Label Printing Service (Walmart?)

[jsmithepa]

I am looking for a low-volume, DVD labelling (print direct to disc) service.

I don't want to use lightscribe (no color, yuck).

I don't want to buy and maintain an inkjet printer.

Needless to say, paper labelling is out - out -out.

Seen any outfit that do this? I already print my pixs at Costco, unfortunately they don't do dvd labelling.

TIA.

[ultraman36]

Thats going to be hard you may have to check local. Most places charge alot. Where i work we have a Rimage and the prices are still expensive imo. How many dvds are you doing a month on average

[pijetro]

Aww man...I'm going through this right this minute...Nooooobody touches it. Not because they can't buy a $100 Epson R220,300 printer, but because demand is so minimal...Half of my local printing places didn't even know that DVD's were printable..

[mrtunes]

There needs to be some sort of revolution. I'm so upset with printing stuff now - I've been through all the messy/stinky sprays, i've had my demos sent back because the labels weighted the discs wrong, my R200 sucks up ink like a vaccuum and it's probably clogged by this point cause i havent used it in a few weeks. Stores like TPH are offering services but they're still fairly costly. I wish I had some better ideas. In the meantime I'm out of them and have no clue what to do.

[pijetro]

I've been through all the messy/stinky sprays, i've had my demos sent back because the labels weighted the discs wrong, my R200 sucks up ink like a vaccuum and it's probably clogged by this point cause i havent used it in a few weeks.

Of course, labels are a no-no..

There's many people who are using the Epson 200/300 systems using CIS (constant ink system?), with lots of success and pitfalls..Seems like a very popular solution, short of buying something from Primera...
Do a search for CIS, and you'll see.

One of my local stores (specializing in video stuff), charges $2 a CD print (using my graphics of course)..
For the amount of discs that i go through, i'll hold off of the Epson for a while...

[mrtunes]

Seems like a very popular solution, short of buying something from Primera...
Do a search for CIS, and you'll see.

Yeah I can only imagine the CIS being a nightmare for me. I'm bad at fiddling with crap like that and I think the printer's already clogged(which I guess windex can fix?). I would definitely love if that worked for me though cause I also print a lot of the packaging too for the DVD/CDs

[ZAPPER]

jsmithepa

What is the end use of these disk? Personal collection, work distributtion, gifts or sale? And what is low volume? One a day, a week, month? Is the image the same or is it different for each disk?

I have no first hand expeirence, but I think that the epson is kind of the consumer standard. If you are willing to farm the work out, how much would you be willing to pay? A buck? How many before the printer would break even? 200?

Maybe check around for an printer owner that would do it for a reasonable price. For me? If I were going to do more than 50 in a years time I would try one of the Epson printers and find out first hand. If it didn't work out, you could return it, e-bay it, smash it in a fit of rage or let it collect dust.

[zoobie]

I still think litescribe is your best bet...even though it's b&w. If you kinda make your image kodalith-like (high contrast), it comes out pretty cool. Black on silver text works well.

[mrtunes]

I still think litescribe is your best bet...even though it's b&w. If you kinda make your image kodalith-like (high contrast), it comes out pretty cool. Black on silver text works well.

is there a gallery of any cool lightscribe designs printed on discs?

[lordsmurf]

I think basic printing with a casio colored ribbon on a silver inkjet disc (not shiny silver! fingerprints suck!) is the most you should do. Simple logos and text.

Spend your time on the DVD cases (normal or even smaller jewel cases), and then get a color laser. Make that artwork nice.

Disc artwork is almost never looked at. It has an attention span of about 2-3 seconds. A DVD case and the disc menu get the most attention, around 1 minute each, aside from the actual audio/video content. Given all this, printing on the disc is a worthless and thankless endeavor.

[zoobie]

Here's a gallery...


...and here's a pic



It adds a professonal touch especially if you're selling.
Because it's kind of a sepia tone, it would be cool to maybe use sepia pics to begin with...and add them to an old newspaper...using your text as it's headline or whatever...just an idea

Not too shabby for .49 cents...

[jsmithepa]

Ideally it would be like 25-50 cents on top of the blank. I would upload it. Like what u do with Costco's digital pix printing.

Meanwhile, I've gone to lightscribe. Not the ideal solution, but good enough for now. Or until they make ink cartridges that NEVER clog, NEVER dry, and it works right after 6 mos of being unused.

[zoobie]

Then maybe you could clear up something I was wondering...
A few friends have handed me lightscribe discs which I thought were pretty cool. But do you actually have to buy the lightscribe burner? Or will any burner do? I'm thinking the latter.
And what about the media brand itself?
Thanks

[jsmithepa]

u have to have a LS capable burner. They aren't that much more expensive vs regular burners.

Media is another matter. Currently I am paying usd$0.7 per CDR, $0.8 per DVD+R. Currently there is no LS DL but is just matter of time. Price is tolerable for small volume, depends how many yer gonna burn.

[mrtunes]

Nice pictures in the gallery and the one posted. I found a lightscribe burner made by BenQ for around $50 CDN( OEM black) and i think i'll give this a shot.

Disc artwork is almost never looked at. It has an attention span of about 2-3 seconds.

Great point. I'm going to try lightscribe for my demos and then if I ever sell a CD i'm going to the CIS route.

[zoobie]

too bad nec is one of the few companies not supporting LS
bummer