RE: [AV Media Matters] Kodak Gold on Gold CD-R

[Jim Lindner <jim@vidipax.com>]

CROSSPOST
Moderators Comment:
I thought that this was an interesting post and wanted to share it with
the list - it was originally posted on AMIA-L by Tim Vitale - Cross
Posted with permission. It has been a bit quiet on the list lately - I
though that some of you might want to comment.
                                ---

I had 4 requests for the Newsletter entries, so...

In the Newsletter items below, it states that the G/G life is 12 times
longer than the common Kodak S/G CD-R. The new S+G/alloy's life is six
times longer than the S/G CD-R's.  I think of the best CD-Rs having a
life of 15 years.  This appears to be wrong.  [Editorial note: to get to
a new projection for the S+G/alloy CD-Rs, go to the bottom of this
section.]  The Tssphoto Newsletter entries are at the end.

NML links are now missing from the web.  In the process of checking
my facts for this post, I found that NML (National Media Lab) gave
the best performer, the Kodak G/G Ultima, 30-50 years, but not 100
years (see
<http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Industry/news/letter-190298.html>).  I
also found a cached article which describes part of the NML chart
(via google.com)
<http://ces.iisc.ernet.in/hpg/envis/doc98html/infocd530.html>, see
the fifth paragraph.  They quote 30 years for the "best" -- the
Kodak G/G Ultima.

I recall seeing NML data that showed the usable life of the average
CD-R to be 2 years, but in the Van Bogart letter sited above, he
says they have a "substantially longer" usable life, to which, I
can't find a reference.  [NOTE: I have been told that the NML site
is expected to be up again within a month, so we can check the real
data soon.]

Kodak claims 100 years for their G/G Ultima CD-Rs.
<http://www.tssphoto.com/sp/dg/cd/cdrGoldUltima.html>
<http://www.kodak.com/country/US/en/digital/techInfo/permanence1.shtml>
<http://www.kodak.com/US/en/digital/cdr/>

Tssphoto (newsletter folks) claims the life to be 217+ years, for the
discontinued Kodak G/G Ultima CD-Rs.
<http://www.inkjetart.com/kodak_cd.html>

Projecting backwards from the above data, the average S/G CD-R may  last
2.5 to (maybe) 18 years.  I'd say, roughly, 2-4 years in the real
world.

I appear to have under estimated S+G/alloy CD-Rs (8 years) life in my
first post on this subject.  Sorry.  S+G/alloy CD-Rs may have a life of
15-30 years.  But, I'd like to see some actual data.

Tim Vitale
Preservation Associates
510-594-8277

  ------- Original Message --------
  Subject: Inkjet NEWS & Tips - 06 Feb 01
  Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2001 13:25:02 -0700
  From: Royce Bair <royce@tssphoto.com>
  To: Recipient List Suppressed:;

  Dear Inkjet NEW & Tips Subscriber,

  Here's the bad news: KODAK DISCONTINUES THE "GOLD" ULTIMA CD-R

  We had wondered why Kodak was giving us such great prices near the
  end of last year on their "Gold" Ultima CD-R's (which we passed on to
   you).  It was because they were closing out and discontinuing the
  "Gold" Ultima -- it was getting too expensive to produce a 100% gold
  reflective layer CD-R.  Our prices earlier in the year for the Gold
  Ultima had been around $2/disc.  When our prices dropped in December
  to $.89/disc, there was a real rush for these high-quality CD-R's,
  which are up to 12 times more reliable than silver-only CD-R's.  When
  we suddenly could no longer get the Gold Ultima in January 2001, we
  called our Kodak representative and discovered that Kodak had decided
  to discontinue this great product due to the high production costs of
  using pure gold.  (While other CD-R manufacturers use silver-only
  CD-R's and sometimes color them to look gold in color, Kodak was the
  only manufacturer that had a line of real, 100% gold reflective layer
  CD-R's -- a very important feature to photographers who want a
  reliable media for archiving their digital image files.)

  The good news: KODAK REPLACES THE "GOLD" WITH A "SILVER + GOLD ALLOY"

  Kodak has not abandoned those who are concerned about having a
  reliable CD-R media for archiving important files.  They've
  determined that the "Gold" Ultima was a bit of an overkill in
  relation to cost.  Their new Kodak CD-R Ultima (Silver + Gold alloy)
  is the only disc on the market that has real Gold in its Silver
  reflective layer.  With the Gold alloy, it will still last up to 6
  times longer than silver-only discs, yet be available at a
  silver-only price.

  Although we have yet to fully update our web site with specifications
  on these new CD-R's, they are now in stock, and you can order them
  online at (still at $89 for 100 or $9.90 for 10).  These new Silver +
  Gold Alloy discs are a lighter gold color than the Gold discs were,
  because they are a gold alloy, and not pure gold:

  <http://www.inkjetart.com/kodak_cd.html>