AmazonBasics 700MB 52x CD-R

somewhere in England

at 10:51 am

I didn’t receive my disks in the advertised packaging nor with a warranty card, but no matter.

There is a variety of quality in CDRs, which manufacturers just don’t share with us. The Amazon CDRs are white label, which means they can amend the specifications and manufacturer at any time. The label only says “Made in China”.

The disks that I received were unusual. Generically CDs and CD-Rs are a layer of plastic, a thin metallic film and then a layer of thin plastic covered with print or label. These are not so made. There is a plastic base with a very thin reflective metallic coating – so thin the disks are fairly transparent. The usual thin plastic laminate which usually protects the metal film from scratching or damage by oxygen and sulphur is missing. In its place is a thin varnish coating, applied as a liquid (it dribbled over the edges in places).

This unusual finish has unknown qualities in protecting the reflective metal coating, which may be more or less subject to atmospheric damage, and may be more likely to scratch. I have concerns regarding the ageing of the varnish, which may shrink or crack with age, damaging the reflective film. It is unclear if the black printed Amazon name on this varnish will interact with the varnish or the reflective layer.

The ATIP data on the CD-Rs declares the data area as grade B (that is a good rating) and instructs the burner to start at Power 5 (average). The declared manufacturer is Plasmon, but that cannot be relied upon.

The only other CD-Rs I have seen with this finish were declared to be by CMC.

The disks may not be suitable for long term archival storage, but handled and stored with care should be good for a couple of years. I won’t be reordering for a couple of years as I can’t face losing everything in a couple of years and this style of manufacture seems untested.
Rating: 3 / 5

Susan Belcher

at 2:18 pm

CD-R discs have always been a great thing for storing those documents that you need to refer to but won’t need to alter, or for keeping copies of those crucial photographs you never want to lose; or just for music that you want to play on the CD player in the car; and they are especially good for freeing up memory space on your PC or Laptop.

I have been using these discs for a couple of weeks now, and (having used them for documents, pictures and music) I can find absolutely nothing wrong with them. So far they have worked perfectly; I have not had any faulty discs.

The discs come on a spindle which is 8.5cm (high) by 13.6cm (diameter). The spindle and its cover are of a great quality, much sturdier others I have had in the past. I tend to reuse spindles for storing discs I have already burned, but many of the more expensive ones tend to be more brittle (especially the clear plastic covers).

The wrapping is almost completely recyclable. There is a thin plastic film which is wrapped round the spindle which is recyclable in certain areas (we can put that in the recycling but a friend in a neighbouring town cannot – so I suggest checking first). The cardboard box which contains the spindle is 9.8cm by 20.2cm by 20.2cm and begin brown cardboard can be placed in the recycling as can the larger box, but I use the larger boxes for storage.

Overall, the quality of the discs seems to be as good as any of the more expensive “branded” ones; the spindle is sturdier than others I have had; and the packaging is recyclable. For me this is a five star product.

Rating: 5 / 5

E. M. Watson

at 4:58 pm

The pack arrived within three days.

I am storing my photos on them.

So far, so good, as to how long they may last – well it’s in the lap of the God’s as they say.

Even the best recording media has been known to fail.

I’m ever hopefull.
Rating: 5 / 5