There is more to burning CDs than just burning them. The following article shows you how to ensure your CD burning success.
1) The #1 thing you never want to do is put a CD-R or CD-RW in direct sunlight. Unlike CD-ROMs, CD-Rs and CD-RWs are light sensitive. In some tests, CD-Rs left out in the sun for as little as 2 hours, were completely erased of the music, data and photo files on the CD-Rs. This is especially important if you listen to CDs in your car. Putting a CD-R on the dashboard in the summertime, or in the direct sunlight can quickly destroy a CD.

2) If you are going to burn a CD that you want to last for years, you need to use an archival quality CD. If you only have a short-term use in mind for the CDs you are burning, almost any CD you buy that works with your computer will be fine.

3) In labeling a CD for a short-term use, almost anything will suffice. Paper labels are fine; but at times, a bit tricky to apply. If the paper labels are not applied perfectly, they can unbalance the CD, delaminate the CD, or even damage the CD Reader. However, if you want a CD to endure for years, your choices are more limited. The most cost-effective option is to use a CD Marker. There are several of these out on the market, and their inks have been specifically formulated for CD use. Markers with alcohol in their formula are not recommended, such as a permanent marker or even a ballpoint pen.

4) When you burn a CD-R or CD-RW, always do a quality check to make sure it contains all the information you wanted burned onto the CD. Never assume that your CD Burner will always burn properly.

5) Short-term storage of CD-Rs and CD-RWs is very forgiving; vinyl and paper sleeves are fine to use. For the long-term use, the only storage options I recommend are the Tyvek sleeves and Jewel Cases. Only these two media will be benign and chemically inert over time. Jewel cases are especially recommended because they protect against accidentally dropping as CD or something being dropped on a CD, which let’s face it, happened to us all.

6) When mailing CDs, you need to be aware that the U.S. Post Office can easily damage CDs. With the new regulations as of July 2002, the U.S. Post Office now imposes a surcharge on all CDs. One possible way around this is to mail one or two CDs at time. Hand addressing mailers containing CDs is also likely to get them processed so that they are not sent through the OCR sorting machines where most of the damage happens. But, if you are sending a

7) Catalog your CDs as you burn them. By cataloging your CDs, you will know: when you burned your CDs, what was on your CDs, what program you used to burn your CDs, and anything else that will make your CDs easy to retrieve. It doesn’t take long to have so many CDs burned that you lose track of what’s what-trust me. That’s why we offer a number of CD Freeware and Shareware cataloging programs as part of a book we‘ve put together, that is available for download on our website.

8) Always update any CD you’ve burned when you install a new version of any program you used to first create the CD. It doesn’t take long for a program “migrate” to the point where you cannot open a CD you burned with an earlier version.

9) Be sensitive to the environment in which you store CDs. I had a customer from Boston write me when I was creating my book on CD handling and storage. He said he’d burned some music onto CDs and brought them onto his boat. Within something like 6 weeks the sea air had delaminated the CD. This could have been the fault of the CD brand he was using, however it points out the general principle that in order to keep data, music and photos files on CDs that you burn, you have to be aware that they should be stored in a reasonably stable environment, which includes a stable temperature and stable humidity levels. Extreme vibration is also recommended against.

10) Finally, be aware of the “human error” factor. Human error can constitute for a high percentage of mistakes made when burning CDs. Be sure to always have a backup CD if the data on the CD is important. Also be sure to keep a copy of the original program used to create the CD.

About the Author

Mark Goggin is the owner of CDSleeves.com. Mark has been in business for over 28 years, 5 of which have been with CDSleeves.com. Mark is an expert in the area of storage, archival and burning of CDs. Because of his expertise, Mark has written articles for publications such as Target Magazine, Studio Photography & Design, Rangefinder, REPRO Report, amongst others. Mark loves to speak to those wanting more information on his articles at the following number: (818) 865-7942.