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For anyone who wants to safely label newly burned discs, the task remains a chore. With the introduction of the Hewlett-Packard Development Company's LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling technology two years ago, however, disc labeling got a little bit easier. Now, the technology--as well as the tools to use it--is maturing. Kent Henscheid, HP's LightScribe marketing manager, gave me some insights into what users can expect from the technology in the next six months.

LightScribe's approach starts with the drive itself. LightScribe-enabled drives can etch a label into specially coated CDs and DVDs, employing the same laser that burns data to a disc (just using the laser at a lower power).

Since LightScribe debuted, HP has attained a critical mass of licensees for its technology, with many of today's drive makers--including Hewlett-Packard, LG Electronics, Lite-On, Memorex, and Samsung--offering LightScribe support. This is not to say that every drive maker offers a LightScribe drive; notably, Plextor and Sony remain holdouts.

And these days LightScribe-specific media is more plentiful, and more popular, too. According to one major vendor, LightScribe-media sales are up from last year, by over 50 percent--this in spite of the fact that the price for LightScribe discs is about twice the cost of standard CD-Rs and DVD-Rs (typically LightScribe discs are sold on a 25-disc spindle and standard discs are on a 50-disc spindle).

Media vendors credit last year's LightScribe speed enhancement with increasing the technology's popularity. Improved media formulations (version 1.2), combined with new drive firmware, have helped reduce the write times for creating a full-coverage LightScribe label from about 35 minutes to 21 minutes, according to media manufacturer Verbatim.

LightScribe: Next on Deck

At launch, LightScribe was monochromatic. Though that hasn't changed, now you do have a choice as to the color of the disc's labeled surface. Late in 2006 color-background CD-Rs were introduced, and given how popular it is to choose your iPod's hue, it comes as little surprise that color LightScribe discs have been doing well. So well, in fact, that "the colors are pulling up even with the standard gold-background CDs," Henscheid reports.

"Now, we're working with our development partners to deliver color-background DVDs. It's an important complement [to the CDs]." He declines to specify when consumers might see color DVDs, beyond saying that they would arrive later this year. At least one media vendor I talked to agreed with this estimate.

Labels in a Flash

Speed is the focus of another big push from the LightScribe founders. The obvious approach--speeding up the label writing itself--will require some research. "We're working on both the media and the drives to look at ways to improve the performance," says Henscheid. "We're looking at altering the components of the system, [to get] higher-powered laser performance. [Today's] lasers in the drive provide limited output."

In the meantime, the LightScribe group has released a utility on its Web site that makes simple labels faster. "Our design goal was to let you deliver a label in under 3 minutes," explains Henscheid.

The new Simple Labeler utility is a free download from LightScribe's Web site. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems, the tool is designed to take the hassle out of labeling: Just enter the title and subtitle, pick a background, and go. The tool makes LightScribe an even more attractive option than scribbling a label with a Sharpie.

Whether you're creatively challenged or you merely need a label in a hurry, templates can help. In addition to the label tool, the LightScribe site has a slew of free downloadable templates.

Meanwhile, the LightScribe group is working on the next generation of DVD technology, HD DVD and Blu-ray. Just don't hold your breath. "We are working with the HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc technology developers," says Henscheid. "We see that as a ways off, though, before it takes hold in the marketplace. It's still a relatively expensive technology.

"But in time, when those technologies really take hold with users, we intend to fully support them."