Media for inkjet printing

[tomlin]

Hello all,

I recently bought an inkjet printer that will do DVDs. The first one I tried was a Memorex. It had a matte white finish and the ink can be scratched off very easily. I know 'glossy' white (Verbatim AquaAce?) are supposed to be better as far as not smearing or scratching. I also see 'silver' and 'shiny silver' discs being advertised. I'm guessing 'silver' is also matte finish. I can't seem to find out if 'shiny silver' is inkjet printable or thermal only.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me or point me to a post on the forum?

Thanks.

[jman98]

NOTHING beats Taiyo Yuden's Watershield line of glossy discs. They only make these in CD-R and DVD-R (no DL or +R) though.

You definitely do NOT want any kind of silver. Those are fine for text only work and I have some that I use for that purpose, but anything with art needs to go on a white background. I've used some non-glossy white Verbatims for inkjet printing and they are OK but the glossy Watershield from Taiyo Yuden are really the best I've ever used. The Watershield discs dry pretty quickly although just to be safe I usually leave them out in the open air for a few hours. Once they dry touching the surface is fine unless maybe your hands have a very large amount of sweat.

[rcubed]

Hello all,

I recently bought an inkjet printer that will do DVDs. The first one I tried was a Memorex. It had a matte white finish and the ink can be scratched off very easily. I know 'glossy' white (Verbatim AquaAce?) are supposed to be better as far as not smearing or scratching. I also see 'silver' and 'shiny silver' discs being advertised. I'm guessing 'silver' is also matte finish. I can't seem to find out if 'shiny silver' is inkjet printable or thermal only.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me or point me to a post on the forum?

Thanks.

Tomlin,
I always spray a light coating of lacquer on the disk. After the ink has dried I put them on a sheet of paper on a very level surface to make sure none of the lacquer gets onto the non label side. It helps to gently push down on the DVD to make sure it is in contact with the paper. I've used either gloss or semi-gloss lacquer. I tend to prefer the semi-gloss - personal choice. I use the Taiyo Yuden's std white SL DVDs. I think I remember people complaining about the silver printables. Don't recall exactly what the issue was since I don't use them.

rcubed

[mail2tom]

I've been using the Taiyo Yuden Watershield for years but have recently tried the Verbatim AquaAce. Both are very similar.

[lordsmurf]

Taiyo Yuden.
Verbatim.

Maybe the TDK-branded discs (Ritek oxonol)
Or Sony-branded discs (Ritek oxonol)

[DaredevilMouse]

Hello all,

I recently bought an inkjet printer that will do DVDs. The first one I tried was a Memorex. It had a matte white finish and the ink can be scratched off very easily. I know 'glossy' white (Verbatim AquaAce?) are supposed to be better as far as not smearing or scratching. I also see 'silver' and 'shiny silver' discs being advertised. I'm guessing 'silver' is also matte finish. I can't seem to find out if 'shiny silver' is inkjet printable or thermal only.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me or point me to a post on the forum?

Thanks.

Which printer do you have? Verb AquaAce, TY Watershield, and Falcon Smart Guard glossies will give you the most damage resistant surfaces. Falcon Pro white printables have one of the best matte surfaces. Memorex are B grade in every way and you can't expect too much from them. Silver pearl printables like Falcon's can give an attractive 3D looking image with the right high-color images. Shiny silver are strictly for thermal/silkscreen. Not an option for you.

[tomlin]

Thanks everyone for replying.

I have a Brother J835. It prints great on glossy photo paper, so I figure it'll do a nice job on glossy white DVDs. I'd read on another forum that the silver gives an iridescent look to the label, just like the movies you buy. Maybe I'll try the silver 'matte' finish and use the spray.

Thanks again!

[DaredevilMouse]

A Brother? Very interesting. While I have plenty of experience with Canon and Epson disc printers, I'm new to Brother disc printers. Please stop back and let us know how well it works for you? Doing a little research on it, I see a few people reporting good disc printing. I strongly suspect your first results are entirely due to poor media. Stick to Falcon, Verbatim, and Taiyo Yuden for best results. Playback and printing. Stick with hub-printables for the best looking results. Do treat yourself to some Watershield or Smart guard discs. The results are likely to knock your socks off . Smart guard glossy have a slight advantage in that they print all the way to the edge where Watershields don't quite do so.

[wrathofbod]

i have used both Taiyo Yuden(top discs But High Price) &
Verbatim. great results but for a cheaper disc i found Traxdata Ritek 8x Full Face Printable DVD-R (50 wrap)

at around £16 For 100 G05 dye
& had good results with long lasting media & print quality, i used them on epson & canon but not on brother. if i need to do family weddings & the like i tend to use the taiyo but thats just my preference.
will have to look into the brother printer as the inks cheap too.