Lightscribe

Lightscribe is a disc labeling technology supported by many DVD re-writer drives. The drive would use compatible media to literally burn labels directly onto a disc. The same drive is sued to both write the data to the disc and then also burn the label on. Because there is no ink, it is easy to create professional looking discs with Lightscribe technology from photos, text and artwork through your computer.

One of the main benefits of this type of disc labeling is the lack of imbalance problems found during disc spinning that other paper-based labeling solutions have been known to cause. The process also does not emit any dangerous chemicals or dramatically reduce the lifespan of the DVD drive under normal usage. The label is created on the disc by initiating a chemical change in the disc coating. A study of potential health and safety problems from using Lightscribe also turned up no cause for concern.

The coating on LightScribe CDs and DVDs is robust and should not be scratched away by slot loader players or under normal usage. It is not possible to re-write a Lightscribe label right now, but it is possible to add more content to a label that has already been burned to a Lightscribe disc.