Tom Fine wrote:
I must be lucky because I just haven't had more than less than a handful of discs fail over time,
so far. And we're talking generic green-dye cheapos written on with a Sharpie. I just last week
had to recover some WAV files from one of those. I had a very careful listen to them in the
workstation because I was curious, especially about the effect of the Sharpie ink 5 years later.
They were fine, except I didn't have as good a DAW or analog playback gear back then! Hopefully,
I can report back in 15 more years. I store my data CDR's and DVDR's in paper envelopes in
shoebox-type cardboard boxes, so they don't get direct sunlight or dust.
-- Tom Fine
The Sharpie solvent is not the worst around, but even Sanford recommends their pens with
water-based ink for writing on CD and DVD. A second factor is the nature of the disc's
overcoating; some cheapies use a thin acrylic lacquer which is quite permeable. Media which are
printed or otherwise have a heavier overcoating *may* be more resistant, even impervious. On the
other hand, it is wise to use water-based inks as in pens made for the purpose or those available
at an art-supply store. My favorite is Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pen with the Brush tip.
On media made for ink-jet printing, I too have been using Sharpies for many years without
problems.
Mike
--
mrichter@xxxxxxx
http://www.mrichter.com/