Hardware Review of:
CD Labelmaker 
From the February, 2000 issue of PC Alamode Magazine 

I, on the other hand, have been accused of being the Martha Stewart of computers. For me, the greatest technical innovation of the last decade was the blueberry-colored iMac. The day after I got my own CD-writer, I trotted down to the store to buy all the gadgets and supplies I needed to decorate my homemade CDs. By the time the sales clerk rang up the sale, I had spent almost as much on the accessories as on the CD-writer. Such is the price of an artistic temperament. 

All of the CD labeling kits I examined had similar components. I chose Memorex because it was the only brand Office Max had in stock the day after Christmas and I was itching to get started. 

The first item out of the box is what Memorex calls the "self centering label applicator," which I refer to as the gizmo. It’s too hard to describe, so I included a picture. After you make your label, you peel it off of the backing and carefully nudge it sticky-side-up onto the base of the gizmo. You then balance the CD on the top and push down on the spring-loaded plunger. The CD lowers itself onto the label, perfectly centered. It will still be a little lumpy, so the directions recommend using a "gentle radial motion emanating from the center of the disc’ to smooth it out. It works just as advertised, with the label perfectly centered every time. It’s sturdily built and doesn’t look like it will break unless I sit on it. Their web site claims that the elongated design makes it easier to jiggle the label onto the base without having it stick to your fingers. I’ll take their word for it. My only complaint was that the directions didn’t say which side of the CD to label. I took a wild guess that the blue side was the unlabeled side and I was right. 

The next component is the labels themselves. My biggest gripe is that even the bargain labels are expensive - $25 for 100 of them, or a quarter apiece. They come two on a sheet, which also includes a skinny little label you can use on the spine of a jewel case, and a rectangular label, about 1 ½ by 3 inches, that they call a jewel case label. The kit came with nine sheets of labels to get you started. My other complaint is that the refill labels were roughly folded in half. When I put them into my printer they flopped over at the crease, which meant that I had to feed them in one-by-one. You would have thought that Memorex could have afforded a full-sized box so the labels could have been shipped flat. 

The labels I bought are matte white. They also sell red, blue and yellow labels, glossy labels, clear labels and metallic labels. The glossies and clears are the most expensive, selling for a buck apiece in packs of 10. The metallics, in gold and silver, sound intriguing, but only work on laser printers. All of the other labels work with both laser and ink jet printers. The instructions warn that if you use the clear labels in an ink jet you should switch the printer to the transparency setting and let them dry for several hours. 

They also sell jewel case inserts, $10 for 25. This is basically perforated cardstock with two little scored ends to wrap around the edges of the CD and another square to slide into the front cover. I can buy a 100-sheet ream of cardstock for less than $5, so even I balked at that expense. I can add the little folds myself and slice them down with my paper cutter. And I did. 

Finally, you get software. The enclosed CD contains templates that you can use in many programs, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Pagemaker, QuarkExpress, Freehand, Corel Draw and Word, in both PC and Mac formats. I tried using the Photoshop and Pagemaker templates with little success. There were no instructions that explained how to use them and the process was over my head.  I messed around with the Photoshop and Pagemaker templates for about an hour and although I jury-rigged something that looked marginally adequate on the screen, I could not get it to align properly on the printed labels. 

They also provide their own design program, CD Labelmaker, which is only available in a Windows 95/98/NT version. The manual (which was buried deep in the CD) was terrible. After reading it twice, I still had no idea how the program worked and my frustration level had reached the point where I was ready to cart the whole kit and caboodle back to the store and ask for a refund. After I calmed down I figured it out, and it proved to be a handy little program. 

The program starts out with a screen that contains the label template. In addition to templates for CDs, it also includes ones for Zip and Jaz disks, 3.5" floppies, VHS and audio cassettes, MiniDiscs and jewel case inserts. You can then add a picture, color or gradient fill and apply a special effects (twirl, water, color deformation, rotations and shape distortions.)  Oddly, the one thing you can’t do is crop a photo, which is the first thing I needed to do. You can add text, color, manipulate and distort it. 

The program is quirky – every time I selected text it changed the font, size and color without asking permission. Although the template is for a sheet of two labels, you have to design each one separately (I finally figured out how to design the first label, select all of its components, group them, copy and then paste them carefully into the second half of the template.) Another thing they didn’t explain is that your background photo slops over the edges of the template and the overflow is masked in the printing; I wasted lots of time trying to make a circular background that would fit neatly into the template. 

My first label, if I do say so myself, was stunning, but I have a lot of experience using numerous graphics programs. If you are a novice, this program will confuse and frustrate you. 

The basic kit price of $30 is outrageous, although comparable to other similar products. Memorex should consider following the lead of the printer manufacturers, who sell the printers at absurdly low prices and make their money on the refills. The labels are also overpriced: they cost as much as the jewel cases do but don’t cost nearly as much to manufacture. The software and templates need better documentation, and perhaps a step-by-step tutorial. 

CD labeler kit and refills are available at numerous San Antonio locations, including CompUSA, Office Max, Office Deport and Best Buy. Expect to pay full retail price, if not more. Because I was impatient, I actually paid $5 above the MSRP for the refill box of labels. 

Memorex has a web site, at www.memorex.com. The three competing products are 

• Neato 
• CD Stomper
• Stickit Right