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  1. Member
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    I was reading online that you should not label dvd-r disks with a sharpie, as the ink will seep through damaging the data. Any truth to this? I hope not after all of the hundreds of dvd-r's I have made. I fear that I have comprised the lifetime of years of footage. Also I read that you must store the dvd-r vertically in order to have a long shelf life. Not sure of either of these claims? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advane
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  2. Member hech54's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by cmeffa View Post
    I was reading online that you should not label dvd-r disks with a sharpie, as the ink will seep through damaging the data.
    Bullshit.
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  3. Sharpies are fine. Just don't use stick-on labels.
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    My cousin ruined all his CD recordings with a regular soft tipped marking pen.
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    Originally Posted by fzabkar View Post
    My cousin ruined all his CD recordings with a regular soft tipped marking pen.
    Are you sure he didn't label them on the playing side?
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  6. I'm a Super Moderator johns0's Avatar
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    If you are using marking pens with sulphuric acid ink it will ruin discs.
    I think,therefore i am a hamster.
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    Originally Posted by filmboss80 View Post
    Originally Posted by fzabkar View Post
    My cousin ruined all his CD recordings with a regular soft tipped marking pen.
    Are you sure he didn't label them on the playing side?
    I have (had?) them. He labelled them on the label side. IIRC I could see the ink from the bottom side. Unfortunately he is no longer with us so I can't ask him exactly what kind of pen he used.
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  8. Originally Posted by fzabkar View Post
    My cousin ruined all his CD recordings with a regular soft tipped marking pen.
    CD's have only a very thin lacquer coating on the label side. DVDs have a thick piece of polycarbonate plastic on the label side.

    http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub121/sec3.html
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  9. sharpie answers this on their website & says its fine.
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  10. aBigMeanie aedipuss's Avatar
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    maybe 15 years ago there used to be a popular black chisel point permanent marker that would ruin cds. can't remember the name, but it was probably the same one kids used to sniff.
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  11. Member hech54's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by fzabkar View Post
    My cousin ruined all his CD recordings with a regular soft tipped marking pen.
    It wasn't a Sharpie then.
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    I don't think it matters whether DVDs are stored vertically or horizontally. First time I've ever heard any one ask about that. Never heard even a hint of it making a difference, although I would say that if you store them horizontally all on a spindle be careful about stratches.

    The sharpie thing comes up from time to time. The general consensus is that it's bs. I've done it for years and never yet found a problem. However, if you wait another day or two, someone will surely jump into this thread and swear that the shiny silver lacquer DVD+/-R discs have a thinner coating on the top and that Sharpies may go through it. I think that's bs but we have some here who swear it's true. I don't know of any of them having personal experience so much as they just believe it to be true.
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  13. aBigMeanie aedipuss's Avatar
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    no, "sharpies" have always been fine. it was an older type permanent marker with a distinctive odor that ate the reflective coating off cds. it was before dvdr had been even been released.
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    Originally Posted by aedipuss View Post
    maybe 15 years ago there used to be a popular black chisel point permanent marker that would ruin cds. can't remember the name, but it was probably the same one kids used to sniff.
    Sounds like the "Marks-A-Lot" markers (now owned by Avery, as I recall). It's surprising, though - in all these years, the only time I can remember anyone bringing up marker brand names when talking about writing on discs... is Sharpie. :/
    If cameras add ten pounds, why would people want to eat them?
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    Originally Posted by hech54 View Post
    Originally Posted by cmeffa View Post
    I was reading online that you should not label dvd-r disks with a sharpie, as the ink will seep through damaging the data.
    Bullshit.
    Yes, BS.
    It's been thoroughly debunked here: http://www.digitalFAQ.com/forum/myths/3175-sharpie-markers-safe.html
    It discusses the chemistry of the whole situation.
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  16. I'm a Super Moderator johns0's Avatar
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    Imagine the people who use sharpies all the time and how it gets on their fingers a lot due to working fast,guess they have sharpie burn marks.
    I think,therefore i am a hamster.
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  17. Member Seeker47's Avatar
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    IMO, a much bigger problem is that there are almost no good fine point CD - DVD marker pens. (I find the fine point ones much better for writing cleanly, with precision, and having the results be a lot more readable -- provided that your handwriting is not terrible.) I used to buy the Smart & Friendly fine points, made in Germany, which I could find at certain computer shows that have scaled back to near-extinction. Haven't seen those for sale anywhere in quite some time. [If they are still on the market, and you know where to obtain some fresh stock, please drop me a line.] I found another brand that is decent, made in Japan I think, but they are not really as good, and seem to take weeks for the order to come in. Just about every other marker I've tried was so bad it went straight into the trash. But I haven't tried Sharpies, which I understand now also come as fine points.
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  18. Yes, google makes fine point markers. They even make markers marketed specifically for writing on CD/DVD with two tips; a fat tip at one end, a thin tip at the other.

    http://www.amazon.com/Sharpie-CD-DVD-Twin-Tip/dp/B0017TKW74/
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  19. Member Seeker47's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    Yes, google makes fine point markers. They even make markers marketed specifically for writing on CD/DVD with two tips; a fat tip at one end, a thin tip at the other.

    http://www.amazon.com/Sharpie-CD-DVD-Twin-Tip/dp/B0017TKW74/
    Thanks for that link. You must have just left the "Google Was Down" thread . . . .
    (Unless they own Sharpie now too, and I failed to read the fine print.)
    When in Las Vegas, don't miss the Pinball Hall of Fame Museum http://www.pinballmuseum.org/ -- with over 150 tables from 6+ decades of this quintessentially American art form.
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  20. Originally Posted by Seeker47 View Post
    Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    Yes, google makes fine point markers. They even make markers marketed specifically for writing on CD/DVD with two tips; a fat tip at one end, a thin tip at the other.

    http://www.amazon.com/Sharpie-CD-DVD-Twin-Tip/dp/B0017TKW74/
    Thanks for that link. You must have just left the "Google Was Down" thread . . . .
    (Unless they own Sharpie now too, and I failed to read the fine print.)
    LOL. Yes, I meant Sharpie, of course!
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  21. Member
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    Thanks to everyone for their replies. I doubted the above statement, but I thought I would just make sure. Thanks again for the info.
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