What are the best CD-Rs to buy?
CD-Rs have a metal reflective layer that is essential for the disc to function. The best reflective layer material is gold because it is chemically inert – meaning it will not react and degrade as other metals might. The second best layer is silver, which is more reactive chemically, but generally cheaper and currently more widely available. Mitsui, HHB, Apogee and Quantegy, among others, make discs containing gold. Your first choice for a dye layer should be phthalocyanine, a light-green compound that is very stable in the presence of heat and light. Other dyes that are used, such as cyanine and azo dyes, are less stable. There are many manufacturers currently using the phthalocyanine dye in their discs. Discs with a phthalocyanine dye appear gold through the base (non-label side) when a gold metal reflective layer is present or very light green when a silver metal reflective layer is used. Discs with other dyes have a blue or green or bluish-green appearance. The metal layer in a CD
