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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>I have recently taken a look at the CD-R blanks that are
available and have changed what I’m using, so I thought I’d share
my research with the group.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>I have long used gold CD-Rs because gold is totally inert
and therefore is a neutral medium, but I haven’t been too discriminating
about the dye, which is the actual data storage part of the CD-R. What I have
found is that PhthaloCyanine dye, which has a gold color, is now considered to
be the best, both in terms of quality of reproduction (i.e., lowest error rate)
and in terms of storage life (the manufacturers advertise that they have up to
a 300 year storage life but this is based upon extreme testing and a lot of mathematical
modeling). As I was researching this, I came across a thread on a chat group of
archivists for museums, universities and the like. They were very enthusiastic
about their experience with this medium.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>I’ve been using Delkin’s eFilm Archival Gold
CD-Rs for a little more than a month and have been very happy (zero error rate
and very hi-fi reproduction). I’ve also been using their DVD-R blanks as
well and am very happy with those as well. I have ordered but not received yet,
some Mitsui CD-R blanks (they’re the folks who make PhthaloCyanine).<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>They’re not the cheapest but I don’t like the
idea of losing my music because I burned it on a crappy, cheap CD-R.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PersonName
w:st="on"><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>Bry</span></font></st1:PersonName><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>an</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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