How to Laser Engrave CDs

You don't have to be stuck with plain-looking CDs anymore.

At the turn of the millennium, the next big thing in computers was being able to create your own CDs at home. Now, we are able to do not just that, but engrave our own custom label on the front of those CDs. Hewlett-Packard (HP) pioneered a technology called LightScribe that uses a special laser to "burn" an image into a light-sensitive disc. These discs come in a variety of colors and, in 2010, are roughly twice the price of a standard CD.

A computer with a LightScribe enabled CD-R/RW drive is required to laser engrave CDs. You can tell if your computer has a LightScribe CD drive by looking for the LightScribe logo on the front of the CD-ROM drive .

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• LightScribe CD burner
• LightScribe Template Labeler software

1. Power on your computer and insert a LightScribe CD, colored side down.

   LightScribe CDs aren't the normal variety of CD. The colored side of the disc is actually etched by the LightScribe CD drive's laser, which eventually becomes your custom label. The LightScribe drive is not able to etch anything onto the top of a standard CD, you must buy LightScribe discs.

2. Open the LightScribe Template Labeler. If you don't currently have this software installed on your computer, get it from the download section of the LightScribe.com website.

3. Select the template you wish to engrave on your CD. You can narrow your options by clicking the drop down menu in the templates section and selecting from the categories provided. If you do not like the templates provided by default, you can download additional templates by clicking on "Get More Templates" above the drop down menu. Clicking "Get More Templates will take you to an online portal where you can select from a wide variety of templates available for download.

4. Add individual images, if you wish. These images can be in the form of clip art provided by the program or your own photos stored on your computer. Click on "Open" in the "Image Item" panel on the screen. You may resize your image(s) by dragging the corners of the image with your mouse. Reposition your images by clicking one the center of the image and dragging it to the desired area of the label.

5. Preview the label to be sure it is what you want. Once the image is engraved on the CD, it cannot be altered or undone.

6. Click "Print" on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. This will begin the laser engraving process and produce your custom label.

Tips & Warnings

• If your computer doesn't have a LightScribe burner pre-installed, you can purchase one from an electronics or computer retailer. In 2010, the cost ranged from $30 to $100.

References

• LightScribe.com: Getting Started

Resources

• LightScribe Template Labeler