Fujifilm and Yamaha introduce LabelFlash™ technology

October 20, 2005

Yamaha and Fujifilm have
officially announced LabelFlash which is a technology to labeling discs
with the burner's laser similar to HP's LightScribe technology. Yamaha and Fujifilm
describe their technology in the following way:

Labelflash™ technology
allows a consumer to burn pictures and/or write titles on the label side
of the DVD discs specially developed for the Labelflash™ system with DVD
writers with Labelflash™ function. There is no need for printers and
consumables for printing. To obtain high resolution and contrast pictures
in blue and silver color, a consumer only needs to turn the disc upside
down and insert it into the drive again after recording data. The unique
technology burns the image 0.6mm deep into the media in as little as five
minutes, creating a more stable and permanent image than traditional
printable media that uses the top layer of a disc for labeling. If this
system is applied to DVD set-top recorders, a consumer will also be able
to burn program titles and thumbnail images more easily.

The technology marries
the unique Yamaha DiscT@2 ('Tattoo") technology for picture burning on
CD-R data side with the advanced photochemical expertise of Fuji Photo
Film, which is a leading company in dye technologies for optical
media.

Although LabelFlash and
LightScribe are similar technologies there are also some major differences
between the two technologies: A LabelFlash burned disc will be in blue and
silver while current LightScribe disc have a gold-brown label side and
LabelFlash discs have an organic dye on the top of the disc at the same deep as,
0.6 mm, as the dye of a DVD while LightScribe discs have thin coating. This
limits the LabelFlash technology to DVDs while LightScribe can be used for both
DVDs and CDs.

According to Yamaha and Fujifilm
the 'picture burning time" of a LabelFlash disc will be from 5 min in fast mode
to 20 min in high quality mode. In comparison HP states that its latest dvd840
LightScribe burners need from 4 min to burn a simple title and content in draft
quality up to 29 min to burn a full label in best quality.

So
far NEC is the only drive manufacturer which has officially announced support
for LabelFlash while the ODD makers currently licensed to use LightScribe are
HLDS, Lite-On, Panasonic, Philips-BenQ, Pioneer, QSI and TSST. Based on the look
of the serial numbers on the sample LabelFlash disc in the press release it
looks like Ritek might be one of the manufacturers that
will make LabelFlash media. CMC Magnetics, MKM and MBI are currently
supporting the LightScribe technology.

Thanks to koba for submitting the news!
You can read the complete press release here.

Source: Yamaha