As it turns out, the DVDs and CDs that we all know and love are a lot more fragile than you may have thought. You all know that scratches or abrasions caused by poor handling can send a disc to the graveyard but did you know that the top or “labelled” side is much more delicate than the bottom side? Don’t feel bad if you didn’t know this because most others don’t know it either. Scratches on the bottom side have to be considerably deeper to reach the aluminum layer than on the top side. Heavy writing with a ball point pen can damage the information layer.
Poorly manufactured discs can suffer an early death due to “disc rot”. This happens when the lacquer is applied in such a manner as to allow the aluminum layer to oxidize.
And manufacturers of blank media have a habit of constantly tinkering with the way they make their product. You could go to your supplier today and purchase a spindle of blank media, then return to the same store a month later and buy the same brand and wind up with something totally different.
To keep your discs alive and happy, here are a few do-s and do-nots to go along with the obvious ones that you no doubt know about:
- Never flex or bend a disc (Specially made thin flex discs are an exception.)
- Use only a felt-tipped marker for writing on discs.
- Store them upright and in their cases.
- Do not store them where there are extremes in temperatures. Your car is probably the worst place you can store a disc. It has a temperature range of 100 degrees from low to high, depending on where you live.