When I was at MacWorld Expo last month, one of the things I was looking for was an application to design and print CD labels. I had been using Avery's free Design Pro software, but was getting frustrated by its limitations.

There were two major contenders that I found, DiscLabel (from SmileOnMyMac) and Disc Cover (from BeLight Software). Both seemed to do what I wanted, but based on the demos that I saw, it seemed that DiscLabel was more flexible and would be my best choice. After using it for some time, I realize that although it's relatively powerful software, it certainly isn't as easy to use as I had thought from the demos I had seen.

A review of an earlier version (see http://www.mlmug.org/DiscL.html) concluded, "It's only a 3 star program in ease of use, but looks like its potential offers users a 5 star application." While I didn't have as many problems working with it right out of the box (maybe because of the demos I attended), it still can be frustrating as you learn to use it. I think a little bit of playing around with it gives you a good feel for how its tools work—but that playing around may take 3 or 4 hours.

What's changed since that earlier review? Many little things (it can now add shadows to any object, for example, and new template designs have been added for holidays and gifts), but also a several significant ones: importing images from Aperture and iDVD themes, support for custom label sizes, a free download of scalable clip art (12 MB), layer effects now allow all objects—including text—to have special graphic effects (such as variable opacity) applied to them.

What can DiscLabel do? It imports track lists and details from iTunes, iPhoto, iDVD, and Toast. It imports images from iTunes, iPhoto, iDVD, Aperture, and Finder. It can apply images and gradients to text and objects (though I found it difficult to add a gradient to text). It works with LightScribe, and even has special designs created especially for LightScribe. It comes with a host of templates and images, with more easily downloadable from the web.

One feature I particularly liked was the way it calibrates itself for your printer. You print a calibration sheet, which includes a ruler marked off in millimeters as well as a cross near the top of the page. You measure the distance from the top and left sides of the page to the cross, using either the ruler that was printed out or a standard metric ruler, and enter these figures in the program. That's it—it's now perfectly calibrated for your printer.

Although there's no manual per se, there's a lot of support available from the Help menu: it has help via the Help Viewer or a web browser, but even more important, it has a series of five video tutorials. Additionally, two weeks after registering the program, I received three emails: Using Photos in DiscLabel, Using iTunes with DiscLabel, and 3 Easy Steps to a Custom Design.

Could it be easier to use right out of the box? Sure. Would a manual (even an electronic one) have made it simpler to use? Yes again. But it's a powerful program that will easily repay the few hours you'll need to spend learning all its ins and outs.