But whatever medium one chooses for storage, labeling is still necessary. One could simply hand-write the subject using a magic marker on the disk and a sticky note on the inside of the jewel case. Personally, I developed a process of capturing a directory listing into a word processor, then printing that listing on a CD envelope (don't need a jewel case for CD's with archives). But this is a single step in the overall process of recording data onto a CD. Of the few CD-burning programs I have tried, all came with an anemic jewel-case label-making add-on.

Fully featured editing tools.

Click the thumbnail for full image. (42K)

Click 'N Design 3D is an inexpensive art graphics program and makes creating CD labels and jewel case inserts a production, instead of a process. By default, Click 'N Design uses a Quick Designer wizard. Here, the user can select from several pre-designed templates, being offered the chance to make cosmetic changes. Once the quick design is finished, it gets transferred to the main editing window. One would at least want to add a title and a listing of the contents. A simple process and the templates are bright and exciting. Once in the main editing window, however, the user has complete control over the design—moving, sizing, adding, changing colors, etc. The final design can get quite elaborate.

If one needs to create super-elaborate designs that are best rendered in a mid- to high-end application like Ulead Photo Impact or Corel Draw, by all means do so. But give Click 'N Design a try—download the 30-day trial version.

The 3D text editing window.

Click the thumbnail for full image. (31K)

Sure, there are other programs that assist in the creation of banners, greeting and business cards, flyers, and mailing labels. They might also include CD label layouts. But I was able to create impressive labels within minutes after installing the program and without having to read the manual. Of course, I ran into a few quirks along the way and I've mentioned some of them below. Other than that, I find the program very intuitive.

When starting a new project, you are asked to identify the label stock you intend to use. However, once this has been done, there is no way to be reminded of what your choice was — as would be indicated in a document "properties page," for example — nor are you given the means to change it later. When I first began to explore Click 'N Design 3D, I wasn't in my office and didn't know what label stock I had. So I just chose anything from the list but it turned out I chose the wrong layout. So, I had to start a second project and "clone" the artwork from the first project.

A full installation takes 190 megabytes, which includes a basic collection of clip art and fonts, and two extra clip art collections, for a total of more than 5,000 images. A smaller installation takes 78 MB, requiring the user to browse for clip art collections. CND3D can also interface with TWAIN devices, permitting the user to acquire personal photos and graphics from cameras and scanners.

The Quick Designer window.

Click the thumbnail for full image. (36K)

One can use images in any of the dozen or so standard formats (but not GIF) as foreground objects or as a background layer. There are also shapes and lines, and 3D text effects. A wide range of effects can be applied to image objects. As the program's name implies, applying 3D special effects to text is accomplished by using a 3D text-editing wizard.

Click 'N Design has knowledge of hundreds of label stock layouts including CDs, jewel cases, mini- and business card-sized CDs, CD hubcaps, 3.5" diskette, ZIP, Jazz, video and audio cassette labels, and full sheet labels and photo paper.

You also get a half-dozen or so files for each of several other applications including Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator and PhotoShop, Microsoft Publisher and Word 97, and TIFF and EPS formats. Use these included jewel case and CD layouts if you are more familiar with these other applications.

The program comes on CD and has a small 20-page Quick Start Guide. It does not come with any kind of gizmo to assist you centering the labels on the disk (known as a "stomper"). [However, there is currently a special deal that includes a stomper if ordered now.] Stomp will provide telephone technical support at no charge for 30 days from the first call.

Installation went smoothly onto Win2K/SP2 and no reboot was necessary. During installation, the program asks if you wish it to store the original copies of any files replaced. An excellent consideration if you need to rollback during an uninstall.

And now for some of the quirks I stumbled across:
Getting text to print correctly on the side labels isn't automatic. Be sure to read the instructions for this part of the design before you try it. Specifically, you must change the orientation and then be aware that the cursor control keys move through the text absolutely. In other words, if your text is rotated 90 degrees and you are typing upwards, the cursor down key is used to move the text cursor to the beginning of the text.

There needs to be an object browser. After transferring a 3D-text object to the main editing window, I lost it. So it either didn't transfer, or got buried under some other object.

When drawing lines, there is no obvious way to constrain them to any particular orientation — absolutely horizontal, for example.

The Quick Designer customization fields have scroll buttons at either side and the image is updated for every option. It's not apparent, but the fields also drop down for a quick pick.

The copy and paste keys that I like to use do not work here (Ctrl+Insert and Shift+Insert).

The undo/redo only applies to certain actions, not any/every action such as editing text.

The wizard windows are larger than a 640x480 desktop display area. But who runs their desktop at that resolution anymore?

Click 'N Design 3D
MSRP: $19.99(CD), $14.95(online)
Stomp Software
Costa Mesa CA 92627
949-250-6671
30-day trial version available – 17.6 MB
Windows 9x+/NT4 and Macintosh