How Permanent is Your CD-ROM Disk?

This newsletter has carried several articles over the years about the life expectancy of CD-ROM disks created on home computers. In short, the news is not good for genealogists who wish to record data once and then store it for many years.

Now a new article on WarehousePhoto.com gives details on the different types of blank CD-ROM disks available. It points out that the cheaper disks may not last two years. The article concludes, "You generally get what you pay for."

You can read all the details at http://www.warehousephoto.com/How_Permanent_is_your_CD-R.htm

(The article has an amusing typo error in the first sentence but otherwise seems to be accurate.)

Comments

[Springsten]

Is there a best buy list of CD's?

[Dick Eastman]

The article referenced has details on the different types of CD-ROM disks but does not give brand names. For one thing, the manufacturers often change their production methods in order to be price competitive.

[Jim Owen]

For those who might be interedted, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)has a publication 500-252 titled "Care and Handling for the Preservation of CD's and DVD's - A Guide for Librarians and Archivists". There is a lot of good techniacal and practical information in this publication. This publication has a lot of links to institutions providing research on on this tipic.

[Russell]

You might want to carefully read the label. I had an interesting experience while on a quest for "recommended media" for my Plextor CD/DVD burner. While you would think a quality burner could deal with any name brand blanks, I was experiencing problems burning CDs. Surprisingly Plextor's list of recommended media was quite short listing only 3 brands. And most of the "big box" stores didn't carry any of them!

In the case of Verbatim, Plextor was very specific about the part number. This giving me more confidence I went on a hunt for it. I finally found #94523, a stack of 50 CDs for $21.10 at a large but local stationary store. The label says "DataLifePlus", "Super AZO" (the type of dye) and indicates "Archival life up to 100 years". Note that the same brand found in another store with a different part number made NONE of those claims. A look on Verbatim's website shows that it's still a current product. I'm sure a Google (or Froogle) will show you where you can order those from.

So, my comments would be to buy a set that actually claims that it will last a century or more and not just some "lifetime warranty". Don't just settle for what you can find on the store shelves. You're best choice may not be there. Likewise, don't just buy a brand because it's recommended, make sure you've got the right "model" of disk as that brand may make several different "levels" of quality.

I'm also seeking more information, but for now my data will be entrusted to Verbatim #94523. Standard disclaimers apply: I'm not selling, I'm not employed by Verbatim, etc. It's just a data point that gave me a warm fuzzy in a topic that creates a lot of uncertainty. Now if I can just find another brand that makes a similar claim so I can make a backup disk (one of each brand)....