Do those sharpie pens hurt the CDR's?

thereminman · Post by **thereminman** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:33 am

OK, this fear goes back some years.
For a while the Maxell blank CDR's came with their very own colored
felt pin marker that was supposed to *not* hurt the CDR in any way.

Now, my little pens are running out of ink.

Is it ok for me to use a standard sharpie on CDR's?
or does some hidden element in the ink chemistry ultimately
degrade the disc?

KyleWieder · Post by **KyleWieder** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 9:07 am

you just can't use a hard tipped writing pen sharpies are fine

RefD · Post by **RefD** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 9:32 am

yah, i've been using Sharpies since the late 90s on CDRs and have had no issues with it at all.

i kinda think the whole thing is an urban myth.

suppositron · Post by **suppositron** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 10:08 am

If the tip was dry and you kept scratching on the foil till it comes off to write would be the only way you damage it.

leigh · Post by **leigh** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 10:16 am

To be safe, for archival stuff anyways I always write in a circle around the outside edge of the disc. Most of the time (if the data isn't filling all the space on the disc), there's no data burned that far out.

cheers,
Leigh

dsw · Post by **dsw** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 10:33 am

It has been said that oil-based ink can chemically degrade the plastic over time and cause data loss on CDR's. The "CDR safe" pens used waterbased ink.

I've never seen anything definitive on it.

Personally I've been writing on discs with sharpie's for years and never had any problems, but if you want to be really really sure your stuff is safe, use archival dics (made by MAM-A) and don't use oil based ink.

David Piper · Post by **David Piper** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 12:53 pm

Was reading about this today!

This, from Bob Katz' "Mastering Audio" - p. 302

"While I personally believe that the coating on on professionally over-coated CDR's is sufficient protection from scratches and organic solvents (as in aromatic Sharpie-brand marker), the most conservative mastering engineers use water-based markers for labeling. Perhaps someone will do a long-term study measuring errors on CDR's with a coated-marked surface".

;ivlunsdystf · Post by **;ivlunsdystf** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 1:05 pm

I write on the clear spindle part when I want a disc to last 'forever'. However, I have old discs burnt nearly 10 years ago and for the most part they are fine even with ancient Sharpie tracks all over the foil/music-containing bits. The only ones that aren't still readable are the ones that have been scratched.

MoreSpaceEcho · Post by **MoreSpaceEcho** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 1:18 pm

you can get the water-based pens at staples or any computer store...

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 5:00 am

The oil is the medium, not the pigment. If it doesn't do any damage by the time the ink dries, I don't see how it would hurt anything. The oil dissolves, and the pigment is left on the surface.

dsw · Post by **dsw** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 10:33 am

*emails mythbusters*

*tosses a few old mix CD's on a fire just to see 'em melt*

BENDYmusic · Post by **BENDYmusic** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 10:41 am

I heard that its a really good idea to use Sharpies *ONLY* if you put them in the microwave for 3 seconds afterwards. It helps the ink dry faster thus less chance of the nasty oil base eating away at your data. Also, the microwaves improve the sound quality immensely. Plus, you can put some tubes in there while the CD is cooking to get that "warm" sound. Takes all the "digital" sound out of the CD that way.

RefD · Post by **RefD** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 10:47 am

that only works with green Sharpies.

darjama · Post by **darjama** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 11:02 am

microwaves = ADAT
toaster ovens = 2" Tape

Jay Reynolds · Post by **Jay Reynolds** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 11:05 am

Hibachi grill=wax cylinder

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Do those sharpie pens hurt the CDR's?

Do those sharpie pens hurt the CDR's?

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