PERMANENCE OF KODAK WRITABLE CD MEDIA WITH INFOGUARD PROTECTION SYSTEM

As new applications for writable CD products are identified and
implemented, the issue of permanence of information recorded on CDs must
be addressed. As with other information-recording media, including
photographic film, magnetic tape, and optical discs, different
manufacturers produce products having different quality, reliability, and
lifetime properties. It is important that customers carefully select their
suppliers.

Kodak manufactures Kodak writable CD media with InfoGuard protection system
using different materials and manufacturing processes than are used for
mass produced audio or data discs. The reflector Kodak uses is gold, a
material that is not adversely affected by moisture, oxygen, or solvents.
The data-recording layer Kodak uses is a carefully selected
laser-sensitive dye that does not change significantly over time, even
when exposed to extreme light, heat, and humidity conditions.

Kodak knows there are wide variations in composition of the dye layers used
by various media manufacturers. Information stability characteristics in
other manufacturers' media vary widely and can be linked to different
types of dyes used in their discs. In our testing, we observe no
significant changes in any performance characteristics of Kodak writable
CD media with InfoGuard protection system after 32 days of continuous
exposure to 50 Klux of simulated daylight (sunlight filtered through
window glass). This corresponds to more than 100 years of exposure to
indirect indoor sunlight. Indoor indirect sunlight is what a disc
experiences when left on a desk or shelf in a well-windowed room.

Similar results were obtained in our tests for discs exposed to high
temperature (up to 176 degrees F/80 degrees C) and high humidity (up to
85%).

It is not possible to accurately predict an expected data lifetime based on
these results because the changes we observe are so small, even after
prolonged testing. It is reasonable to expect a life of 30 years or more
when discs are stored in normal home or office conditions. We are
continuing our testing, covering many production lots of material, under
many different testing conditions. Additional results will be reported
when testing is completed. It is important to note that any accelerated
tests are predictions that must be confirmed in real-life keeping tests.

Kodak writable CD media with InfoGuard protection system also has been
specially treated to minimize damage caused by handling. Our scratch
tolerant surface resists damage even when subjected to forces twice as
great as those that would cause data loss on conventional CDs and five
times greater than those that would cause data loss on some other
recordable CD media. This results in a product with excellent physical
durability.

Eastman Kodak Company, 343 State St, Rochester, NY 14650

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