DualDisc and DVD(plus) discs have until now been devoid of graphics, apart from limited text on the inner ring. Because both sides of these CD/DVD hybrids contain optical data, it has been impossible to apply graphics to them.

  But MediaCoat technology from Spectra Systems, a developer of systems for marking, tracking and authenticating documents and products, has opened the door to graphics, text and barcodes on the "play" side of a disc.

Providence, R.I.-based Spectra Systems says MediaCoat is compatible with all prerecorded optical media formats, as well as the next-generation HD-DVD and Blu-ray formats. The company also claims that the technology offers improved disc durability through increased scratch resistance.

Development and commercialization of MediaCoat will be handled jointly by Spectra Systems and Hanau, Germany-based Singulus Technologies, a manufacturer of replication lines for optical disc formats.

Digital Valley was the first European replicator to commercially produce DVD(plus) discs, and the Val de Reuil, France-based company is also the first to produce discs using the MediaCoat technology. The first client to incorporate MediaCoat is Video Futur, France's largest DVD rental franchise. The company's logo is featured on the data side of its discs.

Spectra Systems CEO Dr. Nabil Lawandy envisions such messaging and marketing opportunities as the chief application for MediaCoat on single-sided software, gaming, video and audio discs. But the ability to apply graphics and text to dual-sided discs will make DualDisc and DVD(plus) more attractive to labels and consumers alike, he says.

MediaCoat is an add-on process that takes place at the end of a standard disc-manufacturing line, Lawandy explains. A coating is applied and cured, then an image is transferred to the disc using ultraviolet irradiation. A second coat is added to protect the disc from excessive exposure to light and to add scratch resistance.

Asked about the technology, executives from one U.S.-based label producing DualDiscs expressed no knowledge of MediaCoat.

Andrew DaPuzzo, director of sales audio for replicator Sonopress, says only that his company has looked into the application of graphics to the data side of optical discs, particularly two-sided ones.

"We certainly investigate any new technologies like that and are interested in them," DaPuzzo says. "If the DualDisc is successful, and we hope it is, this sort of technology would certainly help."