Panasonic Solutions Company announced a new line of professional Blu-ray Disc (BD) media designed for secure digital data archiving in professional applications.

According to the statement, the new recordable Blu-ray Disc (BD-R) will be available in two grades – Archival Grade and Century Archival Grade – with spindle packages in the 2nd and 3rd quarter respectively of this year.

Due to Panasonic’s advanced phase change recording technology, the Archival Grade discs have an expected archival life of more than 50 years (according to a Panasonic accelerated age test) at a room temperature of 77°F and a relative humidity of 80%. The high durability of Panasonic Blu-ray Disc has been verified by TÜV Rheinland. All archival discs will be inspected and certified to keep the professional quality, ensuring further enhanced durability.

The Century Archival Grade model features a new recording layer structure that ensures longer shelf life. The disc’s recording layers are protected on both sides with newly-developed layers that are extremely close-grained to keep out external materials such as water and dust. The Century Archival Grade Disc has an estimated life of 100 years.

Both Archival and Century Archival discs adopt “Tough Coating”, a double protective layer with hard coat and cover layers for added durability and high elasticity. The new hard coat is designed with a harder material that is more resistant to scratches and fingerprints and offers superior repellency against water and oil. The elastic cover layer material protects against pressure marks. With this optimally balanced “Tough Coating,” the new discs offer greater reliability and easier handling under various conditions for professional use.

Both models will be available with inkjet and thermal printable surfaces.

The Archival Grade discs will ship 2nd quarter of this year while the the Century Archival Grade discs will be available the 3rd quarter.

For more information visit: www.panasonic.com