DVD Damage Caused by CLEAR DVD Case. Have you experienced this?

[Betamax2033]

All my DVD-Rs have been stored vertically in cases in a cool dry place for the last 20 years.
Due to lack of storage space I've started moving my DVD-Rs from cases to (high quality) paper sleeves.
Which is when I noticed that some of the DVD-Rs had some very odd damage. (See attached photographs).

I have never seen anything like this before, and I am curious to know if anyone else has experienced it.

It has not occurred TO DVD-Rs STORED in black plastic cases.
It has only occurred to DVD-Rs stored in clear PLASTIC CASES, but not in all clear plastic cases.
It has happened only with a certain type of plastic case. (I don't have the knowledge to id the type of plastic).

As the pattern that appears on the DVD-R also appears on the surface of the DVD case, I'm assuming some sort
of "reaction" occurred in the plastic case causing to spray plastic onto the DVD-R.

At this point I'm holding off any "cleaning" until I know more.

Any information you may have about this matter will be most gratefully received.


[Attachment 81813 - Click to enlarge]
[Attachment 81814 - Click to enlarge]

[themaster1]

cheap brand ?

[Skiller]

I'm suspecting it's a reaction caused by either direct contact with or fumes from a substance used in production of the clear cases.

What happens if you wipe the case with a damp paper towel? Does the pattern wipe away?

(I don't have the knowledge to id the type of plastic).

Plastic products almost always have a stamp in the shape of a triangle with a number and 2-4 letters to indicate the type of plastic. Try to find it on the cases, it may be very small.

Looks like this for example:

[Attachment 82013 - Click to enlarge]
(Low Density Polyethylen)

[Betamax2033]

Thank you for your reply. It is appreciated.

What happens if you wipe the case with a damp paper towel? Does the pattern wipe away?

Believe it or not, I have no paper towels.

The surface of the case; directly below where the DVD sat is a little sticky. The plastic pattern is "raised".

I wipe it with a damp microfibre cloth but the pattern remains.

On the DVD the pattern is "raised", you can feel it.

I used a micro fibre cloth on this with some "DVD cleaning fluid" and after a little scrubbing it disappeared.

However, while the surface of the DVD is smooth, the pattern can still be seen in the surface of the DVD.

And cannot be read.

As it cannot be read, I've nothing to lose and will try something a little more abrasive, not destructive, to see how deep the reaction went.

(I don't have the knowledge to id the type of plastic).

Plastic products almost always have a stamp in the shape of a triangle with a number and 2-4 letters to indicate the type of plastic. Try to find it on the cases, it may be very small.

I checked a number of black plastic cases. They all had the triangle logo with a 5 inside. With PP underneath.

I checked a number of clear plastic cases, those that had a marking had a triangle with a 5 inside. With PP underneath.

Many of the clear plastic cases had no triangle mark, that I could find.

I also checked the additional mounts, (pages? flaps?), in the DVD case that holds 6 DVDs, (what are they called?), but these had no markings.

So I can't ID the plastic they are made of, and this is where the really bad damage was caused.

On the positive side after going through all my disks; only about 20 have suffered this event, and fortunately I believe I have backups of the data.

Still, it's concerning that after properly storing every thing this could happen. And I surprised no one else has brought it up.

Thank you once again for your help.

[mail2tom]

Interesting thread. It tracks with an unrelated experience that I had explained to me when I bought a new car. No longer being a cigarette smoker, I asked the car dealership why the interior of my car windows was getting a film on it, similar to what would happen if I had continued to smoke cigarettes in the car. I was told it was caused by the fumes from the plastics used for the interior of the car. Makes my lungs hurt just thinking about that.

[lordsmurf]

Too many cases warp discs. Over the longer term, what you see happens.

[Skiller]

I don't think it's caused mechanically (warping).
If it was purely mechanical, there would be no sticky stuff.


In my opinion, the fact that the affected cases do not even state what plastic they are made of, and because the pattern cannot be wiped off, encourages my inital suspicion they are made of wonky substances and/or low quality raw materials which cause a chemical reaction with the Polycarbonate of the DVDs over the course of many years.


You mentioned the cases were stored in a cool and dry place, but what about exposure to light?

[Betamax2033]

You mentioned the cases were stored in a cool and dry place, but what about exposure to light?

All the cases were stored two deep in bookcases. No direct sunlight. Just the natural shaded light in the room. And all the cases had a slipcover.

And the event only happened to the degree shown on the additional internal mounts. (Do those things have an official name?)

[lordsmurf]

Those double platters heavily warp media. What you see here is micro cracks to the inner bonding, and it has allows air seep to oxide the dye layer into the patterns you see. There's nothing unusual here, seen it before.

What is the media ID / brand of these disc? That give a tell-tale to bonding (non)quality.

I actually like the idea of micro cracks + offgassing ("fumes"), that would give the "push" we see that created the patterns. Air alone has no reason to move, but offgassing does.