing fancy.

[nkuperw]

Get as much of the label off and they try using something called GOO-off (Home depot) I'm pretty sure it's not organic and won't eat through the plastic.

Also, alcohol (ethanol) over 70% will crack plastic...I'm not sure about isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) but stay under 70%.

another trick...if you're steady with the hands, soften up the glue from the adhesive and use a razor blade to scrape it off, obviously making sure to not scratch the plastic.

I jsut though of something else and have no idea if it will work, but a product to remove wall paper glue may work....DIF..spray on, wait a few mintues and wipe off.

anyways, good luck

[dcsos]

This guy claims WD-40 works for him in removal where acetone failed:

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/archive/t150421.html

Meanwhile when you get 'em off:
The EPSON 900 makes the PRINTABLE solution no longer expensive $199.00 US
(the printable blanks cost more tho' they come in white or silvertop)

and the previous poster is right.. The CASIO prints on those "NON_PRINTABLE" surfaces (every disc you have now!)

examples

[SARK]

The EPSON 900 makes the PRINTABLE solution no longer expensive $199.00 US

Still think $200 is a lot of money, you can buy good printers for half the price. Yeah, I know you cant print CD's or DVD's on them, but what's the main difference between printing on photo-paper or a printable DVD apart from the DVD media not being able to bend the way paper can (not yet).

[dcsos]

By the way the EPSON prints on PAPER also
while the CASIO only prints on a DISC

[SARK]

Correct me if I'm wrong ..... but,
The only difference between i.e. the EPSON 900 and other "normal" inkjets is the lineair transport of the printable object.
Has anyone "tweaked" a normal printer to do the same?

[j1d10t]

If you're still trying to get the labels off (or need to get some off in the future), try something called "Un-Do". You can get "Un-Do" at any craft store - it's kind of like "Goo-Off", but I think it does a better job, and it can be used on almost any surface, even paper, and it will not discolor/damage it.

[ormejaco]

Well, thanks for all the great tips. Although i've killed 12 of the DVDs, i've still got another 11 on which to try those other methods. thanks again.

[ceptico]

Try this

http://www.mantech.co.za/KONTAKT/K50.htm

[freestyler]

Bare in mind that DVD's with a printable surface can only be printed with very expensive printers.

The Epson 900 is kids stuff compared to some of the more expensive printers out there - we're talking thousands $$ more.