HP may ship color version of Lightscribe later this year

Chicago (IL) - Careful reading of the Lightscribe user guide included with Hewlett-Packard's Lightscribe-capable DVD burners reveals an expansion of the CD labeling technology. Lightscribe CD and DVD burners use specially coated recordable CDs and DVDs to directly "etch" labels onto the discs.

The frequently asked questions section about the booklet provides an unusually long answer to the simple question "Can Lightscribe create a label in color?" Instead of a simple "no," the guide answers: "Currently Lightscribe technology is available only in grayscale, creating an image that resembles a black-and-white photograph. Lightscribe's development strategy does include future announcements about additional capabilities; however business and legal requirements prevent publication of more specific information at this time."

So, does HP openly talk about color-enabled Lightscribe - but tells us in the same sentence that it really can't talk about such a product? We contacted HP's PR agency to find out, if those "additional capabilities" in fact refer to a color version of Lightscribe. The answer we got was very much in the tone of the user guide: "Lightscribe color background CDs are expected to be available later this year. However, currently Lightscribe has not announced any plans to offer full color labeling," a spokesperson wrote in an email to TG Daily.

Translation: There will be color Lightscribe burners before Christmas.