What is a LightScribe? Is it something from Star Wars?

By now most computers out there have either a CD or DVD burner as they are relatively inexpensive and also provide an excellent way to backup your valuable information in the short-medium term.

One problem with making your own DVD’s and CD’s is that writing on it with a permanent marker (if you can fine one) produces messy and unprofessional results. LightScribe technology looks to change this.

Essentially the technology lets you ‘burn’ black and white images or text onto the top side of a DVD or CD, saving you the hassle of having to find a pen.

LightScribe technology works on recordable CDs or DVDs. They are coated with a reactive dye which changes colour when it is hit by the infrared laser light produced normally by your DVD or CD drive in the burning process. This reaction causes the dye to appear differing shades of grey and can make up one of the designs you see below.

The LightScribe burner creates designs on your disks in exactly the same way as it burns data – it causes the reaction to occur as it burns outwards in concentric circles always moving further and further away from the centre of the media. To burn images onto your CD you first burn your normal data content onto the recordable side of a special LightScribe compatible disk. Once this is done you take it out, flip it over and put it back in again to burn a second time onto the coated surface of the disk.

While at present it is only possible to burn shades of grey onto disks there are plans on the drawing board to add colour. Another drawback with the technology is that the images fade over time when exposed to light so it’s best to store them in a dark place where they are not exposed to direct sun or indoor lighting for long periods of time. Doing this should increase the life of the image.

Despite these drawbacks this is definitely something that we find attractive and want to play with.

To make it work you will need:

1. A LightScribe Burner
   (approximately $150)
2. LightScribe Disks (which have the reactive coating on them).(approximately
   10 DVD’s for $27)
3. LightScribe burning software (which lets you create images to burn onto the CD) (usually included with the burner)

Gizmo can supply all these items for you including installation and setup - If you’d like a Gizmotech to set you up with a LightScribe burner call 1300 275 449.

We’d definitely recommend it if you’re printing out holiday photos for friends or anything special that would benefit from the professional presentation.

We’ve included some of the designs lightscribe.com has included as demonstrations.
For more information about LightScribe burning visit www.lightscribe.com.