Mitsubishi Kagaku Media Co., Ltd., (MKM) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) to produce and market the LightScribe ink, CD and DVD discs it developed in collaboration with HP.

When combined with a LightScribe-enabled drive, consumers can use the same laser that burned the data to the disc to make a distinctive-looking label for the other side of the disc. The LightScribe discs will be sold by the MKM/Verbatim Group under the Mitsubishi brand in Japan and under the Verbatim brand in North America, Europe, and other overseas markets, with the launch targeted for the beginning of 2005.
Verbatim's LightScribe discs are compatible with the LightScribe-enabled drives announced by HP at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, NV, in January 2004. Although LightScribe features have been added, the discs are also compatible with all current CD and DVD standards.

Currently, disc content descriptions can only be written directly on a disc by hand with a marker; and artwork can only be printed onto labels and then affixed to the discs, or printed directly onto discs with specialized disc printers. With LightScribe-enabled CD and DVD drives, titles and artwork can be printed directly on Verbatim LightScribe CD and DVD discs with the drive's laser pickup.

This all-in-one approach to burning and labeling CDs and DVDs will set new levels of user convenience for home, office and mobile users. Once notebook computers are equipped with LightScribe-enabled drives, users will be able to print labels on the CD or DVD discs they create in their hotel rooms or at a client's office.

MKM will market LightScribe discs, stampers and ink. The first-generation LightScribe discs produced and sold by MKM/Verbatim in 2005 will be monochrome. Second-generation LightScribe discs, which will be able to accept multi-color printing, are under development. In addition, MKM plans to provide technical support service to media manufacturers who will produce LightScribe discs.