- When they first appeared in the late 1980s, CDs were
hailed as an almost indestructible form of storing music.
-
- But to the dismay of rock fans, recordings by artists
such as Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Pink Floyd have begun to suffer
from CD rot.
-
- Music fans may not notice at first when little red spots
and scratches start appearing at the edge of the shiny discs.
-
- But when they try to listen to their favourite album
they will find the CD skips, jumps or is completely unplayable.
-
- "I donít understand how plastic and metal
can rot," said Sarah Hopkin of Edinburgh, who said she was disappointed
to hear that her extensive CD collection may not last forever.
-
- "I remember when CDs first came out, Tomorrowís
World said they were indestructible and you could cover them in jam. Now
it seems thatís not true.
-
- "I still listen to vinyl and I still buy tapes but
Iím very surprised to find out my CD collection might start rotting."
-
- CD rot occurs when the wrong type of lacquer has been
used on the printed side of the disc, or the lacquer has been incorrectly
applied. Over time the lacquer reacts with the ink on the printed sleeve
and begins to corrode.
-
- According to industry experts, CD rot, also called CD
bronzing, is most common on discs made in the late Eighties. Because a
certain lacquer used in the label reacts to the chemicals in the disc booklet,
some CDs made at this time are subject to oxidisation, which causes aluminium
erosion.
-
- Those who were among the first to buy CDs are now discovering
that their supposedly indestructible silver discs have now become unplayable.
-
- Among the problem discs are recordings by Big Audio Dynamite,
Julian Cope, Laurie Anderson and Gary Numan. A number of classical recordings
are also believed to be affected.
-
- "I have had this with one or two of my own CDs,"
said Tim Keppie, of Hogs Head Records in Edinburgh. "It only seems
to affect the ones which were made 15 to 20 years ago.
-
- "Most of the CDs made nowadays are OK, but you have
to take care of them. You have to treat them the way you treat a record."
-
- Although industry sources claim it is an isolated problem,
the experience of one American music fan suggests that CD rot may be more
widespread than originally believed.
-
- Dan Koster, a web designer, said that about 15 per cent
of his 2,000-strong collection has begun to exhibit some degree of rot.
-
- He uncovered the problem when he held a CD which was
skipping badly up to the light, and realised the aluminium layer had become
perforated.
-
- "I was kind of shocked to see a constellation of
pinpricks, little points where the light was coming through the aluminium
layer," he told the Washington Post.
-
- "We were all told that CDs were well-nigh indestructible
when they were introduced in the mid-Eighties. Companies used that in part
to justify the higher price of CDs as well."
-
- Manufacturers say the discs are built to last 50 to 100
years, but as they were only invented in the 1980s nobody is really sure
how long recorded data will last.
-
- Most industry specialists still believe CDs are a good
way of storing music and that with proper handling they should last well.
-
- Jerry Hartke, who runs a CD-testing laboratory, said
a lot of problems were caused by bad handling, which scratches the thin
layer of lacquer on the printed side of the CD.
-
- "If people treat these discs rather harshly, or
stack them, or allow them to rub against each other, this very fragile
protective layer can be disturbed, allowing the atmosphere to interact
with that aluminium."
-
- Mark Lawson, European director of DivXNetworks, said
to be on the safe side music lovers should create back-up copies of their
favourite albums. "Although designed to last, DVDs and CDs can get
damaged very easily," he said. "Just as people used to tape their
vinyl record collections, people should be allowed to back up their DVDs."
-
- ©2004 Scotsman.com http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=553612004&20040515054945
-
|
