Computer Life Magazine, December 1996, by Chris Jones

Here's the problem. You've got a gold CD that you've just burned in your CD recorder, it's got to go off somewhere important, but you just can't send it with a label scrawled in black marker. Enter NEATO, a hardware and software combinations to apply classy labels onto your CDs. I use the word hardware very loosely because the NEATO "technology" actually amounts to two pieces of injection moulded plastic. But hey, it works, and works well. So, you design your CD label, print it out onto the NEATO CD labels, then use the plastic applicator to permanently stick it to the disc. The bundled software is a basic DTP package that's far from breathtaking, but it does the job quickly and effortlessly. For die-hard Corel or PageMaker freaks, there are templates available and new templates for other software are currently under development. Considering the accuracy with which the labels need to be printed, the system works astonishingly well. I produced some labels for a local band. It made all the difference to open up the CD case and see a full colour printed CD (produced with a colour deskjet). The pre-cut labels are available in several colours, including clear plastic and white. At the heart of the NEATO system is the plastic applicator. When you look at it, your first thought is, "It's a piece of plastic." Then you use it, and no matter how much you try, you just can't screw up you labels. 'Nuff said. The NEATO system is rather pricey (it does include 100 labels, which cost $60 for a pack of 300 thereafter) but it's shockingly simple to use, delivers perfect labels and is currently the only way to create individual labels for CDs. If you have a CD recorder, you must have NEATO.

EMEDIA Professional, Jeff Partyka, April 1998

LIKE NEATO MAN!:
NEATO CD LABELER KIT

The NEATO CD Labeler Kit is a very impressive overall package. The $79.95 kit includes, for starters, ink-jet- or laser-printer-ready labels in myriad of colors. The software provides numerous options for label and jewel case insert designs, including templates for creating booklets. NEATO offers templates for use with QuarkXPress and other graphics programs in addition to its own software, CD Face 1.0, which features 66 digital background images and templates.

The Best thing about the NEATO system is that, once the user masters the mechanism itself, he or she has a dazzling array of labeling options to choose from, and a surfeit of supplies to keep him or her labeling happily for quite some time. And, when that initial supply runs out, NEATO makes it easy and relatively inexpensive to replenish the stock with a variety of different count sizes and price ranges for blank labels and jewel case insert material.

Bits & Bytes, Louis Calden, February 1998

NEAT-O
The Complete CD Label Kit

We have all seen the marketing hype about new and improved products. It is refreshing when an already fine product is truly improved. Such is the case with Neat-O, the CD Label Kit. We were delighted with Neat-O when we reviewed it last year, the new and improved version of the software is even better. To set the stage we will repeat some of the still applicable items from our previous review and include the enhancements.

With the cost of CD writers coming down more people are using these devices for archival purposed, replacing the somewhat unreliable tape machine. If you want to keep your graphics and data files forever, making your own CD ROM's is the way to go. Of course you are proud of your CD creations, so naturally you want to package them in the most attractive light. Just how do you go about placing a label on a CD ROM or a professional looking insert in a jewel case? The answer is Neat-O, a really great, economical system.

Neat-O is a complete CD ROM package labeling system. It consist of a rather clever, simple tool for placing labels on the CD disks and the software necessary to create truly professional looking labels.

The CD label applicator consist of two parts, one is a cylinder with a hole in the center which acts as a base upon which you place the label, adhesive side up. The other part is a truncated cone with a rod on the thick end. The CD slides on the rod, the cone is positioned over the cylinder and inserted into the central hole. This aligns the CD with the label where a slight downward pressure joins the CD to the label in a perfectly aligned position, and your disk is immediately labeled. It just could not be simpler, or easier, no skill required, even I with the two left thumbs did it correctly the first time. Yes and every subsequent trial went as smoothly. The Neat-O package includes a starter set of 100 CD labels, some jewel case inserts, storage envelopes as well as the necessary software.

The software (CD-Face) is quite a graphics program in itself. It is customized for making CD labels and jewel case inserts, but can be used for much more. It can import graphics in most popular formats and its inherent graphics library can be exported to other graphics programs. There are 66 high quality, copyright free images in the graphics library.

It is capable of producing both full color and black and white graphics. You can design your own with CD-face or your own graphics programs and use the templates to produce your custom labels. You can preview your creation prior to printing. Should you want to duplicate an existing label or jewel case insert, just scan the image, edit it appropriately and incorporate it into one of the label templates and print on your ink jet or laser printer. The CD-Face CD includes both MAC and PC software. Now you can also make CD envelopes with this software. Envelopes take up much less space that a jewel case and can be stored in those old 5 3/4 floppy disk cases that you accumulated from the old days. Now you can congratulate yourself for having the foresight (or is that pack-rat instinct) to save those fine plastic disc cases.

The minimum system requirements are: 386 PC or MAC, Windows 3.x,95,NT or MAC, a CD ROM. There was no problem installing the software on my 586/133 system. The labels printed up beautifully on my inkjet printer.

The labels themselves are die cut, on peel-off paper and come in 12 assorted colors. The adhesive is selected for the application (a bad pun) and will not damage the disks, peel off or cause data real back errors.

Neat-O retails for $79.95 and additional labels, envelope packs and jewel case inserts are readily available at reasonable prices. For more information, visit their web site a http://www.neato.com. If you are planning to send a CD of your favorite photos to someone, Neat-O is an ideal way to finish the project. In fact, all your CD ROM creations can now have a professional look in a most economical way.

Gary Wodka, Bits & PC's, January 1998

NEATO CD Labeler Kit

If you don't have one yet, you probably will soon. The prices for Writable DC Drives (CD-R) have come plummeting down in the last several months, and for under $300, you can now pick one up for your own use. You may use them in your business to distribute software, or personally to create "collections" of songs or software. They work great. The problem is how to label them.

You could take an indelible magic marker and scribble the title and contents across the face of the completed CD. Or you might buy labels from your office supply store, and write the information (or maybe even print it on a colorjet printer). But then you still have the problem of making sure the label is applied correctly and centered. You don't think that's a problem? Well a study done recently and reported in eMedia Professional found that today's high speed drives must have perfectly balanced CD's. If it's not balanced, lateral wobbling motion will force the drives pickup servos to make extra tracking corrections, and will affect laser focus. You'll know if you have an unbalanced disk because you'll hear the disc humming and whining in the drive, and it will take longer for the drive to give output. Or you could do it the right way: use a professional labeling system.

NEATO LLC has developed an extremely easy-to-use, easy to configure CD labeler. Configured in a program called CD-FACE, you can create original designs or utilize the software's templates with other popular PC graphics programs. How does it work? Read on!

The software itself is pretty intuitive. There's no manual included (you won't need it) but there is on-line help for the chronic "gotta have helps." The software itself is really a small desktop publishing program designed for one thing only: labeling CDs. And it does this one job fast and easy. The CD includes several templates for labels (many of which are included as samples in the package). They follow the typical Avery and NEATO label configurations. Simply pick the one that matches your blank labels. The sample labels come in several colors, so experiment a little.

Once the template is selected, you begin designing your custom label. By importing a supplied graphic (60 are included) or bringing one of your own, you create a background. You can import many popular formats (.JPG, .BMP, etc.), or simply import from memory.

Entering text fields means simply selecting the text tool, typing your text, formatting it, coloring it, and placing it. That's all there is to it! Now you're ready to print. If there's a shortcoming in the program, it's not the program itself, but some of the labels included. My Epson Stylus Color printer doesn't print all the way to the edges of the paper. That means I have to print my labels one at a time if I'm going to print to the very edges of the CD labels. I can live with this because the rest of the program is so easy to use.

Once the label is printed, the last step is to get it onto the CD, centered correctly. A small label application tool is included with NEATO that makes this part the easiest of all. Simply set the label sticky side up on the base, put your CD on the label tool, and insert the label tool into the base. Your label is automatically centered and applied perfectly.

So now your CD is labeled. What about the jewel case? Guess what: They've thought of that too! Included in the package are the software templates for making the front case booklets, as well as the back jewel-case inserts. Included are some blank forms (also available at places like Comp USA and Best Buy from Avery and NEATO). You really have everything you need in one handy kit to make professional labels. There are several colors of labels available (including clear labels). What I found is the white labels give the crispest colors when printing on my Epson.

David Miles Huber

SO HOW DOES IT WORK?

The first step in the process lets you design and save your own CD layouts that can be printed using any standard printer. Basically, the software is intuitive, as it's essentially a scaled down version of a desktop publishing program that has been designed for a single purpose.

Importing graphics onto the label template is easy. A graphic design can be either imported using any number of popular file formats, or it can be pasted from clipboard memory. Once placed onto the template, the graphic can easily be resized by grabbing onto a frame boundary. The moving of graphics or True-Type fonts is as simple as clicking within the highlighted boundary and moving it to another position.

Once you've saved your latest masterpiece, the next step is to print it out. Once the label is printed, the final step is to apply it onto the CD. That's where the NEATO applicator comes in. The four steps for applying a label onto a disc are: 1) On a flat surface, peel the label backing away from the label (this keeps the label from curling); 2) Place the label on the base (sticky side up); 3)Insert the CD into the positioning cone (data face up); press the cone/CD down onto the base and...TA DA! it's labeled.

The NEATO kit comes in a glossy black box that includes how-to-graphics, gold-embossed logos, and a cut-out window for showing off the CD-ROM's exterior packaging. It's definitely worth showing off.