Does anyone print directly on CD/DVDs?

[George C]

Does anyone use a printer that prints directly on cd's and dvd's? Right now I am using Neato labels and my Canon i960 Photo printer to print labels for my cd's and dvd's. They come out great looking but I would like somehting easier and have been looking at the Epson R200 and Epson R300.



Are there full coverage dvd's that are printable? I have been looking but so far have only seen the ones with the large ring in the center. Also, does anyone have a sub $200 printer that prints high quality onto discs? I am not crazy about Epson printers but so far they look the best. Thanks.

George

 

[Rich Wavrik]

Have you looked at one of the new lightscribe DVD burners? You have to use a special DVD in it which is the downside. On the plus side, the burner actually burns the image on to the top of your DVD.



Go to HP's website for more info.

 

[Tim Reynolds]

Now that's cool, I literally just got done labeling a few DVDs with a Sharpie.

 

[Sal Adinolfi]

I have a Printer that prints on to printable CD's and DVD's



It is an Epson R320, I like it alot. Prints with great Quality, and fast.

 

[Tim Reynolds]

Ritek is making the media in +R and -R for as low as .42 in bulk, and as we all know they will come down in price in no time. I was thinking about going to dual density anyway, waiting for that media to come down as well.



Speaking of which, I'm under the impression that if I Rip a true DVD (for backup purposes of course:lol to a dual density for highest video quality, that it will play on standard DVD players. Can anyone confirm.

 

[George C]

Thanks guys. I do like the lightscribe but have only been using Plextor's for burning and they don't offer a lightscribe drive. I can use another drive but I like to have color on my disc's and that's not possible with lightscribe.



Scott or Sal, do you know if the labels come in full coverage? I thought I would be saving a headache by getting away from labels but it looks like I might be giving myself a bigger one.



George :blink:

 

[Matt Pellowski]

An automated solution....

 

[George C]

Thanks Bubba but those automated ones cost waay more than what I am looking at. The one you posted is about $1,750, Definitely nice though.

George

 

[Joey Hedrick]

The inkjet printers that print on CD/DVD are a royal pain. They take forever, use a lot of ink, and take forever to dry (and smudge easily before so). I doubt you would consider it more convenient than printing to paper labels and affixing them.

I'm wondering what information you're basing this on, because everyone I know who's printing directly onto DVDs (myself included) wholeheartedly disagrees with you. I have a Canon PIXMA 4000, and I've printed over 75 full-face DVDs without having to change a single ink cartridge. The DVD prints no slower than any paper label...or any full-color image, for that matter...and comes out looking much nicer. The ink is dry within seconds on most full-color images, and pretty much instantly on plain text labels. No bothering with centering and smoothing out air bubbles -- and, although you can technically affix a paper label to a DVD, it's a horribly bad idea. The lasers that read DVDs are much hotter than those that read CDs, and paper or non-clear labels can trap the heat inside the disc, causing skips, hangups, etc. Glossy labels are only slightly better, as they allow much of the heat to escape without damaging anything...but they tend to bubble up after playing for extended periods, and they cost about twice as much as the blank DVDs themselves. With printable DVD-Rs costing no more than standard DVD-Rs, it's a no-brainer.



LightScribe is a novelty. The burners are more expensive, the media is more expensive, and you get an image that looks like someone spilled gold flake on grayscale clipart.

Speaking of which, I'm under the impression that if I Rip a true DVD (for backup purposes of course:lol to a dual density for highest video quality, that it will play on standard DVD players. Can anyone confirm.

In theory, yes. However, some standalone DVD players have trouble recognizing the DVD+R dual-layer format. The solution is to use a DVD burner that will allow you to set the "book type" of the discs to DVD-ROM. This makes is much more compatible with older units. Google for more information.

Are there full coverage dvd's that are printable?

Sure. Newegg.com has plenty of them, from different manufacturers.

 

[Bill V]

I know it's not quite what you're looking for, but I have a Yamaha burner with Disc T@2 (pronounced 'tattoo') that I really like. It doesn't print or burn on the top side of the disc--but it does on the bottom side, in the portion outside whatever you've recorded. If you get the right type of disc (visibility varies with the type of coating on the disc, from highly visible on CDs with blue backing, to a faint holographic appearance on others), and you don't fill your CDs all the way to the outer edge, it's a very neat way of labeling them.

 

[Joey Hedrick]

BTW, I don't consider getting seventy-five 4 5/8" circular print jobs out of a set of ink cartridges frugal when we got over 4 times that on paper labels with inkjet, and many many times that with laser. Plus a simple $4 dollar alignment tool makes affixing labels less than a 5 second process with no alignment or bubble issues.

I didn't say all I could get was 75 DVDs printed, I said so far I've printed over 75 DVDs on these cartridges, and I've still got plenty left. I don't see your argument regarding using more ink to print to a DVD than to print to a paper label. The same amount of ink is used, and can even be less, depending on what print quality. And I've affixed literally thousands of paper labels over the years...even with the fanciest of label makers, bubbles do happen.



I think your argument is inaccurate, not too mention too heavily weighted towards a solution that has been proven to not be a viable option for DVDs. Try Googling for more info.