Whatever happened to green pens?
Very popular many years ago, painting green ink around the circumferential edge of CDs reputably helped to hold the laser light in and increase accuracy. Did they really work and does anyone still use them? Or have they been debunked? What current trend wil be similarly be debunked in the future?
I thought it was supposed to be blue pens. Ah, a whole new argument and you heard it here first, green vs blue and permanent marker vs wipe off felt tip. The possibilities are endless if you have a spare hour or two and have totally and utterly run out of things to do 
If you can find a yellow pen,
and a blue pen,
...
I've lost the will to live...
try this - it bevels the edges of your cds and colours them - apparantley they have been making them the wrong shape for years
matengawhat:try this - it bevels the edges of your cds and colours them - apparantley they have been making them the wrong shape for years
Had to be an RA device, of course - the Arthur Daley of the HiFi world, that man!
What about freezing CDs? There was a craze for that just after the green pen period. And, just in case a certain person is reading this, I can supply CD freezers at rock bottom prices. There's also a deluxe model which will fit both cd player and amplifier, will specially insulated holes for the speaker wire.
matengawhat:try this - it bevels the edges of your cds and colours them - apparantley they have been making them the wrong shape for years
Quite cheap too.
I liked the bit when it says the beveling works well in conjuction with using Reveel, Relees and the Statmat. Hopefully at the next big hifi show there will be a before and after demo of such CDs.
A friend was going to take a whole load of games to the shop Game to restore. His kids had scratched them with constant use. It was going to cost £3 a disc. After a suggestion he polished them with t-cut and has saved himself a lot of money.
The best CD treatment is to handle them as if they were vinyl albums and put them back in their boxes. Anything else is for those who don't care for their collection.
i wonder how many of these they have ever sold and not had returned - think i could do a hell of a lot of cds in 14 days!!!
matengawhat:i wonder how many of these they have ever sold and not had returned - think i could do a hell of a lot of cds in 14 days!!!
None, and why would you bother anyway? Freezing CDs is much easier, and will give exactly the same sonic benefits!ÿ
I knew it was not green! It is violet, black or blue. Look here for the definitive guide to not only colouring in your CDs, but also cassettes, minidiscs and vinyl.
Wasn't there a theory also that different coloured vinyl affected the sonic characteristics of records, and that black was proven to be the best?ÿ
Kevin Stephens:Very popular many years ago, painting green ink around the circumferential edge of CDs reputably helped to hold the laser light in and increase accuracy. Did they really work and does anyone still use them?
I greened my CD's because I proved to myself that it did indeed work.
Myself and a friend conducted blind listening tests with two identical CD's, one treated with green (Laserway) pen, the other left untreated. We could both pick out the treated CD without fail, every time! Sound quality was definitely improved.
I only used to treat the outer edge and not bother with the inner, as the paint would always wear off over time as the CD is placed on the hub.
I remember seeing an extreme case in the hi-fi press many years ago, someone had actually painted the whole of the inside of their Naim CD player's drawer compartment green!
BTW, the colour is green for treating CD because the colour of the laser that reads CD is red,
green is the negative colour of red!
If anyone can source somewhere to obtain these laserway green pens, please let it be known.
from memory as long as you bought a green opaque marker you were ok - but needs to be opaque not just any pen - try art shops will be a lot cheaper
I tried to get a green pen a few months back, no luck.
Maybe they need green ink to keep the grass green instead.