DVD Labels

[scottrwn98]

Now, I know all can print out CD labels and put them on CD-R's, but I heard a rumor that if you print out a CD label and put it on a DVD-R that it might cause the disc not to play because the disc might become un-balanced. I know the DVD spins different than the CD-R's.

Can you add CD labels to DVD-R without any problems?

[Tommyknocker]

That debate comes up from time to time. I personally would like to see a poll on that, rather than some mundane topic like whether or not Tgpo should stop taking his medication . Anyway, some people say you can with no problems, others say you cannot. I think I ruined on of my favorite disks using a label, so I only use hub lables from now on.

[mkelley]

Yes, just to elaborate -- some of us have been putting labels on DVDs for years without problems. Others have not only had problems, but they've had severe problems (ranging from disks not playing to coming off and possibly ruining players). There are enough players in both camps to pretty well make it impossible to get a consensus.

I think the bottom line is you need to know you are taking a risk by putting a label on, and then you need to assess this risk in terms of rewards. For me it's a no brainer -- since I store my DVDs in the 100-200 DVD/CD holder cases (without the plastic case) and since my handwriting is atrocious, I need a strong bright colorful label to immediately find what I'm looking for among the hundreds of disks I have. It makes organizing them soooo much easier that I'm willing to live with the risk (and it helps that in the two years I've been doing this I've experienced zero problems). And, ultimately, these are disks I can recreate anyway, so I don't see them as irreplaceable (because nothing lasts forever anyway).

For others who may store their DVDs differently or who have no other backups of their disks (a risky situation to begin with) or who have had problems with labels in the past, their choice is different. You'll have to make the call yourself.