I need label-less CD-R's, compatible with most CD players...

[ph349397]

Ok, I am very new to burning CD's, but about a year ago I was at a local record shop and came across a cheap pack of CD-R's. The CD-R's were wrapped in plastic and the individual disks had no label, nothing, just the shiny, silver, reflective coloration that can be seen on the underside of any factory-recorded music CD. I like this label-less format, it is much more aesthetically pleasing to me and I label the CD's myself with masking tape.

Unfortunately, most CD-R's I've come across since are either white, or are "watermarked" with the distributors brand name on them. What I am looking for are relatively cheap, high-quality CD-R's with no labelling on the disks. I have a burner on my PC, but I would like to be able to burn them in a stand-alone CD copier (TEAC RW-D200; unfortunately my girlfriend owns it). I'll settle for CD's that can't be written by it though. Also, I'm intending to use them for audio, so when I say "high-quality" that means that I would like to be able to play them in most audio CD players.

Thanks.

[cfitz]

If you want what you are calling unlabeled discs (no markings on the top side of the disk at all), then you need to get generic or unbranded discs. Probably the most extensive selection of such discs can be found at online retailers. For example, here are some DA CD-R for sale at Meritline:

http://www.meritline.com/100pacdigaud.html

American-Digital sells a variety of DA CD-R media as well, some of which are unbranded:

http://www.american-digital.com/prodsit ... y.asp?c=50

I don't know the quality of any of these discs, since I have never purchased any.

There are many other other online retailers as well. Find them with your favorite search enginge, and check out their ratings on sites such as resellerratings.com and bizrate.com

cfitz

[TheWizard]

More online vendors selling unlabeled CD-R's:

http://www.cdrplanet.com
http://www.allmediaoutlet.com
http://www.shop4tech.com
http://www.qtccdr.com
http://shop.ily.com

I have ordered from all of these places and I'm happy with their service.

[CDRecorder]

Welcome to CDRLabs, ph349397!

I label the CD's myself with masking tape.

Are you actually putting tape right on the discs? This can cause the disc to be severely unbalanced, which can cause read problems, especially at high read speeds. The adhesive in masking tape becomes very nasty after a few months or years, which could be a problem. When I say nasty, I mean that it no longer holds the tape on well, but it (the adhesive) likes to get all over everything, and it is hard to get off. Also, I would be careful that the tape doesn't come off inside the player.

Please don't take this as an insult; I just want to see your discs last as long as possible and work as well as possible! Good luck!

[cfitz]

Good point, LiteOnGuy. I don't like the labels specifically designed for use on CD-R's. But using regular masking tape is truly a terrible idea, and should not be done under any circumstances. Your disc will likely be unbalanced, the adhesive may be harmful to the top layer of lacquer on the CD-R and the data layer just beneath it, and as you say it will eventually dry, crumble off and leave a nasty mess.

I'm not sure why I just answered the question posed directly. I seem to be doing more of that lately. I must be getting weary of fighting some battles...

cfitz

[CDRecorder]

Thanks, cfitz. I generally don't use labels either. I just write on the disc with a Sharpie pen, and this has never casued me any reading problems.

I am particulary aware of this because, recently, I was given a CD-R with a small mailing label on one side of the disc. It was so unbalanced that one of my older CD-ROM drives couldn't even read the disc, even after I put an identical label on the other side of the disc to attempt to balance it.

[ph349397]

This is a very friendly forum, thanks for all the advice.

Real quick, are there any advantages to using a 74m disc over an 80m disc? Will I experience fewer problems with audio CD players if I use 74m discs?

[ph349397]

I found this product description at qtccdr.com:

Ritek Silver Silver Digital Audio CDR Media 80min

100 Spindle-$25.99

Digital Audio (DA) - this type of media is intended for consumers with audio recorders (i.e. Phillips, Pioneer). Although most of the Digital Audio media on the market will only record audio, we offer CD-DA media that are compatible with computer recorders as well. Media certified up to 24X recording speeds.

This sounds like what I need. The only thing that I'm worried about is just how "silver" the discs actually are.

[cfitz]

Real quick, are there any advantages to using a 74m disc over an 80m disc? Will I experience fewer problems with audio CD players if I use 74m discs?

You might experience few less problems, since the track pitch on 74-minute discs is wider and it matches the original spec. But I think most modern players will handle 80-minute media just as well. Perhaps the more important advantage is that the 74-minute audio discs are usually a bit cheaper than the 80-minute discs. And since most commercial pressings don't even close to the 74-minute mark anyway, why pay more for unused capacity?

The only thing that I'm worried about is just how "silver" the discs actually are.

I don't understand. What is your concern?

cfitz

[ph349397]

Ok, what I want are CD-R's that are very, purely silver on both the topside and underside. Most importantly, I want them to be silver on the top, and I will settle for a greenish tint on the underside. I think I've seen CD-R's that are silver on top, but have a very slight gold hue to them also, and I don't want that. I think I have obsessive compulsive disorder.

I've seen CD-R's described by online retailers as "silver on silver", which I think is what I want. I've also seen the word "diamond" thrown around, what does that mean?

Also, from what I understand, CD-R's that use cyanine as the dye have a greenish tint on the underside and are slightly transparent, whereas CD-R's that use pthalocyanine are more purely silver and aren't as transparent. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I've also read that most CD-R/RW drives are optimized for cyanine. Do I need to be wary of purchasing pthalocyanine CD-R's; do they require a more powerful burner?

[cfitz]

This might help with some general background information:

http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic. ... 2318#42318

I would avoid the "diamond" or "true-silver" CD-R's. They use a dye formulated to be as clear as possible so they look as much like a pressed CD as possible. However, they have to compromise the burning qualities of the discs in order to get the purely cosmetic silver appearance. Stick with the proven dyes: cyanine, phthalocyanine and AZO/SuperAZO.

Cyanine is preferred by many, particularly when manufactured by Taiyo Yuden. But phthalocyanine can give good results too. Many, particularly those in the audio world, have praised the Mitsui Gold discs that use phthalocyanine. Personally, I haven't been so happy with the Mitsui Silver discs I bought. For the price (more than $0.55 per disc), I expected better quality.

Anyway, all modern drives can burn all three types of dye. Of course, various drives do better with some brands of media than others. Check the media compatibility for some ideas:

http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=6005

cfitz

[TheWizard]

The only thing that I'm worried about is just how "silver" the discs actually are.

Trust me, the Ritek discs you looked at from QtcCdr are purely silver in color on top. The bottoms look silver, but if you angle them they may have a slight greenish tint. It's not really noticeable though. Also, be sure to look for "Silver/Silver" label-less CD's as they will be as close to silver as possible on the top and bottom. It sounds like you don't want "Silver/Blue" CD's which are silver on top and blue on the bottom. The color difference is because of the different dye used. Blue = cyanine, Silver(ish) = pthalocyanine