How to Care for Discs

CDs, or “Compact Discs,” are plastic discs (note: optical discs are spelled with a “c”) that have information stored on them using a laser beam of light to create pits and valleys optically as the coding technique. Even though they are then coated with a clear, ultra-thin, hard plastic for protection, they can be scratched and smudged. We have probably seen claims that these discs are indestructible—but they can be damaged so that it is difficult for the laser beam to read the data accurately and sound distortion or data disruption can be the result. Therefore, it is important to care for your discs like you would a standard 3.5 computer disk. CDs, CD-Rs,.CD-RWs, and DVDs are all similar types of optical discs and they should all be cared for in a similar manner. (Note that the play side of the disc is the blank, shiny-appearing bottom of the disc—opposite to the label side.)

Some key suggestions to care for your optical discs are to:

1. handle the disc with your fingers on the edge and/or in the center hole.
2. keep the disc in a protective case so it doesn’t get scratched and don’t let the literature in the case scratch the play side of the disc.
3. be especially careful not to scratch the label side; scratches on the play side (the shiny side on the bottom) may not be visible to the player. Label side scratches cannot be fixed.
4. avoid both extremely high (over 120 degrees) and low temperatures (below 10 degrees); they can warp at high temperatures. Try to keep humidity below 80%.
5. keep the label side clear of any sticky notes, tape, etc. since it could jam the player.
6. use felt-tip pens to write on the label side; ballpoint and marking pen ink may damage the optical disc.
7. avoid stacking optical discs on top of each other or putting heavy objects on them.

In addition to the general suggestions above, it is important for you to keep your discs clean. Clean the disc with a soft cloth that you moistened lightly with a disc cleaning liquid (or you can use ethyl alcohol). Avoid solvents (like benzene or record cleaners) that may damage the polycarbonate plastic in the disc—try it on a spare disc first if you want to be safe.

When wiping the disc, there is a chance that you might scratch it. So, always make sure that you rub in the correct direction. Discs are less bothered by light scratches that run from the center of the disc to the edge than they are by scratches that run from edge to edge. Therefore, be sure to rub from the center out to the edge. Discs record data in spirals going around the disc. If you scratch the disc going across the tracks, you only wipe out a tiny amount of data instead of destroying a significant portion of one track. However, it’s best to not scratch the disc at all.

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