Kodak Gold CD-R's going bye-bye?

From: CLASSICCMP_at_trailing-edge.com <(CLASSICCMP_at_trailing-edge.com)>
Date: Mon Jul 23 19:36:43 2001

> What makes these Kodak CD-Rs so much better than other CD-R media?

Five things:

1. Made by a known manufacturer using a well-tested process.

2. Manufacturer has archival information available.

3. Uses phthalocyanine dye, rather than the much less stable cyanine.

4. Gold reflective layer. Some here have had very bad experiences with
aluminum and/or silver reflective area in videodiscs and CD's.

5. Nicely protected top surface.

The Kodak "Silver Plus" Ultras have all the above except for #4, so they're
not so bad. And even on point #4, I do think Eastman Kodak does have at least
a little experience with silver compounds after, what, 100+ years in the
photographic industry?

And there are other makers of Gold media - Mitsui is a very big name, though
availability is less than ideal, and Ricoh seems to be in the business as
well.

All that said, it is frustrating to see what is widely regarded as one of
the most archival media available - made by a huge company with a long history
in materials science and information storage - bite the dust in mass
availability because it costs a few more cents than the el-cheapo stuff.

Tim.
Received on Mon Jul 23 2001 - 19:36:43 BST