Cheapest CD printer out there?

[zorankarapancev]

I use a CASIO printer. It is a wonderful, simple and fast THERMAL printer that replaced my Epson inkjet printer for good. The best value on the market for dedicated DVD and CD printer.

[Quake2Player]

Since there have been no responses to my posting in the Sticky... I'll try here....

Hearing about all these issues on labeling the media scares me and I'm about to plunk down on a quantity of DVD-R media so I want to buy the right thing...

Can I use one of those Brother P-Touch labeling gadgets and just slap on a neatly printed small rectangular title on either one of the media (printable vs. non-printable)? I may just avoid using a full CD label as I hear all the horror stories. Maybe this is the cheapest way to print onto media... and u can use the lable to print on other items.

[Bob W]

Since there have been no responses to my posting in the Sticky... I'll try here....

Hearing about all these issues on labeling the media scares me and I'm about to plunk down on a quantity of DVD-R media so I want to buy the right thing...

Can I use one of those Brother P-Touch labeling gadgets and just slap on a neatly printed small rectangular title on either one of the media (printable vs. non-printable)? I may just avoid using a full CD label as I hear all the horror stories. Maybe this is the cheapest way to print onto media... and u can use the lable to print on other items.

Don't believe all the "horror stories" as that's all they are are stories.

[btocher]

Why not use a Canon i865? It has a tray to put your printable DVD-R into and viola a full colour graphical label almost indistinguishable from the original (when backing up commercial DVD's you own).

Yep, I'd second this - lovely printer, beautiful quality and inexpensive too.

[Super Warrior]

Since there have been no responses to my posting in the Sticky... I'll try here....

Hearing about all these issues on labeling the media scares me and I'm about to plunk down on a quantity of DVD-R media so I want to buy the right thing...

Can I use one of those Brother P-Touch labeling gadgets and just slap on a neatly printed small rectangular title on either one of the media (printable vs. non-printable)? I may just avoid using a full CD label as I hear all the horror stories. Maybe this is the cheapest way to print onto media... and u can use the lable to print on other items.

Have you thought about useing those smaller core/hubb labels? Thats what i'm going to start doing.Like i said earlier in that topic i'm sick of applying the full labels,to much of a hassle.

Also its a good way to let you label/name your DVDs without messing with the surface.That way when i can afford a DVD printer in the future,the white printable disc surface will still be untouched and ready for printing.

I've also learned how to use my regular printer to print stuff onto the core labels so they'll look nice.

[studawg66]

Can I use one of those Brother P-Touch labeling gadgets and just slap on a neatly printed small rectangular title on either one of the media (printable vs. non-printable)? I may just avoid using a full CD label as I hear all the horror stories. Maybe this is the cheapest way to print onto media... and u can use the lable to print on other items.

I suppose you could try, but you'll need to be very careful about balance. If you put a label on only part of the disc, it could throw off the balance of the disc during playback. I used to have this problem with Blockbuster DVD rentals. They slapped on a logo and my PS2 would vibrate furiously, then refuse to read it every time. If I removed the label, it played fine. Blockbuster eventually saw the light and quit doing this, but it was annoying for a little while.

[ozstar100]

Anyone have any negative things to say about the Canon i865 for printing onto DVD's.

I'm looking at this model especially for the pigment inks.

The Epson 310 is new one but it has regular dye ink that sometimes smudge when they get damp. I lhave an Epson Styus 740 which has been just great for many years so I don't mind Epsons at all. It is just the ink problem.

I have been getting my labels printed at Kwik Kopy so thery are glossy and look very professional. The only trouble is they are labels and many say labels can cause the media to be unplayable in certain players.

I am still testing and researching this theory.

I'm interested in any more comments about the Ink and the printers models above.

[ozstar100]

I have just come across this very informative review of the Canon i865.

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/interactive/Canon%20i865/page_1.htm

Not sure how cheap one can get them here in Sydney OZ, but they certainly do seem to be the one to look seriously at in comparison to the new Epson R210 or 310.

Oz

[The village idiot]

As far as I know, the only pigment ink in the Canon printers is the black ink. The thermal inkjet heads do not work well with pigment inks. It tends to discolor the colored pigments. The black being a carbon black can't really change color from the heat.

[ozstar100]

Ah haa... A poster previously mentioned his Canon i865 had pigment ink! So it's only the black?

I will also look into this as well. I am sitting on the fence with a R310 on one side and this i865 on the other. Both have dif probs but anxious to see the results so I can buy.

Thanks

Oz

[The village idiot]

If printing lasting photos is important, then I would suggest the R800 from Epson. If you don't need the card readers and don't care about pictures fading, then the R200 (210 for you) would be a cheaper choice. And I will admit I don't know much about the Canon printers. But I do know that they use a thermal inkjet printhead which doesn't lend itself to pigment inks. The thermal inkjet heads use an electric current to heat the ink until it "vaporizes" and the expanded "vapor" pushes a drop out. This effects the stability of the pigment particles and often causes bad color. Since the black is carbon, it is hard to burn it more.

[studawg66]

To my experience, the ink used in the Epson R300 does not run if it has gotten wet, also the ink is dry to the touch immediately after printing.

The main point from Epson in their advertising is their ink will not run if exposed to water. Called Dura Bright ink.

Very odd... I have checked the Epson website several times, and it always says that the R300 uses dye based inks. DuraBrite are pigment inks. So which ink is it? Does it say in nice large letters "DuraBrite" on the printer box? Look for this logo:

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/DuraBrite/DuraBriteMain.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes That link says that the R300 does not use DuraBrite inks, but it also says that the all-in-one scanner/printer does use the DuraBrite inks.

I can confirm that the R300 uses dye based inks, NOT the Dura-Brite. As for Redd's comment about the ink not running, you have just not tried hard enough. True, with good media, the prints are dry to the touch almost immediately, but lick your finger and rub across the surface and I guarantee you will smear the ink...even on a print that has dried for several days. I don't find this to be a deal breaker, but it would be nice if there was a better solution. Spray sealing is just messy.

[ozstar100]

Here's a link to templates for the Sure Thing program including templates for


Epson R300 which is the same as the 210 and 310.

and The Canon i865

http://pete.mvd2.com/custom_templates.htm

Haven't tried them but would be interested to know the results if anyone does.

Thanks

Oz

[Whitestorm]

Most printers use DYE including my Canon i965 but just keep the discs away from moisture.

If they bought out Pigment ink for it, it would give the discs that added protection though.

Whitestorm

[ozstar100]

Hello,

Just got this email back from Sure Thing about a template for the Epson mentioned above.

This it..

<We don't support the Canon (haven't been able to get one here in the
states), but we do support the R300 and 200 from Epson.

I bet they are the same as the European 310 and 210.

If you have Surething 4 Deluxe, here's a template file with those added... you just need to find the current template.dbx and replace it with this one. but don't try it if you don't have STCD4DELUXE.>

I am not surte I can uplaod the file to this forum or not.

Email me and I will send it to you if you want it.

Oz

[Hawseman]

Have you tested it yet?

[ozstar100]

Sorry about the spelling in my previous post.. Going ga ga here in the 40C plus (105+F) heat.

No I haven't as I don't yet have the printer. I am on the fence about the 310 or the Canon I865/965.

I am leaning towards the Epson now that I see they are both DYE inks with the same chance of waterproofness!

I really want to see how this template works as I think Sure Thing is a great program and sure to be better than the Epson one as it is purely dedicated to printing labels etc.

Looking forward to the results from others..

Oz

[Hawseman]

Thanks for hooking me up, Oz... I own deluxe copy version 3. I just need to buy the upgrade to 4, then I can test this template. I think I can do that online.

[chaseru]

Go for the silver topped ones though.

Nothing special about silver, the gold or black ones work just as good. The best discs for the Casio are those that are unbranded (no artwork or manufacturer's logos) and a smooth glossy finish.

That being said, the Casio has printed on every disc I've thrown at it from ink-jet printable, matte finish, to heavily branded media; as long as the branded media has a portion of the disc that is smooth.

[ozstar100]

This is borrowed from the SureFire Forum from poster 'Riggy' who borrowed it from someone else I think. Thanks to whoever did it anyways..

http://forums.mvd2.com/tm.asp?m=20317&p=1&tmode=1&smode=1

If the link doesn't work.. try..

http://forums.mvd2.com/

Good Luck

Oz

<quote>
THE SUMMARY OF CD-R BRANDS:

Recommended:

-Manufacturers selling under their own label, or using an exclusive brand name:

Ritek (Ritek)
Taiyo Yuden (T.Y.)
Kodak (Kodak - manufacturing discontinued)
Mitsui (Mitsui)
TraxData (Ritek)
SmartBuy (Prodisc)
Ricoh (almost sure they are always from Ricoh)
Mitsubishi (Mitsubishi)
HiSpace (CDR section of MPO) Gold CDRs (*)

-Brands that so far have maintained high quality of media:

Hewlett-Packard (T.Y., Ricoh, previously also Mitsui)
Arita (Ritek) (can someone verify - always Ritek?)
Prostore (4M, Moser Baer India)
Plextor (T.Y.)
Teac (Mitsui)
Yamaha DiscT@2 (Mitsubishi)

Varying quality:

Mr.Platinum (NAN-YA (bad), Ritek (good)
MMORE (used to be CMC(bad), but now everything is Moser Baer India (quite good))
Verbatim (Mitsubishi, 4M, CMC, T.Y.) (Note that "Azo" on the box means Mitsubishi)
Sony (T.Y., Sony)
TDK (T.Y., Ritek, TDK, CMC)
Memorex (Ritek, CMC)
Fuji (Fuji, T.Y.)

Low quality:

Imation (CMC)
LG (CM
HyperMedia (CMC)

(*) HiSpace Carbon are reported to have problems (http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=59220). HiSpace Gold don't have the problems of the Carbon ones. We have no user reports about HiSpace Metal yet.

THE SUMMARY OF CD-R MANUFACTURERS:


High quality:

The manufacturers you can trust

Kodak (discontinued)
Mitsubishi
Mitsui
MPO
Prodisc
Ricoh
Ritek
Taiyo Yuden

Medium quality:

These manufacturers are slightly lesser quality, or display varying quality, or there isn't sufficient data to mark a manufacturer as 'high quality'

4M Multimedia Masters & Machinery (actually 4M makes CD-R plants, not CD-Rs)
Moser Baer India
TDK (quality varies a lot)
Sony (Good and bad reports)
Fuji (Good and bad reports)

Low quality:

NAN-YA Electronics
CMC Magnetics
<unquote>