[filmscanners] RE: CD Labeling and alcohol

["" <david_bookbinder@sprynet.com>]

At the risk of beating a dead horse, just for kicks I filled a the cheapest
CD-R I had (a Kensiko) with data, made a copy of the CD, then scribbled on
the first CD with three Sharpie markers. I covered the top third with a
Liquid Sharpie, the bottom third with a Fine Point Sharpie, and the middle
third with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie. I covered these surfaces three
times, scribbling horizontally, vertically, and at a 45% angle.  Then I let
the inks dry for several minutes and compared the two CDs. There were no
detectable errors on the "Sharpied" CD-R.

I can believe that using archival envelopes is about as safe a way of
preserving CDs as there is, but I don't know where the notion, as noted
below, that the "alcohol eats its way through the plastic and attacks the
metal" comes from. No lacquer I have ever encountered is soluable in
alcohol. As another test, I soaked a pad with isopropal alcohol, pressed it
to the lacquered surface of a CD-R with a metal plate, covered the whole
thing with a cereal bowl to delay evaporation, and left it overnight. The
next morning, there was no visible evidence, under a loupe, that the alcohol
had done anything at all to the lacquer coating of the CD. A brisk rubbing
of the alcohol-covered surface revealed no softness or stickiness, either.

I will continue to repeat the comparison of the "Sharpied" CD and the copy
over time, to see if there is some insidious effect that the long-evaporated
alcohol has on the lacquer or the underlying metallic coating. But I am
hard-pressed to see how an alcohol-based pen like the Sharpie, whose
volatile compounds evaporate in seconds, could ever damage a CD. Has anyone
ever done any actual testing of this theory, and if so could you point me to
the documentation?

Thanks,
David

-----Original Message-----
From: filmscanners_owner@halftone.co.uk
[mailto:filmscanners_owner@halftone.co.uk]On Behalf Of HPA
Sent: Wednesday, November 06, 2002 1:26 AM
To: david_bookbinder@sprynet.com
Subject: [filmscanners] CD Labeling
[snip]
Do not use Sharpies, alcohol based pens, labels, or anything like
it is the best advice.  The reason is that alcohol eats its way through the
plastic and attacks the metal.

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