CD-Recorders, and the blank disks they use, are now so cheap that many people can afford to create their own CDs. Whether for backup, archiving, music-making or software piracy, the volume of 'gold' CDs in circulation is rising. One problem with this situation is that you have to be very careful when labelling CDs. They can be written on using water-based felt-tipped pens, but if you want to apply an actual paper label, there are plenty of pitfalls. Using the wrong kind of label can remove the substrate from the CD, while if the label is not perfectly centred on the disk it can cause vibration in CDROM drives, which will usually lead to read errors.

This PressIT package makes CD labelling easy. Using either the DesignExpress software included in the box, or the templates for popular PC and Macintosh applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, QuarkXpress, Pagemaker, CorelDraw! and even Microsoft Word, the user creates his or her circular label using text, graphics and, if required, some of the supplied clip-art. Then it's simply a case of printing these designs, using an inkjet or laser printer, onto the supplied labels. There are two labels per A4 sheet, and a selection of different coloured sheets is supplied. A set of jewel case templates and paper is also included in the box.

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Now for the hardware part. It is very important to ensure that the labels are perfectly aligned on the CD, to avoid changing the balance and introducing bad vibrations (man). This is done using the spring-loaded contraption shown in the photograph below. Place the label (sticky side up) on the platter, place the CD (upside down) on the spindle and then gently press down. You should end up with a perfectly-labelled CD. It worked for us...

This may look like a Heath-Robinson gadget, but it works. It isn't exactly an earth-shatteringly fascinating device, but if you want to keep track of your home-burned CDs using something more than a felt-tipped pen (and most people do), this is the cheapest, most user-friendly method we've seen to date.