ISO 18938:2014
Imaging materials - Optical discs - Care and handling for extended storage

Standard No.

ISO 18938:2014

Release Date

2014

Published By

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

Latest

ISO 18938:2014

Scope

This International Standard establishes general principles for the care and handling of digital optical discs during use. It addresses the issues of physical integrity of the medium necessary to preserve access to the recorded data (information). This International Standard includes recommendations for handling procedures to maximize the effective life of optical discs. Faulty handling, packing and transporting techniques and methods often cause physical damage to the discs and to the content recorded thereon. Extending the longevity of optical discs requires the identification of appropriate handling methods, as well as well-developed and implemented training programs. For the purposes of this International Standard, the term “optical disc” includes the families of compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), high definition digital versatile disc (HD DVD) and Blu-ray disc (BD)1), and any hybrids of these families. The term “optical disc” also includes each type of disc within a family, including injection moulded [read-only memory (ROM)], dye-layer [recordable (R)] and phase change [rewritable (RW, RE), random access memory (RAM), and recordable (BD-R)] technologies. While some of the recommendations in this International Standard (e.g. those for staff training) apply specifically to large-scale or long term usage, the basics of all recommendations in this International Standard are intended to be applied in circumstances where the desired result is long-term usage of the medium whether archival, commercial or personal. This International Standard does not cover magneto-optical (MO) discs, laser discs (LD) or glass discs. At the time of writing, International Standards do not exist for HD DVD and Blu-ray discs. Nonetheless, it is believed that the recommendations in this International Standard for care and handling can equally apply to them. It is recognized that some of these requirements are not necessarily possible for the individual user to achieve. The following are within the scope of this International Standard: — use and handling environments, including pollutants, temperature and humidity and light exposure; — contamination concerns; — inspection; — cleaning and maintenance, including cleaning methods and frequency; — transportation; — disasters, including water, fire, construction and post-disaster procedures; — staff training. The quality of the data written on the disc is outside the scope of this International Standard. However, a high quality result of the recording phase is important to the longevity of information. It is advisable that a rigorous program of data integrity testing be implemented, as this forms an obligatory part of all digital long-term storage. In addition, when keeping digital information for archival purposes, it is advisable that a multiple copy/multiple location strategy be in place. 1) Blu-ray DiscTM and Blu-rayTM are trademarks of Blue-ray Disc Association, and Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD are examples of suitable products available commercially. This information is given for the convenience of users of this International Standard and does not constitute an endorsement by ISO of these products. 

ISO 18938:2014 Referenced Document

• IEC 60908:1999 Audio recording - Compact disc digital audio system
• IEC 60988:2009 Nuclear power plants - Instrumentation important to safety - Acoustic monitoring systems for detection og loose parts: characteristics, design criteria and operational procedures
• ISO 14644-1:1999 Cleanrooms and associated controlled environments - Part 1: Classification of air cleanliness
• ISO 14644-2:2000 Cleanrooms and associated controlled environments - Part 2: Specifications for testing and monitoring to prove continued compliance with ISO 14644-1
• ISO 18925:2013 Imaging materials - Optical disc media - Storage practices
• ISO/IEC 10149:1995 Information technology - Data interchange on read-only 120 mm optical data disks (CD-ROM)
• ISO/IEC 12862:2011 Information technology - 120 mm (8,54 Gbytes per side) and 80 mm (2,66 Gbytes per side) DVD recordable disk for dual layer (DVD-R for DL)
• ISO/IEC 13170:2009 Information technology - 120 mm (8,54 Gbytes per side) and 80 mm (2,66 Gbytes per side) DVD re-recordable disk for dual layer (DVD-RW for DL)
• ISO/IEC 16448:2002 Information technology - 120 mm DVD - Read-only disk
• ISO/IEC 16449:2002 Information technology - 80 mm DVD - Read-only disk
• ISO/IEC 17341:2009 Information technology - Data interchange on 120 mm and 80 mm optical disk using +RW format - Capacity: 4,7 Gbytes and 1,46 Gbytes per side (recording speed up to 4X)
• ISO/IEC 17342:2004 Information technology - 80 mm (1,46 Gbytes per side) and 120 mm (4,70 Gbytes per side) DVD re-recordable disk (DVD-RW)
• ISO/IEC 17344:2009 Information technology - Data interchange on 120 mm and 80 mm optical disk using +R format - Capacity: 4,7 Gbytes and 1,46 Gbytes per side (recording speed up to 16X)
• ISO/IEC 17592:2004 Information technology - 120 mm (4,7 Gbytes per side) and 80 mm (1,46 Gbytes per side) DVD rewritable disk (DVD-RAM)

ISO 18938:2014 history

• 2014 ISO 18938:2014 Imaging materials - Optical discs - Care and handling for extended storage
• 2008 ISO 18938:2008 Imaging materials - Optical discs - Care and handling for extended storage