Labelflash

Labelflash (sometimes written LabelFlash) is a technology which allows users to burn custom designs or images onto proprietary DVD media first announced in October 2005 as a collaboration between Yamaha and Fujifilm.[1][2] While Yamaha developed the optical drives, Fujifilm manufactured the proprietary Labelflash optical discs.[3] NEC manufactured the first Labelflash compatible drive, the ND4551,[4] which was released in December 2005.[5]

A Labelflash disc engraved with an image of the planet Jupiter.

Burning Labelflash media is supported by Nero Burning ROM version 7 and newer.[6] Yamaha partnered with Toshiba[7] and Gateway[8] to provide Labelflash as a feature in computers made by those companies.

Production of Labelflash media was halted on December 22, 2016.[9] Labelflash was officially discontinued in 2017.[10]

Technical details

In Labelflash, the standard recording head of an optical drive is repurposed to burn images onto a layer of dye made for this purpose on the top of proprietary Labelflash optical media.[11] The dye is 0.6mm below the surface so as to protect it from the elements.[10][12]

The resolution is adjustable between 300 and 1800 dpi (dots per inch). Up to 256 monochromatic shades can be used in the image.[4] The labeling process takes 7 minutes at the lowest resolution and a half hour at the highest.[4] Labelflash is backwards compatible with Yamaha's earlier DiscT@2 technology—this allows Labelflash-compatible optical drives to engrave onto the data side of discs as well.

According to Yamaha, a new iteration of Labelflash which supported four color printing was in the works[11]—however, as Labelflash support was discontinued in 2017,[10] this never came to fruition.

Reception

The technology is often compared with Hewlett-Packard's LightScribe, released one year earlier. After its release, Labelflash was not available in the United States until 2007,[12] giving HP a three-year head start in the US market. Furthermore, worldwide, proprietary Labelflash optical media costed double that of comparable LightScribe media,[10] at US$2.40 per disc,[13][14] which Tom's Hardware called an "exorbitant" price that made printing "painful" as test prints were not worth doing.[13] Commenting on the price, Engadget's Marc Perton said he'd "stick with [his] Sharpie for now."[15]

Reviewers, such as Gordon Laing for Personal Computer World, also noted that when compared to LightScribe, Labelflash images looked more "unnatural" and less "vibrant".[14]

See also

References
  1. Mueller, Scott (2013-03-07). Upgrading and Repairing PCs: Upgrading and Repairing_c21. Que Publishing. ISBN 9780133105360.
  2. Peters, Mark (2005-10-24). "FujiFilm and Yamaha LabelFlash Technology". LetsGoDigital. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  3. "YAMAHA, FUJIFILM DEVELOP LASER TECHNOLOGY TO ILLUSTRATE DVD." AsiaPulse News, 20 Oct. 2005. General OneFile. Accessed 12 Nov. 2018.
  4. "Integrator Trade Only - Hardware - DVD rewriter - NEC ND4551. Fast DVD rewriter with built-in label writer. Rating: 5 out of 5." Computer Reseller News [UK], 23 Jan. 2006, p. 38. General OneFile. Accessed 12 Nov. 2018.
  5. "First Look: Labelflash™ - Myce.com". Myce.com. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
  6. 7.0.2.8 Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "First Looks: Bargain Laptop Colossus". PC Magazine. 2007-10-02. p. 30.
  8. "First Looks Hardware: Junior 3D Gaming Rig". PC Magazine. 2008-05-01. p. 36.
  9. "News". The Official Website of Labelflash™. Yamaha, Inc. 2016-12-22. Archived from the original on 2017-02-24. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  10. East III, Raymond (2009-07-01). "LightScribe VS. Labelflash: A Disc Labeling Cold War". Belight. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
  11. Kubo, Hiroshi; Shibata, Michihiro; et al. (June 2007). "New Laser Labeling Technology for Recordable Digital Versatile Disc". Japanese Journal of Applied Physics. 46 (6B): 3926–3927. Bibcode:2007JaJAP..46.3926K. doi:10.1143/JJAP.46.3926. S2CID 120501504 – via ResearchGate.
  12. "Fujifilm Rolls Out Labelflash DVD Media to U.S. Market" Wireless News, 13 June 2007. General OneFile. Accessed 12 Nov. 2018.
  13. Moersch, Siggy (2006-02-14). "Labelflash vs LightScribe DVD/CD Labeling". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
  14. Laing, Gordon (2006-05-01). "Add style with flash labels". Personal Computer World. pp. 51, 124. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
  15. Perton, Marc (2006-02-14). "LabelFlash vs. LightScribe: Tom's goes for the burn". Engadget. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
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