Removing Hub Labels

[rvman]

I am currently using a Sharpie to label my DVD disks. but I have atrociously bad handwriting and I wanted something more attractive looking. After searching through the forum, it seems that no one has found hub labels problematic so I went ahead and ordered some. But I do worry that after a few years, the glue will deteriorate and the labels will start to loosen. Theoretically, since the label does not cover the writable area it should be possible to remove the label without harming the disc. But even if it starts loosening it doesn't mean the whole label will come off easily. A few years ago I tried to get the labels off some plastic AOL disc containers. The only thing that worked was WD-40.

I was wondering if anyone has tried to remove a hub label and how they got it peeled off easily.

I'm also somewhat concerned about the brand of labels I bought. I wasn't paying much attention when I ordered them and ended up getting "Neato compatible" instead of the real thing. I'm wondering if maybe I should go with a name brand since the generic ones may not have as high a quality glue. They are not that expensive so it wouldn't be a big deal to reorder.

[LJB]

I would think that 'Neato compatible" most likely refers to the Neato Label Applicator.

[rvman]

They are from tapeplus.com and are not made by Neato. Actually my cost-conscious spouse ordered them because they were cheaper than the name brand ones. It said they are compatible with NEATO #CLP-192265, which is the product number for the Neato labels. I think this means you can use them with Neato's template. I'm concerned that their adhesive is not as good as a name brand label and was wondering if others had used off-brand-name labels and if they had any problems with them.

I never used full paper labels but I had a full paper-labeled disk that was probably about six years old that a friend had given me. As soon as I put it in my CD player I heard a hissing sound and immediately tried to get it out, but it wouldn't eject. I eventually retrieved it, and noticed that the outer edge of the label had started to separate. That CD player never worked well after that, and I sure don't want mess up another one. I would think a loose hub label could cause as much of a problem as a full label. Hopefully, I'd notice the problem this time before inserting the disc, but I still don't want to be trying to peel off a bunch of partially detached labels 10 years from now.

[fritzi93]

I have a good many DVDs with Neato hub labels, some as old as 6 years. Never a problem, either with playability or adhesion. But now I just use LightScribe discs.

I briefly used full face paper labels years ago and about the same time I started having problems I discovered I wasn't alone. There are a number of threads on the subject here. Any mild solvent will easily remove sticky labels, WD-40 for instance.

[surfmonkee]

i just write a number on the disc and keep the list in a small handy notebook.

so far i have 400 dvds labeled up that way and its easy to find a disc.....

[somebodeez]

Slightly off topic -

I just discovered the WD-40 pen a couple of weeks ago at a craft supply store.
http://www.wd40.com/products/no-mess-pen/
I haven't used it to remove sticky labels but did use it for some other stuff.
It's very handy for small jobs.

[jman98]

rvman - No offense intended, but what a very odd conclusion to come to. Perhaps you either did not search as thoroughly as you think or perhaps you should have posted and asked for opinions, but we've had tons of posts here over the years advising people NOT to use labels on their discs. I am truly mystified as to how you came to the conclusion that using any adhesive labels is OK when posts here have been very consistent in saying "don't use them if you care about your discs".

If you must have labels, nothing really beats just buying a printer that can print directly to disks with ink jet printable surfaces. I've been using Taiyo Yuden's Watershield DVD-R and CD-R discs recently and they are so good that I can't imagine using any other brand.

fritzi93 - I orignally started using Lightscribe discs because a few years ago, printers that could print directly to discs were insanely expensive ($300+ US) but some months ago after reading some posts here, I decided to give ink jet printable discs a chance and I'll never go back to Lightscribe.

[somebodeez]

rvman - No offense intended, but what a very odd conclusion to come to. Perhaps you either did not search as thoroughly as you think or perhaps you should have posted and asked for opinions, but we've had tons of posts here over the years advising people NOT to use labels on their discs. I am truly mystified as to how you came to the conclusion that using any adhesive labels is OK when posts here have been very consistent in saying "don't use them if you care about your discs".

While using full faced sticky labels are for sure a big no-no,
here's a just a few posts advocating the use of hub/core labels:

https://forum.videohelp.com/topic314717.html#1612844

https://forum.videohelp.com/topic303794.html#1539259

https://forum.videohelp.com/topic289480.html#1448491

https://forum.videohelp.com/topic275400.html#1347911

https://forum.videohelp.com/topic275400.html#1394578

https://forum.videohelp.com/topic249839.html#1149054

I use to use full sticky labels, came here and discovered that was the cause of my playback problems and no longer used them. I went to hub labels myself because of the various posts I found here about them. And while I haven't had any playback problems with my discs that have do hub labels on them, I don't even use the hub kind now just to be sure as I can not to have problems in the future.

[rvman]

No offense taken. I've known for years through Googling and reading this forum that using full labels on discs is a really bad idea --that seems to be a universal opinion. I haven't found many posts about hub labels but of those I've located not one user has had a problem with them. But some of those positive opinions were expressed a couple of years ago or more and I wanted to make sure that as time went on that there was not a problem with the adhesive degrading.

You may be right that it's unwise to risk using them for no good reason except aesthetics, and I may decide to continue using a Sharpie for my own discs. But I do occasionally make slide shows that I give to friends and relatives and the hub labels would look a lot better than my awful handwriting. If the risk was minimal it seemed like a very cheap way to make them look a bit more professional. A disc printer would be nice, but right now I just can't justify the expense.

[TBoneit]

FWIW I have had netflix discs come with Hub labels on them.

I do not see where a Hub label can come off if it is the type such as netflix uses where the label starts from the hole in the center of the disc. That sort of label will be secured in the drive when playing by the clamping mechanism in the drive that lets the drive spin the disc.

[drjtech]

If you want to remove a lable from a disc I recommend Goo Gone.

-drjtech