[Hidden-tech] Printing directly onto CDs and DVDs

[Will Loving]

David,

I regularly use my Epson Stylus Photo R200 ($89?) for printing disks one at
a time. It does a great job printing and is sufficient for the low volume
that I do. The design software is a little clunky, but works well enough. My
only complaint is that nearly everytime I turn the printer on to print
disks, the first time I attempt to print it throws and error. Once I turn
the printer off and start it up again, it works fine. There may be a way
around this but I¹ve not found it yet. It¹s important to let the disk dry
for at least 24 hours after printing before using it or burning it, so I
usually burn first and print second. On one or two occasions the ink has
inexplicable flaked off. This may have been the result high humidity, of the
disk I used or of playing/burning the disk immediately after printing, or
something else, I¹m not really sure.

An alternative are wax ribbon printers. Casio and other companies make them
for under $100. These printers use a single-color wax ribbon that makes an
extremely durable print compared to ink-jet and paper label. It will print
on any kind of disk (except perhaps those with paper labels) including
generic disks if you just want to label something. Ribbons usually come in 4
or 5 colors (black, red, green, blue, yellow) and you can only have one
color ribbon in (and printing) at a time. For your black disks, you might
use yellow or red. Check the particular brand as not all offer the same
colors. I¹ve not used one, but I have a friend who runs a large CD
duplication company and while he uses inkjets, he also uses and recommends
the wax ribbon printers for durability.

I buy all my disks and supplies from SuperMediaStore.com, they have good
prices, frequent specials, and sometimes offer free shipping.

Will

Will Loving, President
Dedication Technologies, Inc.


on 8/6/07 6:31 PM, David Spound at dspound at mac.com wrote:

> 
> Hi all,
> 
> I am wondering if anyone in our community has experience with inkjet printers
> that can print directly onto CDs and DVDs. If so, how well has this process
> worked for you? What printer might you recommend, if any?
> 
> I produce small batches of CDs (guided meditations for my stress reduction
> courses). I typically make 10-15 discs at a time, and I do this about 4-8
> times per year. Not (yet) a high volume operation. I have tried using stick-on
> labels for my CDs, but I find it takes a lot of work to apply them in such a
> way that I feel confident the labels will not peel off.
> 
> Last week, I saw the HP 5160 in Staples for about $90. The sample CDs they had
> in the store looked pretty good. I know there are some Epson models that print
> on CDs, too. I realize that the blank, printable CDs also cost a bit more than
> ordinary blank CD-Rs.
> 
> I know that I could buy pre-printed, black CDs, but that would not work well
> for me as I need the flexibility of producing small batches of new discs as I
> create them.
> 
> So, do you have experience with such inkjet printers and would you recommend
> one?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> David
> 
> ++++++++++
> 
> David Spound, M.Ed.
> Valley Mindfulness
> 
> (413) 219-0654
> david at valleymindfulness.com
> http://www.valleymindfulness.com
> 
> Programs for Stress Reduction, Health and Well-Being
> * A Taste of Mindfulness:
>> Introduction to mindfulness-based approaches to health and wellness.
>> Tuesday, August 7, 6:30­8:30 pm
>> Tuesday, September 18, 6:30­8:30 pm
>> 
> * Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction:
>> 8-week course based on the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn at UMass Medical School
>> October 2­November 20 (Tuesday evenings, 6:00­8:30 pm)
> 
> 
> 
> 
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