Different colored CD-Rs

[Mpegman1986]

Why are some CD-Rs differnt colors. I know black CD-Rs are used to copy playstation games, but other wise, why all the colors?

Me

[pinoy2201]

they just do it for style but i highly unrecommend colored CDRs like purple,yellow,and red just stick to blue colored like Verdatim or TDK

[sush]

The recording material is made of different dyes. Some material (gold) is longer lasting than other (cyan).

The following is copied from http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20010719S0003.

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CD-R Color Is A Guide To Longevity
The color of the reflective foil and the color of the dye determine the CD-R's final color. The foil usually doesn't play a major role in CD-R lifespan. Although aluminum foil can oxidize enough to affect recoding, this is rare and happens only in extreme conditions. Gold foil is almost totally inert, and hardly ever causes trouble.

The dye type matters more, because dyes have different chemical compositions, and thus different life spans. The four major dye types used in CD-Rs can be identified by their intrinsic color:


Cyanine is the most widely used and cheapest CD-R dye. It looks bluish (as its name suggests) or blue-green when backed by a silver foil, but can look distinctly green when backed by gold foil.
Estimates of the dye's useful life range from 10 years to as high as 75 years. But data-storage is an inherently conservative business, so it's wise to assume the worst and plan only on a lifespan of 10 years or so. This makes cyanine-based CD-Rs OK for most routine backups and legal archival purposes. But they may be less acceptable for very long-term historical, business, or family archives, unless you plan to re-record the data onto a new or different medium every decade or so.

Phthalocyanine is an-almost transparent, very light aqua color, and usually is backed with gold foil, so a phthalocyanine-based CD-R usually looks golden. For this reason, and because the dye is exceptionally durable, it's sometimes called the "gold standard" of CD-Rs.
Although phthalocyanine CD-Rs may be expensive overkill for routine storage, they're tops for long-term archiving, with a reputed shelf life of something like 100 years.

Formazan is a light green color, and is usually backed by gold foil, producing a greenish gold CD-R. It's actually a hybrid of cyanine and phthalocyanine, and combines the qualities of both.

Metallized AZO is a dark blue, and is normally used with silver foil, which gives the CD-Rs a dark blue appearance. Metallized AZO is said to have a long shelf life, approaching that of phthalocyanine.
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