Stuck on you: paper labeling systems for CD-R

Emedia Professional, April, 1998 by Jeff Partyka

The NEATO applicator works quite well, but it's slightly more prone to mistakes than the CD Stomper. It Is a two-part contraption, and the user needs to place the printed label, sticky side up, on the main part of the applicator, which has no way of holding it in place. The disc is placed on a separate cylinder-shaped device, and the disc and label meet, reasonably well-centered, when the user place the cylinder inside the center hole of the applicator.

The best thing about the NEATO system is that, once the user masters the mechanism itself, he or she has a dazzling array of labeling options to choose from, and a surfeit of supplies to keep him or her labeling happily for quite some time. And, when that initial supply runs out, NEATO makes it easy and relatively inexpensive to replenish the stock with a variety of different count sizes and price ranges for blank labels and jewel-case insert material.

WRITE IT, STICK IT: STICK-IT RIGHT! CD LABELING SYSTEM

The Stick-It Right! CD Labeling System by Great Gizmos, Inc. ($39.95), is less than foolproof in its application system, but if used properly, it works quite well. The applicator itself, called the Gizmo, has a removable cap; once it's removed, the disc is placed label side up on a spindle-like object. The cap is replaced and the printed label is lowered by hand onto the disc, with the cap centering the label. If the label isn't held correctly, however, it can be affixed improperly, creating bubbles and wrinkles in the label.

The Stick-It Right! package comes with 50 blank white CD labels and My Label Designer software for use with Microsoft Windows, equipped with import capability and clip art as well as postal and bar codes.

AFTER THE FIRE: THE POST-BURN, POST-LABELED LIFE OF A CD-R

So you've designed an eye-catching and distinctive label for your CD, and you've stuck it on with your CD labeling contraption. What now? Well, that's it, apart from popping the disc into your player or your CD-ROM drive, using it, and enjoying it. With normal use, your label most likely won't detach from the disc, provided it was attached properly to begin with. Even in an older, poorly ventilated CD-ROM drive prone to unusually high temperatures, Stomper, NEATO, and Stick-It Right! labels all stuck to their discs perfectly well during testing.

In the end, a paper CD labeling system is only as good as its application apparatus. A beautifully designed, colorful label doesn't do much good if it ends up in the trash--especially if it takes its intended host disc along with it. CD Stomper Pro, the NEATO CD Labeler Mt, and the Stick-It Right! CD Labeling System all come with satisfactory label applicators, so it's the details that will sell one over the other to any given consumer. All three offer different levels of label design options and versatility with regard to jewel-case insert creation, so take your pick ... because with CD-R, life goes on after the burn.

RELATED ARTICLE: Companies Mentioned in This Article

Great Gizmos, Inc. 1395 Greg Street, Suite 108: Sparks, NV 89431; 702/359-1165; Fax 702/359-1190; http://www.greatgizmos.com; Infolink #412