(see Thermal printing; LightScribe uses a laser instead of a thermal printing head) LightScribe was conceived by Hewlett-Packard engineer Daryl Anderson, and the coating's chemistry was developed by Dr. Makarand Gore,[3] and brought to market through the joint design efforts of HP's imaging and optical storage divisions, where it was first introduced in January 2004 at the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show.

Companies such as HP, Samsung, LaCie and LiteOn had announced that they were phasing out LightScribe drives by June 2013.

LightScribe software and disc utilities may be found on a number of public websites.As of April 2018[update], the website returns a 404 error.

The surface of a LightScribe disc is coated with a reactive dye that changes color when it absorbs 780 nm infrared laser light.

[citation needed] Optical media should always be stored in a protective sleeve or case that keeps the data content in the dark and safe from scratches.

This, in combination with the drive hardware, allows it to know the precise position from the center outwards, and the disc can be labeled while spinning at high speed using these references.

HP's LightScribe website warns users to "keep discs away from extreme heat, humidity and direct sunlight", "store them in a cool, dark place", "use polypropylene disc sleeves rather than PVC sleeves", and also notes that "residual chemicals on your fingers could cause discoloration of the label image".

[9] Users not observing these precautions have reported[example needed] LightScribe discs to become visibly faded within two months in the worst case.

This drawback makes the technology unsuitable for applications involving continuous handling, and for such popular uses as car music compilation discs, which typically have unavoidable high light and temperature exposure.

A LightScribe optical drive was used by Maher El-Kady, a graduate of UCLA in 2012 to successfully turn a specially prepared graphite oxide layer coated onto a DVD into graphene.

Various shapes can be drawn, which allowed the scientist duo essentially to laser-print an ultracapacitor on graphene using consumer-grade technology.