fonte :http://www.it-enquirer.com/main/ite/more/lightscribe_12/
LightScribe 1.2
In an interview with one of the product managers at LightScribe.com, we discussed version 1.2, the benefits of LightScribe, the media, and the market. LightScribe 1.2 is the new standard of this direct-on-CD or DVD print technology. Most graphic designers and desktop publishing professionals create labels for CDs and DVDs. Not so for LightScribe labels. One wonders why no desktop publisher has come up with templates yet.
With LightScribe 1.2 promising faster print times, better quality results --especially higher contrast-- and better-looking media, this could change. Most of the promises prove to be fulfilled.
LightScribe is the technology that allows you to burn a CD or DVD, feed it upside down to the DVD-writer and print the label by laser engraving in the label layer. The
LightScribe technology requires a specially designed LightScribe DVD-writer with a laser that is capable of both burning DVDs and engraving at lower power.
LightScribe also requires special media. Version 1 media shows rather dull surfaces with engravings being rather dull-looking as well. I tested LightScribe with Verbatim, HP, and Imation branded media. The HP and Verbatim media came out as having the highest contrast back then. Imation did a bit worse with lower contrast. All media lacked shine and luster, not because they were so badly made, but because that was LightScribe 1.1.x media.
Now we have
LightScribe 1.2, which is a huge improvement over previous versions. To enjoy the new version of LightScribe, users need new media. I received LightScribe 1.2 test media from Verbatim --it should be reaching stores about now. You do not need a new DVD-writer. My “old”
LaCie LightScribe DVD-writer still does fine. All that is needed to enjoy the LightScribe 1.2 improvements, is an update to the device’s firmware, and a new LightScribe 1.2 driver.
LightScribe 1.2 performance
In our interview with the LightScribe PM, he claimed LightScribe 1.2 was going to be a third faster than previous versions. A third is very fast. LightScribe takes about 30 minutes to fill an entire DVD label with content. The speed upgrade would mean that I would be able to complete the engraving process in 20 minutes.
In practice, LightScribe 1.2 did even better, with 19 minutes for a full label. That is still quite some time, but it’s fast enough to switch to LightScribe altogether and enjoy the other benefits of this technology as well.
LightScribe 1.2 really needs the new firmware and driver, though. My first test failed because of a bad driver installation. The LaCie LightScribe DVD-writer complained the media I had inserted was “dirty”. I checked whether the drive itself was still in working order, by engraving a version 1.1.x LightScribe disc. It worked without a glitch. Then I reinstalled the LightScribe 1.2 driver.
That did the trick, No more “dirty” media, but a disc engraved to perfection.
The New LightScribe Looks
Perfection is perhaps a bit exaggerated. But the version 1.2 disc did look much better than the previous version. The Verbatim LightScribe 1.2 media is allowed to be more shiny, giving a finished disc more lustre. Contrast has improved as well, although only by a margin.
The LightScribe product manager said coloured media would arrive to the market sometime in September. The new, coloured media will allow users to categorise their discs more easily.
With older LightScribe engraved discs I had noticed the appearance of a white powder on the surface after a few months. I asked the product manager whether this could ultimately harm the disc’s surface and data layer. If that were the case, the archival argument for the coloured discs would have been nothing more than a marketing plug.
However, according to LightScribe’s PM, the LightScribe layer is secured from the data layer. The LightScribe layer holds a chemical product. The engraving process literally cuts into the chemicals, which produces a residue powder effect after a few days. Wiping that off with a soft cloth solves the problem.
The added benefit of the LightScribe engraved labelling is that discs can be kept longer in good condition (in theory at least) because there is no risk of glue solvents --of paper labels-- reacting with the data layer of the disc and eating away the data layer after some years.
According to LightScribe’s PM, LightScribe is growing fast. In the US, it takes away of the printable labels market, with currently a 60% market share.
Nice!
O pior foi que eu comprei 5 DVDs em portugal numa loja de Lisboa e o caso é que na caixa dos DVDs também não tem lá 1 ou 1.2! 8o O caso é que imprimir um destes DVDs levou só 15 minutos portanto são versão 1.2.....Mas que confusão no reino LightScribe! 