"There is no phthalocyanine "layer"; the dye (phthalocyanine or another) is contained in a region of the polycarbonate - my assumption is that it is suspended in the plastic." Sorry Mike, but I don't believe this is the case. The dye is spin coated onto the polycarbonate base. When you delaminate a CD-R from the top side, the top layers (label, lacquer, metal layer) can be removed. The dye layer has better adhesion and tends to stay behind, although you can get localized removal of dye in patches. From the MAM web site: Dye Coating. The dye is applied by spin coating. The thickness and evenness of the dye are important for the quality of the disc. Drying : The dye must be dried and cured to ensure adequate adhesion to the polycarbonate. Joe