 Brian McDonald |
Best CD-R for Photo Archiving? I want to archive all of my photos onto CD-R and was wondering if anyone has an idea of which is best. I have heard that Kodak Ultimas are very good, yet they are quite pricey. I have also heard that Fujifilm's CD-Rs are very good. I know that I am going to have to pay a little more for an excellent quality CD-R, but I don't want to break the bank either. Any ideas? Thanks in advance for the help.
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Gary Chevers |
I've been using CD-Rs since they first came out. You would be surprised to know that there's not much difference between them. As a matter of fact, many are made by the same company and then sold to Kodak, Memorex, etc. You will be just as well buying something like Memorex ... you can get 50 for about $15-$20. The key is storing and labeling them properly. Keep them in a case at room temperature, and they'll last a lifetime.
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Wayne Oliver |
Do not use felt markers. They will cause "CD rot" (the CD won't last as long as they should). Use only markers that are made to write on CDs. This was printed in a digital photo magazine.
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LightAnon.com - Steve Parrott Contact Steve Parrott Steve Parrott's Gallery |
In response to the felt markers, you can use them, but never write on the label portion of the CD. Write only on the clear, center section, near the hole. About all you have room for there is a number, but at least it will not cause harm to the written portions of the CD.
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Scott Pedersen |
Unfortunately, yes, there is a difference between CD-Rs. I cannot use Memorex in my Omega external. Fujifilm works well. You will have to experiment to see what works for you and stick with that.
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doug Nelson |
Look at http://store.mam-a-store.com/standard---archive-gold.html Mitsui CD-Rs with the gold metal layer are said to be the best. I will soon be archiving mine to these and hope the drug-store cheapies they're on now are readable after 2-4 years. It may be less important what CD you to use than how you treat them. Store them in a cool, dry place, with no labels on them, no marking (unless the marker maker swears they are especially for CDs), and no paper next to them. Needless to say, don't let light get them. A surplus army metal ammo can with a rubber seal, with a silica gel packet in there with them should be safe.
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Randall Ellis |
A layer of ink is used to store the information on a CD-R or CD-RW. This ink layer, in any brand of CD, will deteriorate over time regardless of storage procedures. Keeping them out of the light will extend their life but not indefinitely. Inexpensive CD-Rs often have read problems due to the poor quality materials in their construction. Archival time on these can be as short as 1 year depending on the materials used and the storage methods. The problem is that even high-quality CD media will succumb to this over time. If you were interested in long-term storage on CD media, I would recommend a professional Kodak Photo CD, which can be obtained from professional photo labs. Personally, I don't trust CDs with my images. Hard drives are inexpensive and a computer can be configured to automatically mirror the data to two separate hard drives. There are some minor technical details involved but nothing that the average computer user could not follow. The cost of the drives is far less than that of re-creating lost images.
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Randall Ellis |
A layer of ink is used to store the information on a CD-R or CD-RW. This ink layer, in any brand of CD, will deteriorate over time regardless of storage procedures. Keeping them out of the light will extend their life but not indefinitely. Inexpensive CD-Rs often have read problems due to the poor quality materials in their construction. Archival time on these can be as short as 1 year depending on the materials used and the storage methods. The problem is that even high quality CD media will succumb to this over time. If you were interested in long-term storage on CD media, I would recommend a professional Kodak Photo CD, which can be obtained from professional photo labs. Personally, I don't trust CDs with my images. Hard drives are inexpensive and a computer can be configured to automatically mirror the data to two separate hard drives. There are some minor technical details involved but nothing that the average computer user could not follow. The cost of the drives is far less than that of recreating lost images. - Randy
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GARY FESPERMAN |
Hi, Brian I'm a Photographer (30 years) and a teacher at a local college. I have read several articles on this subject. Their is indeed a difference between CDs. Most of the info I have found recommend Kodak and Mitsui CDs as the #1 CD - but they are expensive compared to other choices. The #2 spot seems to be held by Verbatim, and the #3 by TDK. These seem to be the choice of many, including myself. I use both Verbatim, and TDK. Tech TV also did an article/show on this subject, and mentioned the above CDs in order - #1 Kodak, #2 Verbatim, and #3 TDK. Other wise advice in several articles: Burn at least 2 copies of all your CDs on different brands, or use a CD and DVD. As for using hard drives, I have had one go bad on me after 4 years. I recently saw an article where the average life of a hard drive is approximately 5 years. So back up your photos making multiple copies. And plan at some point in the future of moving them to some other type of storage media! Remember the 33 and 45 records - VHS tapes. CDs and DVDs all will make way for new types of media. Best of luck.
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Angela E. Wright |
so, is a sharpie considered safe for writing on a CD? and if you are not able to write on them - how on earth do you keep them organized? also, as of now, I have my CD's in a cd storage case with plastic sleves. is this safe? I am starting to panic - as all of my photos of my 2 & 1/2 yr old daughter are digital and on CD's. thanks!
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GARY FESPERMAN |
Hi Angela Everything I seem to read says only on the clear inner cirlce of the CD/DVD. Their are special markers for writing on CD's. I use labels, although no one seems to know for sure about the labels.Burn at least 2 CD's on all your family photos. Another method is to use the cases, and label the case only -date the inner - CD - cirlcle w/ brief descrition. You can make a small contact sheet 4.75 x 4.75 w/ sample photos to help you remember/locate the CD's. Also include dates and brief description on the contacr sheet. Another way is to make full size contact sheets 8 1/2 x 11, and store them in a binder. I usually do both, as of last year. You can use Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to do this. I hope this helps you Angela***** Good luck to us all. Gary
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Murry Grigsby |
Another option to keeping those archives fresh and readable is to use an offsite online service such as www.firstbackup.com and then request media such as CD-R or DVD as needed. Mitsui seems to be recommended quite often but as you can see at this link their media is expensive: http://store.mam-a-store.com/standard---archive-gold.html
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John R. Daignault |
Your best bet, is to stick to branded media for long term storage, CDRW on the other hand, get hold of a local store sale item and try it. If if works, fine. If not take it back for a full refund. If we all did this there would be no "duds" left in the stores. I use TDK for storage. Schneider 244, is the cd writing pen to use, offering safe marking to disc. cheers
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John C. Schwentner |
Get Taiyo-Yuden if you can. they are rated second or third in the world. they are one of the main maufacturers that sell to the other big name companies. (Kodak doesnt really make them, nor do most of the others)
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Angela E. Wright |
So, what companies have the Taiyo-Yuden CD's? Or where do you buy them? thanks, Angela
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John C. Schwentner |
Oh taiyo-Yuden are readily available, I didnt mean to sound like they were hard to get. Just go to the web and type in the name youll get all kinds of places. I buy them at allmediaoutlet.com, and they are not pricey at all. They and TDK are the two best rated, and both companies make them for most of the others. I use them exclusively in my transfer business, and have yet to have a media failure with them.
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Philip Pankov |
If you value your images, always back them up on something more reliable than CD-R. I use separate hard drives for my backups. Regards,
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BetterPhoto Member |
What is it about felt markers that cause CD's to "rot"? How/why does that happen? Thanks.
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Mike Rubin |
"Sharpie" makes a marker which is for CD use, It has to do with the ink that is used.
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MaryMcGrathPhotography.com - Mary B. McGrath Contact Mary B. McGrath Mary B. McGrath's Gallery |
I purchased Sony's CD-R Audio, and wondered if I can use this CD to archive photos? Someone at Staples said any CD-R would work. Help!
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
You buy a pack of 50 at Target? $9.99 was it? You can use them. I'm reburning some stuff with them. There was something on the package that said they were supposed to better for sound quality versus regular cd sound quality, not that you couldn't put photo files on them. It's still digital info being burned with a laser. This thread is almost 6 years old and you'll notice that cd's are on there way out. Not even used at all by many people. Really high volume people use external drives or raids. For the marker question, I'm guessing it's the stuff that made the marker toxic to people who had a habit to putting markers/sharpies in the mouth. Now sharpies are non toxic. Maybe it used to have acetone in it.
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Toby Drye |
Brian - I archive my images on DVDs'. The advantages are that they have a capacity of over 4 GB. I have had zero problems retreiving my images when needed. I can also use them on other computers to show my files. If you want directions to how to archive on DVD, please respond to this thread.
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