If you like to give your clients a cd of their pictures, then you might find this interesting. My neighbor works in data processing and one of their clients is a bank. Every day, they get cd's in cases from this bank and they just use the cd and throw it away.

She brought me over a big box of jewel cases. They have a small sticker on the end. Anyway, if you want a free source for jewel cases, you might find out where your bank outsources. This was a big bank and I live in a large metropolitan area so I don't know how this would work elsewhere.

FWIW

Sharon

Hey good idea Sharon and the price is right. :)
DJ

Just a note about CD cases - I have one of those CD labelers and put my business label on all of my CDs that go to clients. It's a good way to look professional, and may serve as a little extra advertising. The software is easy to use, you just import text and graphics.

CC
I have seen that software but didn't pick it up. Do you have to print it out on some sticky circle labels that attach to the CD? If so where do you keep getting those labels?
DJ

I go to an office supply store - like Staples or Office Depot - and buy the brand "Neato" Photo Quality Matte Finish CD Labels. They come 100 in a box and are used with the MediaFACEII software. They have a website at www.fellowes.com

I have used these labels for lots of projects, not just photos. Have fun with it - you can get very creative.

I use the same brand. I usually put one of the pictures that I had worked on and their name on the cd label with my business name on the bottom. Everyone thinks it is so tricky (so very easy) and it was a great 24 dollars initial investment! I got mine at Staples.

I use the fellows lables as well, makes the CDs look professional. I use the high gloss ones though I just prefer them. With the Media face software you can add as much text as you wish even have it curved which is a nice touch. I usually put a picture on it,an index of the CD and a little advertisement at the bottom or around the outside edge of each cd. Clients seem to appreciate the professional look.

There is a school of thought that those labels will shorten the life of a cd. Because the side we stick that label on is the most fragile. Something about the adhesive corroding the finish. I'm just throwing this out, I have no scientific proof.

I don't use the labels because I could never get them on straight.:)

Sharon

Another downside to the lables is that they seem to bother some CD drives.

I have two drives on my computer, one is an UltraPlex40max, and the other is a Yamaha CD-R. The Plextor does just fine with anything I feed it, but the Yamaha has trouble with disks with the Fellows lables. The disk never spins up. It actually sounds like it is rubbing something in the drive.

It may be just a bad combination of a thick CD plus the lable, or something like that, but I just thought I'd mention it. It was a real pain to have to remove the lables from about half a dozen CD when I finally figured out why they suddenly stopped working.

--tks

Good to know about the thick cd problem...I have noticed some are much thicker than others. I hope that the label issue doesn't do to much damage because I have sent out a bunch :s
To get the labels on straight there is a little plastic label holder with a center to match up with your cd hole and it holds the sticky side label up so you can press on label evenly...looks cheap but works great!

When I first purchased the CD labeler program from NEATO, I got a small CD applicator device..for lack of a better term. You just peel the label according to their instructions, put it on the stand, and then place the CD and press the two together..works like a charm. I've never had anyone complain about reading one of these CDs. I really like the system they developed for this.

Yeah, I got that plastic deal too and I messed up so many ways. I am not the most coordinated person. LOL. That's why I am clinging to this theory that labels are bad.:D

Sharon

Sharon, you're right about the adhesive corroding the reflective layer on the CD. I can't remember where I read it, but when (if) I find it, I'll post the URL. However, I'm sure that the label manufacturers have addressed this problem by now.

Equally as bad is using xylene-based inks to write on the CD. It's best to use alcohol or water-based ink and to use CDs with a coating to write on. On the same site, I read that some of the early music CDs died because of the inks used to label them. Remember, the reflective layer on the CD is very thin (~ micron). It doesn't take much to destroy it.

Another problem is caused by placing labels off-centre. This can throw the CD out of balance and damage the CD-reader. And as y'all know, once the label is stuck, there's no way that you can move it without destroying the CD.