I have about 8 DVD-Rs (not boots) I've made that I need to write the contents on

is a plain magic marker safe?

Yup. I just use a extra fine point sharpie all the time...never had a problem.

by the way...I love the (not boots) defense... I've got plenty of stuff I've recorded off TV and backed up from old out of print vhs (the State!)...so no sweat, even if it was a boot.

cool

I was thinking the ink might cause some damage

You'll be fine with Sharpies.

Definately avoid ball point pens or anything that can "etch".

Sharpies are the way to go. I use black for VHS dubs and red for TV recordings.

I Agree, Sharpies are the best... I've been using them since I got my DVDR three years ago...

For some reason, I'm reminded of this thread.

Oh, and BTW....Sharpie!

I've always have been afraid of the corosive effect of Sharpies, so I only write in the clear middle ring around the hole. Sharpie does make a special marker for writing on CD/DVDs though.

Been using a fine point sharpies for years. No problems!

I recently rented Little Manhattan from the library and "someone" had written a Library code numbers on one side of the disc. Well, the disc is a flipper, one side full screen and the other widescreen with a deleted scenes, the writing made the disc unreadable for my dvd player and I couldn't watch the deleted scenes - ugh! that made me mad.

Someone actually wrote on the data side of the disc? Wow, you'd have to be pretty damn stupid to do that. I've never even seen that at Blockbuster, and they do some incredibly stupid shit.

Just be seeing the writing on the data side of the disc, I would be scared to put that in my DVD player...

This is what you get when you start dropping the MLS requirement.

I use Sharpie CD markers.

Sharpies are fine...I've heard after a long time the ink can damage the disc but by that time a new format would be out anyways and it wouldn't matter.

Have you ever wondered why the markers that don't do this are called "Sharpies"?

Not that I want to be responsible for something bad happening to your discs, but unlike CD-Rs, DVD-R discs have a protective polymer layer on BOTH sides of the reflective layer. With a CD-R, the label side is actually the reverse side of the reflective layer, but with a DVD, the reflective layer is sandwiched between two clear polymer discs, even if the disc isn't double-sided.

And as far as the writing on the disc goes, it is pretty damn stupid, but if you use something that's safe for plastics (like Goo-Gone), you should be able to clean off the writing and play that side of the disc again. Of course if it's permanent ink, anything strong enough to dissolve the ink might be bad for the disc itself. It's worth a try, though.

Now if this is just something you've checked out from the library instead of buying, just let them know about it and let them deal with it.

Get a green marker so you can also write around the edge for better sound quality.

I use those TDK CD Markers.

FWIW, isopropyl alcohol will remove Sharpie ink from the disc surface pretty easily if you ever need to "erase" something you've written.

Ah, now THERE's a blast from the past.