Labels VS Printable?

[Espen]

I have used Glossy labels from Avery for all my dvds so far. I'm happy with the results, very good looking discs and no playback problems. However these labels are pretty expensive, over 1$ each.

I figured I would save some money, long terms, if I bought a printer that can print direct to the discs. But how good is the quality that these kind of printers produce, printing on to printable disc? Is the quality as good as the result you got using glossy labels?

I also have about 50 dvds I haven't labeld. These are not printables, however can you use such printer to print on these discs to or do you need printable discs?

[Bodyslide]

CD/DVD Printers Epson 200 Epson 300 and Epson 900(no longer available. You will also need Inkjet Printable DVD's.
Do a search for Epson 200 or Epson 300 in the forums for alot of info.
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=245175

I have been using the 900 for over 2500 DVD prints and my customers and family love the final product. I have an Epson R200 that I will begin using soon.

[Redd]

At some point those lables will begin to peal due to heat from the DVD players. There'e also a balance issue. Use printables. That's the best way to go. Get the Epson.

[jaxxboss]

I doubt they will peel due to heat from the dvd player. If it's that hot inside, then you have more things to worry about besides disc labels.

You can only print on specific discs that are INKJET printable, otherwise you wiol have a mess.

White matte labels can be had everyday for Around $10.00 US, wally world, taget, look around. comes out to less than a dime a label.

[losferwords]

I have been using the EpsonR200 for a few weeks now and I am more than impressed with the results. 50 inkjet printables for just over £13 can't be hard to beat. the quality of this printer over my previous Epson is quite remarkable (replacement ink for £1and thats for all 6 cartridges). I never used labels before due to what i have read about the problems people have had, so I am now in the slow Process of making more professional bacups of my collection. My supplier for ink and disks is www.svp.co.uk. If you are in the UK give them a try.

[jimmalenko]

IMO you'll find that that Epson R200/300/800 or the Canon i865/965 are the best. Please note though that if you're in the Americas, that the Canon products do not ship with the CD/DVD attachment required, and you might have to look at importing from the UK or Australia.

[Cornucopia]

(working backward)
1. If you want to print on the discs, you've got to get "inkjet printable" type, others will not hold the ink and will forever smear/run.

2. I'll swear by my Primera's (got IV and Pro w/robotarm). The ink's a little more expensive, but the color beats labels every time. They are more costly than the Epson, but the tray is MUCH better at maintaining centering/calibration, from what I've seen.

3. These days, both inkjet printables and std discs can be had cheaply, so that shouldn't deter you.

4. All dye-based printing is somewhat fragile. With a lot of water, things can smear. With sunlight/heat/time, colors can fade. If you want longevity, go with either thermal/Rimage or actually get them silkscreened. AFA paper vs. on-disc longevity, it's probably a toss up. You do get less misuse-related problems with on-disc printing.

Scott

[canadateck]

@jimmalenko


Do you know where to buy the Canon i865/965 DVD/CD printers? I Looked on ebay nothing.

[lchiu7]

I bought labels before I knew about the label problem (balance, extra weight etc.) and merilly labelled a bunch of my discs. Then to my horror I found that would no longer play - would get read errors, blocky picture and skpping etc. This did occur primarily on one brand of DVD+R's to be sure but now I won't label discs at all. Instead I bought a Canon i865 and print on the discs - so much nicer than labels and the discs play fine on all players.

Larry

[mpojeep]

Hi,
I'm planning to get an Epson R200 but am a little hesitant because of the dye-based ink being susceptible to smudges and such.
Questions:
-If I use a pigment based ink, Will this print on CDs/DVDs(that are inkjet printables of course) fine?
-Are pigment based inks more resistant to smudges?Are they more water resistant?
If I get the R200,I'm thinking about getting the CIS forthe printer.

Thanks!

[jaxxboss]

You cant use pigment based ink on the r200 simply because u cant get them.

Just use the dye based ink and dont take them in the bath tub, you'll be fine.

[tonyiws]

Pigment ink is available for the R200, but I don't know anyone that has actually tried it.

I personally think you're worried about nothing. The ink does not smudge or run under normal conditions. You can touch and even rub the printed discs without any adverse effects. The moisture from my hands does not make the ink smear, smudge, or run. The ink will run a little if you get it WET, but why would you do that? The ink will be fine with everyday normal use. No special precautions are necessary. Just don't try to use them for coasters and you'll be ok.

You can find some info on a cis and pigment ink here.
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=241206&highlight=

[Mawdryn]

Back to the labels for a minute. I used to use those Avery labels. They were great but very expensive as you said. I now use the glossy labels from Meritline. I think they're just as good as the Avery ones at a fraction of the price. I think they're $19 for 100 labels (plus shipping).

Matte labels are a lot cheaper (about half the price) but I don't think they look nearly as good.

As for problems with labeling, I have labeled about 300 disks, all for my own personal use, and have had no playback problems yet.

That all said, I think it would be nice to print right to the DVD. I just bought a Canon Pixma 5000 printer. The DVD printing is disabled for America, but if I can find a way to get the tray and make it work, I'll try that. For now, I'll stick (pun intended) with the labels. Good luck.

[losferwords]

i would try eBay in UK/europe for the tray, it may be your best bet. You may have to wait a bit on postage but i can't see them being that expensive. Why do the US not have the trays shipped with them? Is this an attempt to stop Piracy?

[Redd]

I doubt they will peel due to heat from the dvd player.

Then you're not sure...I am.

[Espen]

At some point those lables will begin to peal due to heat from the DVD players. There'e also a balance issue. Use printables. That's the best way to go. Get the Epson.

I'm well aware of the problems that labels might cause. I myself have run through lots of problem using labels in my early days of DVD burning. A couple of years back when i was completly new to this dvd burning thing I just bought the media that was cheap, like prodisc and Princo. I almost always run into playback problem after labeld these discs
and a few of them didn't even play correct before I had labeld them. Some of them did work after i labeld them, but a month later or so they show signs of playback problems.

When I read and learnt alot more of DVD burning I figured that invest some extra money in quality media would give me much better results. So I decided to start using more expensive media like media
with RICOHJPNR dye and once I did so the playback problem got more unusual. However some labeld discs stil gave me playback problem.

So far I had used a burner that handled + media only. Now I thought it was time for a new burner that did handle - media to. So i bought a LG GSA-4040B burner. I had read much about ritekG04 so I decide to gave that media a try.I orderd about 6 different brands of media that did use ritekG04 dye and my test winner of these brands was Datasafe. So I decide to give Datasafe a real try.

I Orderd a 100pack. A few month later I hade burnt all of them and labeld most of them. I did try them in atleast 10 different players and no disc did show playback problems. Well there was one or two, but it was related to dirt, they did play fine after i cleaned the surface. I have sticked to
Datasafe ever since and they still work perfect no problems what so ever.

Concerning the peel of theory, I have labeld media for a couple of years and not a singel label dvd have shown any tendency to peel of. And if they haven't done that so far I'm pretty sure they will stay on in the future to.

Conclussion of my experiences are: sure label can screw up the playback on dvds, but if you stick to quality media and quality labels they will just play fine. If you don't belive me just try Datasafe 4x dvd-r they wouldn't give you any palyback problems!