Edge-Labeling Floppy Disks

Today I will show you how to make labels for floppy disks using masking tape that reach around the back edge. This is handy because then you can see what the disk is when it is inserted into its drive.

Materials needed:

- Diskettes
- Masking tape, I used 3/4" wide
- Exact-O Knife

NOTE: I designed this so that it would not get peeled off and stuck in the drive. However, if this happens to you, or something else does, and it damages your floppy drive and/or diskette(s), I am not responsible. Same goes for working with the Exact-O knife. Be careful!

I used plain white 3/4" masking tape for this, but wide and narrower would work. You want to get a piece just wider than the diskette itself. 

When putting the tape onto the disk, I used the top of the write-protect hole to line it up. If you are doing this with 1.44MB floppies instead of the 800k ones i used you can use the hole on the other side as well.

You now want to rub the tape down on the top, then fold it down over the edge tightly, rub it down, then fold it down onto the bottom and rub it down again.

Next thing you want to do is to cut the extra tape off of the sides. I recommend using an exact-o here and not just using scissors to cut the extra hanging off the floppy. 

 Cut along the ridge where the factory label is supposed to go, so that the tape doesn't stick out above the floppy. Then peel off the little bit on the sides.

Finally, you want to write on the tape. For this I recommend using a pen or a pencil, some tape has a waxy stuff on it that will make markers smear. I used a pen that has liquid ink instead of the normal ballpoint pen stuff.

For writing on the edge, i suggest using a fine-tipped pen, a very steady work surface and hand, and patience. Take your time on each letter, it helps!

These disks had old DOS games on them originally, with the labels marked accordingly. If you can get hold of the real labels, like the ones in picture 3 (the disks for my SCSI hard drive) then use those instead.