Memorex Black CD-R Changes

Annika Backstrom

in Uncategorised, on 6 February 2005. Computers Rants

I've been a big fan of Memorex-brand Black CD-R discs for a couple years now. It's mostly a psychological thing; for whatever reason, I think they will stand up to the test of time better than other brands. Who knows, really?

So, as a long-time buyer, I've seen some of the product's evolution. Memorex started out with a really great label design with a sort of matte finish. Here is what cdrecord has to say about this revision of the disc:

ATIP info from disk:
  Indicated writing power: 4
  Is not unrestricted
  Is not erasable
  Disk sub type: Medium Type A, low Beta category (A-) (2)
  ATIP start of lead in:  -12508 (97:15/17)
  ATIP start of lead out: 359848 (79:59/73)
Disk type:    Short strategy type (Phthalocyanine or similar)
Manuf. index: 22
Manufacturer: Ritek Co.

And the visual:

Not bad. Plenty of writing surface to play with. They later changed the dye and altered the label to be a bit shinier. Disc info:

ATIP info from disk:
  Indicated writing power: 4
  Is unrestricted
  Is not erasable
  Disk sub type: Medium Type A, low Beta category (A-) (2)
  ATIP start of lead in:  -11634 (97:26/66)
  ATIP start of lead out: 359849 (79:59/74)
Disk type:    Short strategy type (Phthalocyanine or similar)
Manuf. index: 3
Manufacturer: CMC Magnetics Corporation

And photo:

A few months later, somebody at Memorex took a hit off the ol' crack pipe. The disc info didn't change much:

ATIP info from disk:
  Indicated writing power: 4
  Is unrestricted
  Is not erasable
  Disk sub type: Medium Type A, low Beta category (A-) (2)
  ATIP start of lead in:  -11634 (97:26/66)
  ATIP start of lead out: 359849 (79:59/74)
Disk type:    Short strategy type (Phthalocyanine or similar)
Manuf. index: 3
Manufacturer: CMC Magnetics Corporation

But the label took a turn for the worst:

Maybe they expect us to mark our CDs with white-out, I'm not sure. Yes, you can buy Sharpies for marking dark surfaces, but I'm still aggrivated at Memorex for going with style over function. Can anyone recommend an archival marker for marking dark surfaces?

Here's a composite of the three discs, just for fun: