Cranberry DiamonDisc pricing, bundles adjusted

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Cranberry DiamonDisc pricing, bundles adjusted
By Mike Tomkins
(Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - 22:47 EST)

A couple of weeks ago, we told readers about Ferndale, WA-based Humanicity LLC, the company which has licensed a supposed archival-quality disc technology from Provo, UT-based Millenniata Inc for the home and small business markets.

Based on Milleniata's M-ARC 'Millennial Archive Disc', Humanicity's Cranberry DiamonDisc is claimed by its creator to have a lifetime that is measured in the centuries, yet is still said to be backwards-compatible for reading with most standard DVD drives. The 4.7GB DiamonDiscs are now available for purchase through the company's website, but they require the use of an expensive dedicated burner, as regular DVD writers aren't up to the task of permanently inscribing data into the new disc's surface. The only alternative is to transfer data to Humanicity and have the discs written and returned by mail.

We previously commented on Milleniata's pricing structure, which seemed likely to keep the Cranberry drives out of the reach of many potential customers. At the time, the drives could only be purchased with a bulk-pack of some 150 DiamonDiscs included. That formerly brought the price to obtain a Cranberry DiamonDisc writer in at around $5,000 including the required media purchase. It seems the company was listening, because a newly issued press release reports that the requirement to purchase discs and drive together has been dropped. Without the bundle, the cost is now around $1,500 for the drive alone.

For customers wanting the drive + discs together, the 150 disc bundle has been removed from the Cranberry website, and replaced by two options - 100-disc bundle for $3,150 or a 30-disc bundle for $2000 . That brings the per-disc cost after the drive to around $16.50 - $17 per disc. Single discs can be purchased for $25 apiece, while packs of 25, 50 or 100 discs bring the per-disc price in at $18, $17.50 and $17 respectively. The option to have Humanicity write the discs and return them by mail remains, with a cost of $35 for one disc, or $30 each for two or more discs. It isn't immediately clear if these prices include the cost of mailing.

The Cranberry DiamonDisc is still a pricy proposition, to be sure, and we've yet to see any independent verification of Milleniata and Humanicity's claimed longevity. For those who are willing to put faith in the product though, the bar to entry is at least rather lower than was previously the case. More details can be found on the Cranberry website, and our previous coverage of the M-ARC disc.

Original Source Press Release:

New Pricing Makes Permanent Storage Cranberry DiamonDisc Writers and Discs More Accessible

Recently launched Cranberry DiamonDisc products and services have recently received considerable attention from mainstream media and bloggers for providing the first permanent storage solution for digital files. Revised pricing and unbundling has lowered the entry cost of this technology for the do-it-yourself home user.

Ferndale, WA (PRWEB) November 17, 2009 -- The Cranberry DiamonDisc™ was recently launched providing the first medium that allows permanent storage of digital files. This announcement has been lauded by librarians, archivists, genealogists and numerous paper-dependent service industries. This is their first opportunity to implement and preserve digital files in their organizations and for their customers without the expense of ongoing testing for and replacing of bad media.

Under newly released product pricing and packaging, the entry point for purchasing a Cranberry Writer has been reduced from a bundle price of $4995 to buying the writer only for $1499 (USD). This puts the entry cost at a level for consumers and small businesses looking to preserve their digital photos and videos on a medium that doesn't require special handling or storage and will last without worry for decades, if not centuries.

In addition, Cranberry is making blank DiamonDiscs available for purchase separately in quantities of 1, 25, 50 and 100. Previously the writer was only available for purchase bundled with 150 discs.

Unlike conventional recordable DVDs and CDs, the Cranberry DiamonDisc has no adhesive layers, dye layer or reflective layer to deteriorate - thereby avoiding the "data rot" that quickly corrodes all recordable DVDs. The transparent Cranberry DiamonDisc is environmentally stable and remains unaffected by UV and changes in temperature and humidity.

Both the National Archives and the Library of Congress have warned consumers that home-burned DVDs are unreliable and may not be readable beyond two to five years.

Dubbed the 1,000-year DVD, the Cranberry DiamonDisc is the only environmentally inert and permanent storage solution on the market. Cranberry founder David McInnis makes no apologies for the 1,000 year claim. "Permanent is permanent," argues McInnis, "In reality, our goal is to provide the best permanent storage solution until another acceptable medium is available. We think this is it."

The Cranberry DiamonDisc was invented by professors at BYU and commercialized by Springville, Utah startup Millenniata.

About Cranberry
Cranberry is the exclusive licensee of the Millenniata M-Arc disc to personal and home user market. Cranberry is a Ferndale, Washington consumer products company founded by entrepreneur David McInnis.

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