Strengths: With its enhanced interface and added
features, this product is, for now, the leader in the Macintosh media labeling
software. Using its excellent and downloadable 80-page manual makes it easy to
polish your label/insert creation skills beyond the intuitive. If you don’t
like manuals, who does, play, the DiscLabel user interface is truly intuitive
(e.g., Mac-like.)
Weaknesses: Nothing worth noting – but I still can’t
make up my mind which of the two leading media labeling product is best. — I use both, not quite randomly:
but!
Previous
Reviews: DiscLabel 4.1.1 by Harry {Doc} Babad
User Levels: All— Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced
Multilingual Versions are available for English, Japanese, German,
Italian, and French users.
Demo Download Page.
Copyright Notice: Product and company names and logos in
this review may be registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Reviews
were carried out on my iMac 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2
SDRAM running Mac OS X version 10.5.7
Disclaimer: When briefly reviewing some aspects of a
software product I will often use the developer’s product, functions and
features descriptions. All other comments are strictly my own and based on
testing. Why need I rewrite
the developer’s narratives, if they are clearly written?
Introduction
Including Publisher’s Summary
One of the most
difficult aspects of being a software reviewer is being caught between a rock
and a hard spot between two products whose functionality and interface you
love. I find myself in such a quandary when reviewing SmileOnMyMac’s DiscLabel
6.0.1, and previously reviewing Belight Software’s Disc Cover, now 2.3.1.
Over the years,
starting with Version 1.x of these products, I find myself acting as a human pendulum:
going back and forth between these two powerful but easy to use tools, on a
random whim basis. Indeed during all of my upgrades, all of the CD/DVD I’ve
archived labels for repeated use or as templates have remained useful and their
design elements accurate as the day I created them. Indeed as far as I’m concerned,
I can not tell you that one product is better for you or me to use than the
other. — It’s more a thing on how easily and naturally design elements
flow into the individual but comparable interfaces. When all is said and done,
except fur nuances, there are very few ways to create a great, easy to use and
functional piece of labeling software, or for that matter word processor.
Although the
features of the two programs are comparable, there may be differences,
depending on your software and hardware setup. The kinds of information you
want to archive and how easily you can extract information from your burner or
graphics or video software to add to the disc label. It’s all about how much ‘contents’
detail do you want on your data music, photo or videodisc labels. If any of
these things matter significantly read the fine print. This could be especially
true if you want to directly incorporate lots of information on your labels.
The ease of use of a given product, depending on your support software might
make a difference. There may be such differences other than the look and feel
of the interface to help you choice.
DiscLabel helps you make
great looking labels for your CDs, DVDs, and related materials. The software
package contains everything you need to design, print and apply custom media
labels and inserts. This major upgrade features new design tools, such as
multiple layer support and gradients, as well as interface improvements that simplify
the creation of new designs. We’ve streamlined the new design creation process,
whether the user wants to use a template or create a custom design from
scratch.”
Getting
Started
This is a
well-developed Macintosh application. Drag it to your applications folder.
Start using it in demo mode or type in a password. Then decide which preference
setting you prefer and start to create your media labels, CD Jewel case Covers,
CD Jewel case booklets, CD Spines or… A comparable list of design features is
available for use with standard and multi-set DVDs and also assorted media
specialty products like business card CDs.
The download is
a fully operational free trial version of DiscLabel CD and DVD labeling
software. It is identical to the purchased version, except that it stamps the
word "Demo" on all printouts. The "Demo" stamp is removed
from printouts once the product is purchased and the associated registration information
is entered in the registration dialog.
Using the
Software
Since most of the CD’s and DVDS I create
are data CDs for which I create readme files, there are few labeling distractions
to force me to chose more complex labeling software features.
For my ‘collections’
I use disc-cataloging software and add a reader to the CD along with a catalog. Recently I’ve used just a combination
of the PrintFinder {Windows} application 4.4.2 outputting to a PDF file and
occasionally tweaking the result in Acrobat Pro, mainly for esthetic purposes.
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/16935/printfinder
I do have twos foibles, that could have affected the recommendations in this
review – It’s a full disclosure thing.
Complexity
of Media Labels — I
do not as a rule go in for fancy and artistic media cover labels, so defacto
only scanned the rich collection of available templates. In this set, I found
the business labels potentially useful, should I want to step out of my KISS labeling
mode.
The rare times
I want to:
a) Duplicate
a music CD I do a high resolution scan of the label,
b) When I create a music sampler, I make a
highly transparent (muted) collage of the artists represented, or the album
cover showing he artists, from images I’ve gathered from Google Images or the
Internet. I found the redesigned and more flexible new montage tool for creating
easier to use when recreating a sampler cover. It allows the use of a wide
variety of photomontage styles and facilitates adding them to design elements.
The DiscLabel Toolbar
My CD/DVD Label Stationary Limitations — I now use only full coverage disc
media, for labels, since it allows me a less “holey” graphic, that better
highlight my background graphics. However, both allow me the option of
selecting the paper {Brand and Layout template) on which I print. Forcing the
products to default to a full coverage label has been an unsolved trial and
error problem. I’ve not been able to elect to show the new design or the pre
designed templates ONLY in full coverage format. This makes it harder to judge
layout appearances. However, when going to print, all the extraneous guidelines
and ‘shadow effects’ disappear. I have not yet figured out why the previous example
only shows the full coverage view. Well perhaps tomorrow.
Enhanced
Features —Kudos
Simplified interface for creating new
designs and selecting templates – It’s even easier than in the
previous 4.x version I’d reviewed.
- New inspector palette for easy
editing of object, image, and text properties. I did have one gripe about
the inspector pallet. I could not, to ease my poor eyes, figure out an
easy way to make the pallet window large, by dragging on it right-hand
lower corner. For shame, since many of use have older yes, and working
though Apple’s Universal Access preferences panel, make the changes to the whole OS,
not just to part of an application.
- Enhanced image import palette offers
multiple options for inserting images and can add images into all label
and packaging design elements simultaneously.
§ Text Layout
Templates, a feature I had missed, if it was a part of and earlier version of
Disc label. These templates serve to allow placement of large amounts of text,
in a more attractive mode then I’d been able to achieve by trial and error.
§ A
well-designed 80-page users manual that can be downloaded as a PDF for
reference, away from my computer. As my readers may note I like to read printed
users manuals.
- Include (and edit!) multi-line text
laid out in a circle. This feature worked well, with one exception, for
me. I could not figure out how to change the spacing between the first
line of a circular text grouping and the second.
Annotated Additional Key Features of Note
Random Design
Generator — A
fascinating toy, which all functions randomized, can on rate occasions create
an archive quality design for use as a future template. They didn't for me, but I never win,
even pennies, at Lotto. This is a feature that reaches out to the inner child
in us.
Enhanced Montage Tools — A powerful and flexible new montage
tool for creating a wide variety of photomontages and adding them to design
elements. I wonder whether the tool allows one to create a ‘classical’ jigsaw
montage with the different image arranged in overlapping arrangements; a montage
variant I could not find a way to create. After an hour of work, the best I
could do was a simple five to seven image montage, achieved by trial and error.
The two examples below, which I find interesting, are Google images
reproductions. However when working with the montage feature, my greatest
irritation was not being able to do away with the shadow effect associated with
large hole CD medias. I use only full coverage labels. Note this effect was absent
from, the other templates for CD inserts, booklets and the like.
Note:
There are no edges or seams on the music oriented cover collage. But that is
likely to require a more professional imaging program like those sold by Adobe.
As noted above
working with collages becomes harder when creating disk labels.
Conclusions
and Recommendation
DiscLabel’
is simple, it’s elegant, it’s feature-rich, combines an user intuitive
interface with industrial weight design features accessible to mere mortals or
design impaired users. DiscLabel is affordable, it’s attractive, and of course,
bet of all — it works. That will put a grin {smile} on your face. Since,
every disc needs a label, as trite truism, except for my teenage grandson why
not create one that is attractive. Anyone exposed to my hand marked {Sharpie
Media Marker) output will understand why software is better!
What
many of us prefer is a label that either 1) communicates the media’s contents
simply, 2) has great style suggesting that we do too; or 3) does both well.
DiscLabel’s attractive; ca. 150 pre-designed templates look as though you’d
hired someone who knew what they were doing to design your label. Use the
redesigned templates as a starting point, or as a basis for a template
redesign; it is easy and fast. Of course, if you know what you’re doing, or
want to take a few hours to play, you can design your own, too. DiscLabel can
simply add your design to its other templates, so you can use it again and
again. That’s what I’ve done for my professional consulting media label needs.
So I’m
delighted to be Macdicted to both products, as I discussed in the introduction
to this review… not being able to decide, so I keep using ‘LabelDiscCover’ or ‘CoverDiscLabel’ …whatever. Also, I’m stingy so the best rating I give for complex products
is 4.5 macC’s — so be it! Call it still acting like a rebellious
academic, as a youthful college professor in the mid-60’s I hated curves.
I agree with Cyril
Richard, in a review posted
on the DiscLabel web site that “labeling
a CD or DVD can give it your own personal touch as long as you do it right.
DiscLabel takes you through it in an intuitive interface and offers loads of
templates to work with. The program can import images and track lists from
pretty much any source, like iTunes, iPhoto or Toast, giving you complete
freedom as to the content you use to assemble your labels.”
“
I found it excellent value, and extremely
well worth considering if you are going to make more then one or two media
labels a month. Indeed, other than not being able to make up my mind between
competitive products, I would purchase this software from my own pocket were IO
not a software reviewer. I am again pleased to five it a 4.5 macC rating.
DiscLabel 6.0.1 — Customize/Personalize
your media packaging the SmileOnMyMac way