Make LightScribe labels

Make LightScribe labels

It’s a technology that let’s you print images, clipart, text and much more on LightScribe optical media such as CD-R, DVD+R and DVD-R. Let’s begin with some insight on the technology and then we shall move on to see how you can use it in different scenarios.

How it works
Step 1: The optical drive is equipped with a special kind of laser that causes a chemical reaction with the ink on the surface of the media. Hence you will need a special drive that supports the LightScribe technology.

Step 2: On the top side (label) of a LightScribe disc, there is a micro-thin coating made up of specialized ink that gets etched due to the chemical reaction eventually resulting into an image.

Step 3: LightScribe drives require a software interface, like every other hardware does. You can download the relevant software from the website—www.lightscribe.com. You can also find the software on the CHIP DVD.

MethodBy now you have a fair idea of how the LightScribe technology functions. Now we shall move on to see how to use it in various application areas.

Step 1: After installing the software you can choose different templates from various application areas. Also, there are a number of categories of templates to choose from. You can also download these templates from the website. Some of the templates are available on the CHIP DVD.

Step 2: You can choose a template without a background and simply click in the center of the template to add a picture. After adding the picture, you can also add text to support the graphics.

Step 3: LightScribe media is available in various colored surfaces—we used  golden colored media. Since the media surface contains colored ink, a low-contrast image turns out to be pretty light, hence, higher the contrast of the image, the better the print. Here’s a tip, go to the LightScribe ‘Control Panel’ and modify the contrast settings. After doing so, the time taken for printing would increase by around 45 percent, but the results will be worth the wait. Better yet, use an image editing software and manually increase the contrast levels.
You can also convert the image to grayscale to get a better result, but the picture might turn out a little grainy.

Step 4: The third screen (from top) displayed on the right is a sample bitmap file. It is a ready-to-print image (on CHIP DVD). Once printed on the media, simply make monthly backups and put a tick mark on top of the label for the pertaining month (make sure you use a standard felt tip permanent marker used for optical media). Another file is provided which can be used for daily backups.

       

Step 5: Currently, LightScribe only prints in black. When printing pictures; another good option would be to convert the picture to grayscale. Increase the contrast and sharpen it by around 10-20 percent.

Step 6: If you have multiple movies in DIVX format on a DVD, you can also make an index of those movies using the covers. Use an image editing software to compile the covers into a single bitmap or JPEG image and follow step 2 onwards.

 

Tips: When using the LightScribe System Software, it is recommended to use the latest version (on CHIP DVD). If you use any other software for burning CDs and DVDs, then you can simply download the LightScribe plug-in from the website. For further know-how, you can find tips, templates, trouble shooting Q&A, and a lot more information on the LightScribe website.

thanks to-

www.chip.in