Optical Discs- (Part 2 of 3)
As most of you are well aware of, all optical discs, need a little TLC when it comes to handling. Even the smallest scratch can cause significant amounts of data loss. There are a variety of sources that can lead to the damage of discs. The first one to mention are those lovely little scratches that interfere with the light path that makes it difficult to read optically. These scratches or surface deposits can cause skipping or a track to repeat itself. Even fingerprints can cause surface damage that is irreversible. Certain inks that are typically used for printing on the surface, mostly for labels, can ruin or corrode the plastic or lacquer layer and sometimes even the metal layer. The last thing to keep in mind, which is easy to forget or to even think about, is the effect that humidity and temperature can have which causes degradation. Next week we will give some pointers on how to clean discs and how to protect your optical discs from further damage.