Shopping for a Decent DVD Printer under $300

[BassPig]

I'm looking at the current crop of DVD/CD printers such as Epson Stylus Photo R200 but could find little in the way of real reviews of actual testing and performance of these printers.

Factors I'm interested in are:

Ease of loading/registration and consistency from disk to disk.
Print quality.
Print Speed.
Dry times.


I have heard a lot of negative press about the printers that use a loading sheet. I was almost ready to resort to a printer in the over $1000 range because it has a CD loading tray, but for the volume of one-offs I do, I can't justify it right now, as we just blew a substantial amount on a new music production studio. But we desparately want to get off labels, as I suspect that's been causing a few DVDs to lock up with blocky pixels toward end of disc.

So I'd like to hear from those of you who bought these printers, or even the newest Epson inkjet CD printers, and discover the pros and cons of various models. I'd like to place an order for a printer by the end of this week. At the very least, steer me clear of the real duds out there. Thanks!

[BassPig]

I did some research on Google, read a lot of good words about Epson's new R200, did some more research and found out that the local Staples has both the R200 and R300 in stock, so I went to look at them in person.

As it turned out, Staples was offering an instant $30 off discount for the R300, so I bought that model, which adds some standalone features, a la HP PhotoSmart 7960 (our other printer for photos).

The R300 will be dedicated to printing on DVDs.

Contrary to my usual way of doing things, I decided to install Epson's provided DVD print software. I did my layout in QuarkXpress, exported it as a EPS file, and loaded that into PhotoShop, rasterizing to a 300dpi bitmap. I cropped accordingly and saved as high quality JPEG (the only format for background images that Epson Print CD accepts.

The first DVD I printed on is a Meritline White Printable media that I bought and stored in my closet over 2 years ago. The results were satisfactory on the first try. Registration was within 1.5mm of center. The inner print border is 2mm larger (short of) the disk's printable white coating, so I will increase that size in the software next print.

Color is not bad, though a tad on the light side. Turning up the ink density will be my next tweak. Also, the EPS conversion washed out the color on this image, so I may work on making a Quark template that will print directly from QuarkXPress 6 and save me a few steps.

The printer can apparently print DVDs from images on memory sticks and flash media cards inserted in the printer's slots. It has a display with a menu that shows status and functions. A preview display is optional and can be purchased separately.

In conclusion, I'm testing the printed disk, on a before & after error rate test, and printing the disk has not degraded playability in any way that I can detect.

I used to use clear film labels, but they were a pain to apply, and probably were responsible for some disc returned as unplayable near the end. Not to mention the ever-present bubbles that could never be completely eliminated.

I must say, the result is quite pleasing. The disk looks professional, and I can rest assured that the printing won't impact the balance and playability of the disc. The print is not shiny, and that may be part of why some users claimed the color looked washed out. Overall, it's quite acceptable and I think with some adjustments and better source images, this will look even better. And it's fast and convenient. It took under a minute to print the entire disc with a full cover graphic and text. The disc holder is a snap in arrangement, much like the hub on a laptop CD player, or a Sony CD Walkman. Disk snaps on to the hub, and the plastic tray slides into a track. The printer slides the tray in and out during printing. It works very well.

Word has it that the images are water resistant. One guy wanted to reuse the disc to test another print layout, so he attempted to wash off the ink under warm water. He said only a little ink came off and the rest still looked good. I guess the images will stand up to normal handling just fine then.

This printer uses six ink cartridges. Supplied as shipped. They are $12.88 each at Staples, which has a whole counter devoted to this printer and supplies.

Overall, a great use of $149! At a dollar a label, I'll soon have saved a bundle on labels.


UPDATE:

I'm burning a few Samsung BeAll 4X DVD-R media and printing on those. They have a smoother white coating, which produces a slightly better image. I also turned up the ink density for a darker image. Looks quite nice now. And the DVDs play just as well before and after printing.
Also, having printed six discs so far, registration is consistent from one to the next. That was a problem with paper fed labels. So once I tweak a layout, I can count on every disc aligning perfectly.
The R300 is a terrific little printer!

[Nick]

I have the Canon BubbleJet i865.
£130(UK) so, say $200-240 out there I guess.
Assuming this model is available outside Europe that is...Certainly there will be a US equivalent in the Canon range if not.

Anyway, if it is, check it out. I'm really pleased with mine, although you will have to buy Canon ink to get good drying times on CD's. The generic "compatibles" do tend to take longer. However, the i865 has a CD loading tray and print quality is good enough for me.

Good luck in your hunt!
Nick

EDIT: Duh! I see you've already bought the Epson - not sure how I missed that point before I replied. Oh well, the info may come in useful to other readers who may be looking for an alternative, so I'll leave it here. Sorry for being a bit thick. It is Friday evening . My brain has gone into standby mode :)

[BassPig]

So far, after 12 discs printed, I'm just about ecstatic about the Epson R300. The plastic tray for loading the CDs is easy to use, easy to reload, and registration/alignment is dead-on, across all discs.

I made a template in QuarkXpress 6 and started using that this morning with even better results.

The R200 for $99US is the same print engine, so the Epson printers are an unbeatable value for disc printing. The technology has finally come of age.

And the unseen bonus is that all my discs now play perfectly past the middle--no more freezing up in blocks toward end of disc, as was the case with clear film labeled DVDs.

[sarahjh69]

if you use Ritek printable media or verbatim
you will find the print quality far better.
Stronger colours and a nicer finish.
For a Photo glossy finish, spray with a clear plastic spray

I usually set the colour strength at +2 and
setting the inner/outer at 38/120 will ensure total surface coverage
and you can wipe excess ink off with a tissue

[wmansir]

Thanks for the excellent write up BassPig.

[BassPig]

I might try the Ritek media to see how the print quality is, now that you mention it.
I thought about applying clear acrylic coating, but the intent of the printer is to reduce labor of labeling. In that vein, Epson has a R800 model that uses 8 ink cartridges and the 8th is reported to be a clear gloss coating of some sort. At $399, it is significantly more expensive than the R200/R300 models.
I noticed that just burnishing the disc with a soft cloth buffs up a sheen and improves contrast too.
The BeAll are so reliable that I am reluctant to risk using another brand on a customer job. And they don't look half bad.
I note that on the print options, there is a premium disc option, and I may experiment with that to see if it increases the saturation. Quality has been okay with default settings, but I think the BeAll discs can accept a lot more ink without problems, as they come out dry from the printer immediately after printing.

[avih]

BassPig, may i ask what exactly r u selling? i don't quite get it. thx.
also, in your tips section, Nr. 3 is empty.

cheers