Terminology Roundup: DVD and CD formats

terminology-roundup-dvd-and-cd-formats

When writing my last article, I was searching for a good link to printable DVDs. I noticed that they came in both DVD-R and DVD+R variations, and realized that despite having seen both terms before, I was unclear on the difference. In the event that you feel the same way, I’ve compiled the results of my research here.

DVD-R is the first recordable DVD format, developed by Pioneer in 1997. It is officially recognized by the DVD Forum, an international organization composed of hardware, software, media and content companies that use and develop the DVD and HD DVD formats. The Forum was initially known as the DVD Consortium when it was founded in 1995.

DVD+R was developed in 2002 by a competing collection of companies, which was known after-the-fact as The DVD+RW Alliance. DVD+R was made a direct competitor to DVD-R, which caused the DVD Forum to not recognize it as an official format until January of 2008.

Here’s where it gets weird: the differences between the two formats are highly technical and mostly negligible. The main difference is an incredibly small difference in how much each disc can hold, measured in GiB, or Gibibytes (a shortening of “giga binary byte”), with DVD-R claiming 4.38 GiB and DVD+R offering 4.377 GiB. Hardly a difference that matters to the average consumer. Other small differences include the way data is archived on each disc, with each format offering slightly different technology which is, again, basically invisible to the traditional user.

Since combination drives that burn and read both formats have been commercially available for years now, there is not much reason to choose one over another. DVD-R has been around longer, so if you are burning a disc and are unsure of who will be playing it, DVD-R may be the best choice as it will work in older drives (both computer and home video player) than DVD+R will. Other than that, it’s simply a case of two competing companies offering a product and the industry never setting a standard. If you’re working on a highly technical project, find out the technical details and choose the one that best suits your needs. Otherwise, either should be fine.

It’s important to note that CDs do not suffer from the same problem of nomenclature, and one CD-R will be comparable to the next. There is no such thing as a CD+R, as far as I can figure out.

The addition of RW to any of these brands (including CD-RW) means that the disc is re-writable and can be burned over with new data more than once, while regular CD-R and DVD-R (or +R) discs are write-once and need to be “finalized” (meaning no more data can be added) before they will work in most players.

Hopefully this breakdown shed a little light on an otherwise baffling subject. It was interesting to learn about the history of these products and I’ll continue to demystify office and tech terms in the future.

How-to: Customize CDs and DVDs

One of the coolest trends to come about in the digital, computer-driven age of office products is the ability to personalize your media. No longer content with just writing “Presentations” or “Office Jams ‘09” on our discs with a Sharpie, true connoisseurs of personalized media now have a wealth of options to choose from. Let’s take a look at the various levels available.

Printed Labels

The most cost-friendly and accessible level of labeling discs, the printable label comes in a variety of formats. These labels come in a pack like standard printer paper, and are available in glossy, matte or even clear varieties. Simply choose a brand of label, download the free template for use in your graphics editor of choice, and choose your design. Since you’re printing directly on a self-adhesive label just as you would print any other document, the sky is the limit in terms of color and design.

There are plenty of freeware label creation programs out there, as well
as templates for Photoshop and other image programs.

As far as application goes, if you feel you don’t have a steady enough hand to line up the label yourself, there’s a really cool product called the Stomper: just lay your label down sticky-side up, put a disc upside-down on the top peg, and press down. Presto! Perfectly applied labels every time. I have one of these and I have to say when I got it I had what could be described as a potentially inappropriate amount of fun labeling every homemade disc I own.

The only real downside to printable labels is permanence; if the disc is handled frequently or will need to be accessed for a long period of time, there’s the chance that the label will start to curl or peel up off the disc. Since the cost is so low per label, though, it’s easy to just print off a replacement for a frequently-used disc.

Printable Discs

Taking the idea of a printable label one step further, it is also possible to buy special discs which have been prepared specifically to be printed on. Since you are printing directly onto the disc itself, there’s no worry of the label peeling off, and you still get the same range of color and design choices. Since there’s no flexibility in the disc, you may notice some “pass lines” from your printer; color gradients and edges can get a little fuzzy, so simple designs are usually the best.

The downside to printing directly onto a disc is the fact that you need a printer capable of doing it, but any modern office printer worth its salt should have this option, so you’re probably not in any trouble there. If it turns out your home or office budget doesn’t allow for purchasing special hardware, there’s always the perfectly acceptable option of printing your own labels as described above.

Lightscribe

Speaking of special hardware, one of the coolest innovations I’ve seen in a while is Lightscribe. Here, instead of using a standalone printer to print with ink on a disc, the Lightscribe drive uses the same laser to burn both your media and your design onto a specially-prepared disc. After the disc is finished burning, you take it out, flip it over, and put it back in the drive to have the top etched with whatever design you want. Special chemicals on the disc are darkened by the laser, providing a near-permanent design without using any of your precious printer ink.

The downside to Lightscribe is that the designs are monochromatic, since you are not using ink. The process is similar to woodburning or any other etching; you end up with a light grey design on a solid color background (usually gold, though silver and other color options are sometimes available). The cool thing is that Lightscribe drives work with the special discs to map your design’s location, so you can give multiple passes to darken the disc or even add on to the design later without worrying that it will come out crooked.

So there you have it! A couple of simple options to help you customize one of the most commonly used items in any office: the humble burned disc. In an age where data is increasingly passed around via USB stick or memory card, it’s possible that the burned CD or DVD is on its way out the door (which makes me feel old; remember when we were saying that about floppy disks?), but in the meantime, don’t be afraid to dress up your discs before handing them out. It will add an air of fun or professionalism to an otherwise blank canvas.

How-to: Be the best candidate for a job

It’s a fact: lots of people are looking for work right now. The economy isn’t doing so hot and a potential employee needs to do everything they can to separate themselves from the (increasingly growing) pool of applicants. Luckily, with the right equipment and a little gusto, it’s easy to make yourself the stand-out choice during a job search. Here are some helpful tips:

The Resume
Your resume and cover letter are most likely going to be the first thing a potential employer sees of you, and likely the last thing left on file after your interview has come and gone. Employers will look at it and see if they even want to meet you, and after they have, they’ll look to it for reminders of why they thought it was a good idea in the first place. It’s your first line of defense in the war on unemployment, and too few resume writers take it seriously enough.

Your first step is obviously compiling your list. Every resume will use some standard elements: skills list, job history, education experience, and so on. How you present these skills needs to be tailored to the job you’re seeking, and there are plenty of resources online to help with that. Here is a list of ten resume writing tips that I’ve always found really helpful. Look around a bit and you’ll find no shortage of other lists that will help you craft a resume that’s perfect for the job you’re seeking.

Now here’s the part that a lot of people don’t think about in this digital age: how your resume is printed. A lot of the time you’ll be able to get by sending your resume through email, but if a job requires a printed resume, think of it as a bonus: you get the chance to make it stand out that much further. I’ve always been a fan of Southworth Credentials Linen Paper because it’s got a rich, natural feel and it’s slightly heavier than standard printer paper. Anything that can give your resume some tone and a little extra heft (look for something higher than 20lb. paper, the linen linked above is 24lb., for example) will make it that much harder to overlook in a stack of identical inkjet copies. Granite is also a good choice for resumes, as it has a bit of slate coloring to make for a rich, professional appearance.

Business Cards
On the subject of printing, one of the things a lot of people overlook is the idea of making your own business card. Most individuals aren’t willing to shell out the high startup costs of having silkscreened business cards made, considering that any time the information on the card changes (address, phone number, etc.) an entire new set of cards needs to be made, complete with new startup costs.

Thankfully, companies like Avery (one of the biggest names in do-it-yourself labels) produce high-quality printable business card stock that allows anyone to print up professional-looking cards for a fraction of the price of pre-mades. I first learned of this when I made some cards with the dubious title of “freelance journalist”, but let me tell you, when “freelance” means “unemployed and broke”, it was cool being the only one in the room with a business card.

Just recently in fact, my boss found himself en route to a trade show and realized he didn’t have any business cards. Whereas a re-order from a major supplier might take weeks, he was able to sit down with a .pdf template and print himself off a stack before leaving the house. And in my opinion, the best part is the freedom self-printing can offer. I’ve known art students who recreated classic paintings on their business cards, theater folks who put full-color headshots in the corner, and lots of other equally amazing designs that were printed for the price of ink. Plus, you can print off a run of black-and-white basic cards to drop in fishbowls to try to win free sandwiches. Any product that comes with the potential to get me a free sandwich is A-okay in my book.

Envelopes and Address Labels
Once again, this is something that seems to have gone by the wayside in this digital age, but a hard-copy follow-up letter can go a long way to cementing yourself in your future employer’s mind as someone who is serious about the position. Even if your letter is basically a dressed-up version of “thank you for your time”, receiving actual correspondence from you after the interview is a way of letting them know you appreciate the opportunity and look forward to hearing back from them. Again, style goes a long way.

Use the same kind of high-quality paper you used for your resume, and pick up some matching envelopes to make sure your letter stands out from the junk mail. Next, you have another opportunity for creativity to shine through: custom address labels.

Once again Avery steps up the plate with a whole line of DIY products. If you just want to use a nice font and keep it simple, I’d go with the clear labels to let the quality of your envelope shine through. Or, you can pick up some opaque labels and do a little graphic design to make your return address really stand out. Tie it in with your business card and you’ve got a cohesive package that tells the job world that you’re a professional, or at least an accomplished amateur with all their affairs in order.

Lastly, and this may seem silly coming from a blog about office supplies: keep your chin up. Times are tough all over and lots of people are getting desperate for a job. And while it may seem like someone who is literally begging for work would be appealing to an employer, it’s much more important to have confidence in your abilities and skills, and showcase that in your interactions with your future boss. Play it cool and stand on your own merits, and you’ll be fine. Good luck, I wish you all the best.

Choosing a replacement office chair caster

Let me get this out of the way: I hate my chair. It’s a bargain-bin piece of junk that I got from one of the big chain department stores, and I’m pretty much marking time until I can afford the upgrade to something a little nicer. In the meantime, I make do. My chair does everything I need from a chair: it lets me sit on it, and it rolls along the floor. Until today.

I’ve been having a rough roll lately when I get up from my desk, and today one of the casters hard-locked on me and the chair almost flipped over. After prying it out, I realize it’s got a huge knot of carpet fuzz, cat hair, and who knows what else in there from years of use. It’s new caster time.

Unfortunately, I’m nowhere near the place I bought the chair originally, and the manufacturer’s site was no help. I know I can get replacements online, but I wasn’t sure what kind I needed. After some quick googling, I found a blurry chart. Yikes. I understand that all the information I might need is in there somewhere, but I wasn’t about to put myself through eyestrain just to figure out how to order a plastic wheel, and neither should you. So I’ve put together a handy guide to ordering a replacement caster. For the most part, the search boils down to answering two simple questions:

How big is the original caster?

For a replacement caster, the most important things to know are the length and diameter of the “stem” (the part that sticks into the chair). Grab a ruler, yank out the offending caster, and measure like so:

How to Measure Office Chair Casters Infograph

In my case, the stem was 1 inch long by 3/8ths of an inch in diameter, making it a “K” class stem (some manufacturers use these letter codes, but knowing the length and diameter is really the important part.) Also, whether your stem has a flat or a round head doesn’t really matter; as long as the measurements are right the caster will fit. The next question determines the material the wheel should be made of:

What kind of floor will the caster be used on?

In my case, I’m currently on hardwood floors. For hard surfaces like wood, chairs mats, tile or linoleum, a soft wheel is recommended. Hard wheels should be used on soft surfaces, like carpet. Just like any other wheel, really. Think about it: soft rubber car tires for the hard concrete road, but hard plastic tires on your lawnmower for moving over soft dirt and grass. But I digress. By plugging the length, diameter, and floor type into the “Narrow your Results” column on the casters page at OnTimeSupplies.com, I found the best match for me would be these Doublewheel Nylon Casters from Master Casters. They come in a set of five so I can either replace the whole chair’s worth (and have one left over!) or replace the bad one and keep the rest in reserve for the day the other wheels inevitably lock up on me. Not too shabby, and it beats replacing the whole chair.

So there you have it. Proof once again that shopping for office supplies and equipment doesn’t need to be a hassle. Something as simple as finding a new caster was turning into a pretty hair-pulling exercise, and hopefully the above guide will spare a few shoppers that grief.