I recently purchased a new computer for one of my daughters, and this computer had an intriguing new component that I was unfamiliar with. The 16x (16 speed) dual format DVD drive (DVD+R and DVD-R formats) was labeled as a “Lightscribe” drive. I had heard some things about Lightscribe drives at CES in Las Vegas last January, but had no first-hand experience with them.

A quick visit to our local electronics and office supply stores indicated that almost all of them stocked Lightscribe DVD and CD drives and some of them carried CD and DVD media labeled as Lightscribe compatible. The blank discs themselves, while labeled with conventional speeds and formats, and a statement that they can be used conventionally in any CD or DVD burner, had a smooth golden colored top layer, substantially devoid of any labeling. These golden discs were available locally made by Verbatim, and available online made by Verbatim and other manufacturers. The pricing on the discs was slightly higher than the more conventional discs available from the same manufacturers. While these discs can be burned in any conventional burner, their full functionality requires a Lightscribe compatible drive. What makes these discs so special, and possibly worth the small premium in price, is the fact that the same Lightscribe drive used to burn music, data, images, or video to the discs can also be used to burn a professional appearing and permanent image into the golden top layer of the disc, negating the use of paper labels or marking pens. Lightscribe compatible drives can also be used to burn conventional media, but cannot label non-Lightscribe compatible discs.

The Lightscribe slogan “Burn, Flip, Burn” describes the simplicity of the process. Data is burned to the CD or DVD media using traditional appearing software, the same way as many of us have been doing for years. With a conventional drive and media, burning the disc is the only task of the drive, and requires a paper label or marking pen to show the contents of the disc. Marking pens can smear, and look unprofessional, while stick-on paper labels can peel, jam a drive, or cause balance problems and potential hardware damage if not perfectly centered. After that content is burned with a Lightscribe drive to Lightscribe compatible media, the disc is removed, flipped over, and reinserted, exposing the golden top layer to the laser beam. Using the software provided either with the drive, or from several third party publishers, professional looking silk screen quality labels can be permanently burned directly on to the discs by the drive. These labels can be created as the user desires with monochrome graphics, titles, content directories, or any other content desired using a “WYSIWYG” (What You See Is What You Get”) interface that shows the label on the screen before it is burned. The label is fully customizable by the user, and content can be added to blank areas of the label at a later date, but once burned, the label can not be erased.

Lightscribe ads another option for those interested in burning CDs and DVDs. While some media on the market has an inkjet or laser printer printable surface that can be printed on directly by an appropriate printer, Lightscribe offers the ability to burn labels directly onto the disc, without the additional expense, time, and headaches of printing to media with a specialized printer. In terms of cost, at my local stores, Lightscribe media was priced competitively with the printable discs. When considering the cost of paper stick-on labels, ink, and “stomper” kits to center the paper labels, Lightscribe media is still competitively priced. In my opinion, labels burned directly to the surface of the compatible disc on a Lightscribe drive look more professional than most of the paper or printed labels, and are far more resistant to smearing and damage than paper labels or marker pen.

The Lightscribe compatible drives are available locally and online from the traditional sources, and are manufactured by several makers. The review of local shops, as well as online “e-tailers” showed that there was little or no premium in price for Lightscribe compatibility when purchasing a new name brand drive. One local store had a name brand internal Lightscribe drive, 16x DVD dual format, 40x CD speed drive for $99, which was about the same price as similar non-Lightscribe drives.

Since Lightscribe drives work perfectly fine with conventional DVD and CD media (less the label burning capability), and are priced about the same as other similar name brand drives, but offer the option to produce professional looking, silk screen quality monochrome labels on compatible media, I would choose a Lightscribe drive for my next computer or peripheral upgrade.

Details on Lightscribe drives and media can be found on the Lightscribe website at www.lightscribe.com. For those who would enjoy a little humor with their computing, the Lightscribe website has a very funny list of “101 Uses for Your Permanent Marker” at www.lightscribe.com/bebold/stepbystep/step_101uses.aspx . This “tongue–in-cheek” satire lists silly things to do now that markers are now obsolete for labeling discs with Lightscribe technology.

If considering a new DVD/CD burner for an existing computer, or when purchasing a new computer, seriously consider a Lightscribe drive. It would be great to have the capability to professionally label discs in the drive, without external accessories.

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