CP-88 Thermal CD/DVD Printers

[nyisles]

I know that this is the wrong forum, but I don't know where else to post this question.

Has anyone ever used one of these printers? It is $95 on Ebay and was thinking of getting it. Here is a link to the specs:

http://store.yahoo.com/runpc/rpthercdprin.html

It looks like it can print on the White top Princos and silver top Accus that I use.

Thanks in advance

NYISLES
"LET'S GO ISLANDERS"

[mrspangle]

Hi,

By the look of this device its not very good, but i dont have one so its only my opinion. But look at the DPI its only 200 thats not going to give you a very good definition. If you want to make professional cd labels then i would suggest investing in a good Inkjet - go for epson they are one of the best and most affordable. Failing that Hewlett Packard.

john

[Nolonemo]

This looks identical to Casio's CW-50. That printer will only print one color at a time (you have to change ribbons), and the print area is limited to 2 rectangular boxes at the top and bottom of the CD. I decided against the CW-50 for the same price. Go to the Casio website and search for CW-50, you'll be able to download the manual.

[mysterio1]

I have one it does print very good and small symbols, but no graphics, the only that sucks is the ink ribbons they designed work wrong, it forwards itself to much after a print and you have alot of unused ribbons, I drilled a hole in my ribbon cartridge to be able to roll it back and it fixed that problem.

[HereAmongMany]

The first thing I noticed about this unit is that there was a funky, homemade, paper sticker on the front that said “CP-88”. On the top of the machine was “DISC TITLE PRINTER CW-50”.

After a few Google searches, I came to realize that the “CP-88 Thermal CD Printer” was a “Casio CW-50 CD Title Printer” with stickers covering the model number and a large label on the back which obscures the manual disc tray opening. I also found that my cheapest price for the CP-88 was $125 and the Casio CW-50 is going for around $85.

The so-called manual for the CP-88 is a backroom mimeographed copy that has 11 almost useless pages. The company “producing” these machines is Vinpower, Inc. (http://ww.vinpower.net). Their web support consists of a FAQ and a form to submit to obtain the nearest dealer. Casio’s web site (http://world.casio.com/ds/download/en/) offers a complete online 80 page manual and a download of their latest software.

I chose to install the Casio Application software which has more options, although I needed to install the Casio CW-50 software first (with no restart) and then the CP-88 software to get the correct driver to load. You then remove the install CD, turn off the computer, attach the printer, and start computer. Do NOT put the install CD back in during the ADD HARDWARE process. Let Windows (XP anyway) find the driver.

The CP-88 does a fine job of printing on CDs and DVDs and I am pleased with the quality of the printing, which looks a whole lot better than handwriting. Different colored ribbons are available. The ribbons that I ordered for the CP-88 were labeled CASIO TR-18xx (where xx=color). This is a basic, no-nonsense lettering machine that can also print basic graphics (symbols).

I feel as if I have been deceived and ripped-off by my purchase of the CP-88. Spend less money and get a better deal by buying the Casio CW-50 .

[Supreme2k]

Here's a sample of what can be done with the CW-50 (this is one I made myself):