Archival-quality burnables (maybe also printables) ...

[neveronfriday]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for CD-burnables that

a) are available in Europe as well and

b) YOU can recommend because you have used them for a longer period of time.

I'm NOT looking for any recommendations based on some tests or reviews you read somewhere, but CD burnables that you can recommend because you've used them for a longer period of time and because you are quite positive that they will withstand the test(s) of time.

I'm planning on burning some backup copies of very important discs that I would also like to listen to 20 years from now (if still amongst the living).

Cost is not an issue at all. $1 or $20 a piece doesn't matter. Gold? Platinum? Alien materials? Don't care if they perform well.

An added benefit would be to be able to print the labels using my Canon Pixma IP 4000.

Not that important though.

And advice?

Thanks!

P.S. I have a run-of-the mill CD burner in my PC that I usually set to burn at lowest speed to get the best results. Any advice concerning burning-speed in relation to the burnable you are recommending would be much appreciated.

[Tom in RI]

I have had very good luck with Taiyo Yuden cdr's. If they were still available I would go for Kodak Gold. If you do a Google search for Taiyo Yuden you will find plenty of places that have them available.

[J.A.W.]

I have had very good luck with Taiyo Yuden cdr's. If they were still available I would go for Kodak Gold. If you do a Google search for Taiyo Yuden you will find plenty of places that have them available.

Taiyo Yuden is now JVC.

[neveronfriday]

I've had Taiyo Yuden CDs (albeit three years ago) and they were NOT what people had promised online. There was a pretty wild quality difference in several batches I bought and, to be quite honest, I didn't think they were much better than, say, Verbatim (a label that's sold a lot over here).

@Tom: The Kodak Gold I've heard lots of good things about. I'm interested in burning about 50 CDs that I absolutely want to be able to listen to these next twenty years. Are you saying that they might be the ones? Any personal experience? Which speed should they be burned at? The lowest/16x/... ?

@Hans: Yes, the whole outfit is a JVC one now. I read about that quite a while back. JVC has published assurances as to the quality remaining the same, but I'm somewhat doubtful. Do you have any links in regard to people having used the JVC versions of these burnables?

Edited February 28, 2010 by neveronfriday

[Dan Gould]

If you really want to be certain to be able to play things in 20 years, why worry about the media you burn to, and just get a backup hard drive (or two), copy to that, and unplug the damn thing and store it away?

Then maybe by then "alien materials" will be the Taiyo Yuden of the day.

[J.A.W.]

@Hans: Yes, the whole outfit is a JVC one now. I read about that quite a while back. JVC has published assurances as to the quality remaining the same, but I'm somewhat doubtful. Do you have any links in regard to people having used the JVC versions of these burnables?

Nope.

[neveronfriday]

If you really want to be certain to be able to play things in 20 years, why worry about the media you burn to, and just get a backup hard drive (or two), copy to that, and unplug the damn thing and store it away?

Then maybe by then "alien materials" will be the Taiyo Yuden of the day.

I already have 16 external drives.

[Dan Gould]

So what's one more? Isn't it true that an unused hard drive would be the most stable way to save these files? I don't understand why you'd entrust them to a media without an established history of stability and reliability - especially since you're the first person I've heard who wasn't happy with T-Y blanks.

Now, if you want to question whether CD burners will exist in two years, OK ...

[Chas]

I have had very good luck with Taiyo Yuden cdr's. If they were still available I would go for Kodak Gold. If you do a Google search for Taiyo Yuden you will find plenty of places that have them available.

Taiyo Yuden is now JVC.

Lest anyone take this to mean that Taiyo Yuden has sold out to JVC , the reality is that Taiyo Yuden is now selling its optical media under the JVC brand which it acquired when it bought JVC's media business . And if it matters , the discs are still made in Japan .

I've had Taiyo Yuden CDs (albeit three years ago) and they were NOT what people had promised online. There was a pretty wild quality difference in several batches I bought and, to be quite honest, I didn't think they were much better than, say, Verbatim (a label that's sold a lot over here).

There have been Taiyo Yuden knock-offs circulating , so you may have gotten some of those . The few times I've made coasters with Taiyo Yudens , the burn software and not the discs was to blame . As to their longevity , I haven't read any stories of the dye fading over time once the disc is burned , but checking them periodically for reading errors would be prudent . I haven't had any problems with them for 5+ years .

I'm curious as to why you're interested in optical media , given the HDD array you already have , and given that tape provides greater archival longevity than either ?

[neveronfriday]

Just quickly.

First of all, thanks for the replies.

I'm a bit amazed at the unwavering Taiyo Yuden support. Just one example: The first batches of their "WaterShield" printables were absolutely dismal. I was interested in hearing, for example, if people have had better experience with these recently. I encounter the same thing in every forum - mention the name Taiyo Yuden, and you always get the same response: If it doesn't work, one must have bought a rip-off. Simply not true. The above-mentioned burnables (WaterShield) had absolutely horrible test results (errors, unburnable, unreadable, etc.) when they came out and I haven't heard much good about them since (actually, I haven't heard much at all about them recently, although they are still sold).

So far, The Kodak Gold seems like a recommendation to go for (the only one, so far).

Does anyone have more?

As to my HD array and the burnable/HD/tape question:

Just call it a "collector's" thing.

'Nuff said.