Glossy Printable Media

[Stavros]

I have just purchased an Epson Photo 900 for £75 from PC World and am looking for some quality printable media.

After searching through previous posts on this site it seems clear that glossy printable media does not exist.

My first question is why? I have read on this site that the disks are given a matt finish so that the ink sticks properly. If our printers can print on glossy labels, then why couldn't they print on glossy disks?

My second question is, does anyone know of a way of coating the disks (e.g. a spray) to give it a glossy or even slightly shiny look.

I have experimented with the sample disk and although the print quality is excellent the disk does not look professional because it is missing the smooth shiny look.

Any help on this topic would be much appreciated.

[redwudz]

I'll take a stab at this. I suspect the matt finish on DVD disks is to insure that the ink sticks to the disk properly. Disks are designed to be handled whereas photos are generally not. There are photographic sprays made to coat photographs that may do what you want. I hesitate to recommend spraying them on a DVD, but if you have just sprayed on ink from your printer, it may be alright. Check with a professional photography shop and you may get some good advice. You will be adding weight and bulk to your disk which is not good and you would have to be very careful about the overspray getting on the data side of the disk. Overall I wouldn't recomment this.

[Stavros]

Thanks for the reply Redwudz.

I know what you mean about DVDs being different to photos however I presume glossy labels have been designed taking this into account. If there is a market for glossy labels is there not a market for glossy DVDs.

I might look into the spray you mentioned however I do take your point about the negative side of doing this.

I have read on this site that certain people have found a method of spraying DVDs to protect the ink without doing any damage to the disk. My biggest concern would be the weight issue you mentioned. I would imagine the photo spray would be heavier than the spray used to protect the ink. Definetely worth looking into.

Do you think that manufacturers will ever make a glossy label?

[Tommyknocker]

I think all it would entail is just changing the paper and charging you for the mark up. I was wondering, what do you do if you make an error with your printable media? Do you break out the sharpie, or just leave it at that? I use hub labels, and apply only the ones I want on my disk, but you do not have that option.

[BJ_M]

there are glossy cd's for printing and after using them .. i can tell you it looks great ! BUT - it smears easy and fingerprints will show bad - also the paint doesnt stick well were there are fingerprints ...

when i say it smears easy -- i mean REAL easy ..

[Stavros]

I only bought my printer yesterday so the honest answer is that I haven’t been n that situation yet.

I have done some experimenting with the printer though and it was so easy to use (designing with software and aligning the disk in the printer) that I think the times that this might happen would be minimal. Infact there was more chance of applying the sticker incorrectly when I used to label my DVDs.

If the DVD had a glossy surface it would be very difficult to tell the difference between it and a DVD from a video shop. Where as DVDs that I have previously labeled looked really good but you could always tell they were labeled.

[Stavros]

BJ_M who makes the labels and where did you buy them from?

[BJ_M]

"DVD from a video shop"

thats printed a totally different method ... not the same thing at all .. though comparing the "look" - i know what you mean ..

you can do this on small runs with an expensive thermal printer .. instead of inkjet ..


as for the other question -- i dont use stickers -- i use ritek printable dvd blanks for both cd and dvd ... which are matt ... i had to decrease saturation to 30-35% and use 2400dpi printing on these if printing with 6point text ..

[Stavros]

BJ_M we have got our wires crossed totally. When I wrote about my thoughts on the difference between printing directly from to CD and printing labels I was replying to Tommyknocker. I started reply and by the time I had posted it I noticed you had posted first.

I only mentioned DVDs bought from a video shop because I believe that if we (People with inkjet DVD printers) had glossy disks I think we could come very close to the quality of a far more expensive DVD printing method.

When I asked where you bought the disks from I was referring to your post on glossy CDs.

[BJ_M]

these are the glossy printable cd's i have used http://www.meritline.com/taiyyud74min1.html


i have 20 or so glossy dvd blanks for printing laying around somewhere -- i really cant remember what they are or when i got them or if ive even ever used them .... the pioneer authoring disks i have are also glossy printable ..

[iooi]

I to have got a epsom 900 and have printed 100+ dvd's off with it and have found the best setting to be, change media type from cd/dvd to photo paper and sometimes alter print colour correction to +1. What ever you do dont use the "Colour life" paper setting as the printer puts far to much ink on the disks and even after a day they can still be to wet to handle.
Have have plenty of good comments using these settings and some of the disks even look as good as the originals.
Playing with the settings will give you a feel for whats best for you. Sadly its the only way.
Would love to find a source for the silver printable disks in the UK...

[The village idiot]

Speaking from a printering standpoint, glossy papers are difficult. The coating for the glossy paper is very special. It must allow the ink to penetrate, while still remaining glossy. To put this type of coating on a disk might make the disk too thick. However the answer lies with the new inks the Epson among others have produced. They now have a pigment ink the will print onto RC glossy paper. The RC paper is a plastic coated paper, and the ink does not penetrate the coating. The thing that bothers me is that Epson did not use this ink in their brand new 950 which was designed well after they had the first type of this ink available. One of the first uses of this ink was the Durabright printers. The first generation of the Durabrite ink did a poor job of sticking to the RC papers, but the new generation of Durabright inks, does a very good job. An example would be the new C84 printer, the previous generation inks would be the C82 printer. They have had this new generation of Durabrite available for the wide format pro7600 and pro9600 for almost a year. You would have thought that they would put it into the disk printers, but dye ink is so much cheaper that the profit is much higher!

As a side note, I think the matte white disks look great, most of the commercial pressings only have a sort of semigloss look anyway. I generally do not use glossy papers, there are too many problems with them. Figerprints, scratches, and long dry times. It just isn't worth the effort. Semi gloss is a little better, but still falls to the same problems. My preference is a good top quality matter paper for all my photos, some of those papers are over $1.50 a square foot, and they look great. Those same papers have every bit of saturation that any glossy paper has, and it doesn't have all the problems that glossy has.

[Stavros]

I agree that most commercial DVDs are matt with just a slight shine. That is all I am looking for. I think the smooth slightly shiny look is what gives the disks that look of professionalism. The disk I printed looked really good; it was just seemed to be missing the finishing touch. That might have just been the disk I was using but from what I have read it seems to be more wide spread than that.

I looked into the spray redwudz mentioned and found a spray that improves the look of inkjet photo prints but does not give a glossy finish. I might try it out anyway.

If anyone can think of any other method of improving the appearance of a DVD or knows of a disk that produces a better quality finish than the Verbatim, please let me no.

Thank you for all the replies so far.

[Stavros]

I would also appreciate it if someone could also give me some tips on how to use this printer generally.

I decided to make back up copies of some of the DVDs I have bought so I can keep my originals in as good condition as possible. I printed out a DVD cover that I had already printed out previously on my old printer so that I could compare the two.

I set the printer to 'Best Photo, Vivid, and Premium Glossy Photo Paper. To my surprise the print out from the new printer appeared to be far less smooth, shadows looked far worse as did skin tone.

Considering my old printer is a third of the price I was a bit disappointed.

[SaSi]

I know that the labeling issue is quite controversial and some people will condemn any attempt to stick a label on a disk.

To answer a previous post, I doubt that any amount of ink sprayed on the disk surface will ever be close to the weight of a label - especially a glossy one. The only trouble is making the ink dry...

I, on the other hand, am a sticker 8) always stick labels on disks. I used to use plain white paper that did a poor job in terms of quality, but have recently switched to Avery/Zweckform glossy labels, part number C6074.

The result of printing images on them (scanned at 180dpi and printed at highest resolution - 1440 dpi - photo settings selected on an Epson Stylus Photo 1200) is stunning. I apply the paper label with a special tool that ensures perfect centering and never had a peel-off or overwight problem. And believe me, these labels are as thick as photo quality card paper. Done more than 200 runs on CD and DVDs.

There are also full-face lables, leaving only the center hole uncovered, but have yet to find glossy versions of them.

Anyway, I won't try to convince anyone to stick labels, but I woudn't worry about overweight ink sprayed.

[iooi]

I would also appreciate it if someone could also give me some tips on how to use this printer generally.

.

You need to match the setting to the paper you are using. I have found not all photo paper (some kodak) will take the highest setting on these printers. To use the settings you said "'Best Photo, Vivid, and Premium Glossy Photo Paper" you will need to use some paper that can stand all that ink being put on it.
In fact i use "photo" and "photo glossy" settings and heavy weight kodak glossy paper 180 microns and it still crinkles up. But its good enough for a sleave on a dvd case.

[The village idiot]

You should try the Epson glossy papers, they should work better, though they are expensive. The Kodak papers have left me feeling a bit underwhelmed lately, they will not take a full load of ink. Even the matte papers from Kodak are failing me. Also try the good Canon papers. If in the US, try some of the papers at http://www.mediastreet.com, with stock inks most everything except the Prophoto glossy and the Prophoto luster (these 2 should work well with the C84 and other new generation of DuraBrite inks) should work well. Best of all is they have several sample packs of paper, so you won't get stuck with 100 sheets of garbage paper.

[Stavros]

I think your right about the Epson printers Village idiot. Shortly after writing my last post I tried to print the same image on one of the premium glossy photo sample sheets I received with the printer. The difference was huge. The print improved in every way possible. I think the main reason for this was not that the sample paper had a higher level of gloss but that it was made by Epson and was being used in an Epson printer. All I need now is to find the Epson paper that is most appropriate to use as a DVD box cover.

Any ideas?

I live in Newcastle, England so Mediastreet my not be the best place for me to buy from. Thanks for the suggestion anyway.

I will keep your suggestion in mind also iooi. Cheers.

Sasi I wouldn't say anything bad about using labels because I have only had good experiences with them. (Especially glossy ones.) I bought the Epson 900 because I needed a higher quality printer and thought I might as well buy one with this facility on. Even with the lack of glossy DVDs I am still very pleased with the prints.

I am still not giving up on finding some way of improving the finish.

Has anyone come across a disk with a different finish to the Verbatim?

[edlav]

I use the DVD glossy case inserts from Meritline with my 900 with great results. http://www.meritline.com/merdvdcasinp.html They are perforated and easy to use.

[DaveS]

Stavros -

I have tried the Lumijet 'ImageShield' protective spray on one or two dvd's I printed on my 960. This particular spray is for inkjet printed media. (the can shows made in England, with a US phone # for the distributor, Luminos Photo 914-965-4800; I bought mine at B&H Photo in NY - www.bhphoto.com, but I don't think aeorsol (sp) cans can be shipped.)

Overall, it gives a somewhat more satin finish than the media itself - not alot more but maybe a little. It does seem to protect it better, although I think the inks that are in the 960 cartridges are a bit more resistant to water damage than the older inks. And, the unprotected print on the matte media does look fine.

A while back, there was one post w/ a very complicated way to protect the data side from the over spray - to be honest, all I did was set the disc down on paper and spray it from above - 3 coats, then wiped the non-paper portions of the top surface off after the paper portions had a bit of time to dry.

Overall I like the results, but, the thing is, I'm not sure there's anyone who can say what the longer-term effect on the disc will be. This is a petrolium based product (isopropyl alcohol, dimenthyl ether, n butyl acetate), so I don't know if this stuff will eat into the plastic over time and get to the inner core of the media, or like one post I saw on sharpies, all the petrolium will evaporate and leave whatever's left on the suface and pose no harm.

If you want to be sure your disc won't be eaten 10 years from now, my longwinded 2 cents would be not to spray. If you're doing something where it doesn't matter as much, the spray does add a bit of a nice finish.

Maybe the chemists among us would have more to add re the petrolium and the media - I would think where the two sides are bonded together at the edges would pose the greatest risk to the disc itself.

[Stavros]

edlav- Thanks for the advice. I never even new these existed until your post. All I need now is to find the equivalent in England.

DaveS- thanks for that. Again, I think I'll try and see if I can find the spray somewhere in England. I also would be interested to hear what others think the effect of using a spray would have.

[psx_pirate]

i use glossy paper and labels from dcdata (an english company) they are excellent quality and reasonably price .... buy direct online at http://www.dcdata.org.uk/

[Stavros]

Thanks psx_pirate. Have you ever used the DVD case inserts.

[Tommyknocker]

Use regular glossy paper and a paper cutter or scissors.

[psx_pirate]

Stavros

no i have never used dvd case inserts i use photo quality paper. I have created a template in ms publisher so that i can insert a bmp/jpg image of the required case label and it then prints it to the correct size to fit the dvd case, i also use a proper paper trimmer (mine is made by dahle) to cut the cover as it looks much neater than scissors as all the edges are straight

[Stavros]

Thanks for all the help. I'm going to take that option with the exception that I will use the template in Nero.

Thanks

[zenith52]

Covers XP Pro is good for templates etc

Zen