OT: Anybody have experience with Falcon CD/DVD?

riredale wrote on 6/10/2013, 3:31 PM
For years I've used TY Watershield for CD projects and Verbatim AquaAce for DVD-R needs. Both give a nice glossy non-smear finish. But both have been frustrating in that solid blacks start out black but then fade to a dark slate shade after several days. Or at least that's my result using Canon inks in an IP3000 printer (CMYK).

Now I've heard of a new player, Falcon. Their "SmartGuard" surface is apparently just like WaterShield but their claim is that blacks stay black. Fine, but how good are the disks for burning?

Comments

vtxrocketeer wrote on 6/10/2013, 3:46 PM
I use Falcon. You cannot buy better. I've not made a single coaster, and none of my customers has any playback problems.

BTW, I print directly to disc and the prints on Falcon + SmartGuard are just spectacular. I print on an Epson Stylus Photo R2000 -- a bit spendy, but it also produces outstanding prints.

Yes, Falcon media costs a bit more, but I do not argue with 100% success.
videoITguy wrote on 6/10/2013, 4:03 PM
Check the media ID of your Falcon shipped discs on a regular basis to see who is currently manufacturing them from time to time.
Arthur.S wrote on 6/11/2013, 4:13 AM
Been using Falcon DVD+DL for a while. After this
I'll be moving to Falcon BD-R too.
riredale wrote on 6/14/2013, 7:10 PM
Just a heads-up on the media.

I received two Falcoln cakeboxes today, one with 16x DVD-R media and the other one with CD-R. Both have the "Smart Guard" waterproof gloss coating.

First test: printing. I ran a DVD-R through my IP3000 printer twice (which is what was needed to saturate the black on TY and Verbatim media), and the disk looked pretty wet, so next time I'll cut back. It's only been a couple of hours so I can't draw any conclusions about black fade; so far the blacks look very dark but we'll see after a few days. So as of now it looks like SmartGuard produces blacks like AquaAce (Verbatim) on DVD-R and much darker than WaterShield (TY) on CD-R.

I then burned a nearly-full disk (~4.3GB) at 16x on an NEC 3550A burner and ran a quality test. Here's the result. Pretty darn good, though of course it says nothing of the long-term reliability.

EDIT: The fact that this same gloss coating can be had on a DVD+R DL is a real bonus, since until now I've used the gold standard Verbatims for DL stuff. Alas, the Verbatims only come with a matte-white coating. Assuming, that is, that the Falcon DL is as good as Verbatim DL.
John_Cline wrote on 6/14/2013, 8:00 PM
What is the Media ID on the Falcon discs? Who made them?
videoITguy wrote on 6/14/2013, 8:19 PM
Riredale - a couple of things-
Always run your Nero quality test at a standard spin of 4X rate - I have no idea how you pushed your test data reading at a weird "5x?" value.

Always run this test 3 different consecutive times with a PC reboot between each test of one single burned disc of the media of your choice.
Average the value of 3 differents runs in an (Excel data ?) table and post us the results of the averages of the data values.
Always post the media ID - get the code of that from the DVD disc info dialogue box with the value...your quality box dialogue only has a shortened reference to this.

Thanks
riredale wrote on 6/14/2013, 8:30 PM
John, on the Nero test image shown the ID shows up as "TTY02," which I understand is TDK. The label on the side of the cake boxes shows the origin as "UAE," which I assume is the United Arab Emirates!?

As for the 5x scan rate, my understanding is that the Nero program reads the disk and lists the embedded burn speeds. It's a disk thing.

Both top and bottom surfaces look flawless to the naked eye.
videoITguy wrote on 6/14/2013, 8:56 PM
Your TTY02 could well be Taiyo Yuden/JVC. You may be right that the disk is read by compatible burn speeds offered by the manufacturing of the disk. But I have never seen a "5X". valued. Generally the disks are made in multiples of 2X - hence 4x, 6x, 8x, 16x. If a disk is made to tolerate only 8x, 16x compatibility - then it might not be possible to set the 4X test.

BUT I doubt this is the case, the value of the read spead test does NOT come from disk ID, but rather the interaction of the DVD-ROM /Writer firmware with the installed version of the Nero speed test dialogue.
Arthur.S wrote on 6/15/2013, 3:17 AM
My older LG BD/DVD burner will only burn the Falcon DVD+DL at 2.4. Imgburn reports that's all the firmware will allow. My newer Pioneer burner will burn them at 8X but I stick with 4X.