LightScribe vs. Label Flash info?

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poopypoo

Veteran
Hey, ws just wondering if anyone had any new info about these two DVD-labelling technologies. I actually only just recently found out about them via this review of a HP LightScribe burner and this article on NEC's new burner. I think Label Flash looks way prettier, but of course LightScribe has the decided advantage of actually being to market (there are 9? i think? LS-enabled burners on newegg from $46 and up, and a 30-pk spindle of Verbatim LS DVD-Rs is $14). It might be about three months before I help the g/f build a new pc; what I'm wondering is whether anyone knows how soon improvements upon these two technologies are expected? Also, has anyone seen any Label Flash DVD media for sale? I think it's cool (gimmicky, but not expensive, so very cool!) tech and I definitely want in when I buy our next burner... :9~~~
 
LabelFlash looks better, but (as you note yourself) only has NEC behind it. Media is also an issue as they're rare, expensive and not too good. Ony Ritek makes them.

So: If you only want this tech for the gimmick, then I'd say Lightscribe for now. If you plan for any volume in your labeling, however, I'd drop both and look at a CD-printing inkjet.

Dedicated thermal CD/DVD-label printers (single colour) are much less expensive than people think, and even a multipurpose label-capable inkjet can produce great results pretty fast. The obvious advantage is tha it's easier to get good and affordable media.
 
Lightscribe is expensive, slow (x1, can take an hour to write a disc), fades (light sensitive discs), wears out your drive laser faster, and limited colours (monochrome). It's really only useful if you want to do one-off, relatively simple discs, like track listings instead of full pictures. Assuming Labelflash doesn't kill Lightscribe it should eventually get cheaper/faster, and there's not a lot of difference in price of lightscribe/non-lightscribe hardware, so you might want to spend an extra £5-10 just to have the option.

I don't know much about Labelflash except it's even more expensive and rare at the moment, but offers more colours.

All in all a good disc printer will make faster, cheaper, better results, especially if you have a inkjet that already comes with a disc printing tray. Probably can be had for less than a pack of Lightscribe discs too.
 
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I just bought a new burner (LG) for ~60€ with lightscribe, but haven't tried it yet. I also couldn't find any LS-media at the shop, I think these are bound to cost a bit more as well.

The colour limitation is because of the media, not the burner.
 
_xxx_ said:
I just bought a new burner (LG) for ~60€ with lightscribe, but haven't tried it yet. I also couldn't find any LS-media at the shop, I think these are bound to cost a bit more as well.
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Lightscribe: 34-58p per disc
Labelflash: 85p per disc (only Ritek DVD-R)
Printable DVD+-R: 16-40p per disc (average about 20-25p, but Taiyo Yuden is 40p at the top end).

_xxx_ said:
The colour limitation is because of the media, not the burner.
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It's both. The lightscribe system consists of both special media and hardware. IIRC, Lightscribe darkens an ink layer to create a monochrome image, Labelflash makes their ink layer transparent.
 
Well it says it will support colour in future. Just what I read in the FAQ, so I have no idea if it's true.

Thanks for the pricing info, might actually buy a few to satisfy my curiousity :)
 
_xxx_ said:
Well it says it will support colour in future. Just what I read in the FAQ, so I have no idea if it's true.

Thanks for the pricing info, might actually buy a few to satisfy my curiousity :)
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I got the prices from a quick skim of SVP if you want to have a look. It's where I buy my blank media, and they usually have special offers or cheap delivery deals.

I think Lightscribe is planned to support up to four colours, but I can't imagine how expensive, slow, and how limited in quality those discs are going to be.

If you're going to buy 30-50 lightscribe discs, you're probably better off investigating proper disc printers and getting faster, cheaper, and better results, while spending a lot less on the media. Look, you can get one of these for £50, or £60 gives you a full printer that can also do discs.
 
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Cool, I didn't even know of those! Not a viable investment for me, but I may get one if I should have some money to burn :D
 
Thanks for all the replies :) I obviously came late to this party; I had no idea the media was so prolific! even at 1 a disc I'm leaning more towards label Flash, but it's really just a gimmick thing for me. Although I burn perhaps a disc every other day, these are just for personal archiving and I'e no problem with scribbling on them with a marker. What I'm interested in is the say... weekly burns i make for friends, making them distinctive is fun. So for these, yeah I've engaged in a good number of gimmicks -- the maxell PSX-style blacks, the old Verbatims that looked like 45s, gold discs, blue discs, etc etc. And for this purpose I think Label Flash looks way cooler than LightScribe, and also more distinctive than a label printer. Plus I already have a printer I like and space is at quite a premium in here... >.>

Of course that's just hopeful wishing if it looks like the tech never gets adopted by anyone else... but I'm really happy with my last two NEC burners, so we'll just have to see what the market looks like in June/July... Maybe someday we'll get reports on whether either of these things fade over time or whatnot...
 
poopypoo said:
, and also more distinctive than a label printer. Plus I already have a printer I like and space is at quite a premium in here... >.>
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I wouldn't recommend labels on today's discs to anyone. High rotation speeds seem to make any balance problems worse, and there has been some anecdotal evidence that sticky labels seem to be more likely to damage discs and reduce their long term readability. A label unpeeling inside a drive doesn't bear thinking about, and are specifically not recommended for slot loading drives.

Given that white printable discs don't cost any more than branded or blank DVD surfaces, I reckon the most cost effective and best looking way of labelling anything more than a few discs is to print directly onto it's surface, either with a specialist disc printer or one of the newer inkjets printers that can accept discs to print on.
 
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Bouncing Zabaglione Bros. said:
I wouldn't recommend labels on today's discs to anyone. High rotation speeds seem to make any balance problems worse, and there has been some anecdotal evidence that sticky labels seem to be more likely to damage discs and reduce their long term readability.
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Yup. I lost a few paper-labeled discs, not readable anymore.
 
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