Is there a small portable (USB/firewire) device currently available dedicated solely for printing directly to CD/DVDs, or must I invest in a full fledged printer like the Epson R200/R300/320/500/800 ?

I would expect with printing directly to CD/DVD discs becoming increasingly popular now, that a lot more 'print to CD/DVD' devices (included one's solely dedicated to printing to CD/DVDs) to become availble for sale as well. Curious what 'Print to CD/DVD' Media Printer (brands/models) are currently available (or scheduled to be released soon). Thanks. - Scott

Talk to Uncle Dave ASAP

Scott, my new desktop [HP a1040n] has Lightscribe..It burns labels to special cd blanks..It actually does a nice job , although basic..not the full color that Uncle Dave's label printer will do..but it looks professional.

Scott
Casio makes one, a thermal printer.
Terry

FWIW I bought an Epson 320 and it works excellent with great results.

I've been round and round about this. If anyone knows an ink printer where the ink will not smear, I want to know about it.

Lightscribe CD burners are the only thing I know of that will do a job that will not smear. (It's etched into the blank.) But it's more expensive blanks and the burn is slow.


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Me Bill
Yamaha PSR2000

fran,
i just got a new hp desktop too - it has the lightscribe. Have you burned one yet? I anxious to give it a whirl in the near future!!

Jill

ps - i've got the hp 1100n

[This message has been edited by girljam (edited 08-05-2005).]

yep, more expensive at the moment for the blanks, but i imagine the price will come down a bit at some point. Don't think i'll be printing large quantities at this point, but if someone has to have a demo disk - i think it will be too kewl to have my own pic/logo whatever burned onto the front!! Very professional looking!

Jill

Lightscribe definitely sounds like cool DVD/CD labeling approach, especially if text is ez (clear) to read. The single color multi-toned concept appears to provide an elegant (if not full colored) look, but more importantly, unlike jet printable CD/DVD media, it's printing is PERMANENT, and unaffected if it gets wet, right?

1) Fran, which LightScribe DVD/CD burning device (brand/model#) came with your new HP Desktop computer? I'm also curious if there's a portable 'LightScribe' label burning device out there solely designed for burnng labels on CDS/DVDS.

2) How long (on average) does it take to PRINT (laser burn?) each individual CD/DVD? Does the amount of data (words and artwork) affect how long it takes?

3) Is LightScribe CD/DVD media available in all formats:
CD-R, DVD+, DVD-, DVD dual layer, etc?

4) What brands (TDK, Imation, Maxell, Memorex, Sony, etc) offer CD/DVD media in LightScribe format?

5) How much does LightScribe CD/DVD media cost compared to standard CD/DVDs as well as the printable CD/DVD media intended for ink-jet 'print directly' to CD/DVD type Printers like the Epson E300?

Thanks. - Scott

Scott,

- yes, an external burner (Lightscribe) is available. About $130 to $150. Don't recall manufacturer.

- 20 to 30 min. to burn ?

- $.50 to $1.00 for blanks. Several manufacturers.

This is what I recall. Maybe blanks can be found cheaper.


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Me Bill
Yamaha PSR2000

yes scott - it's definitely permanent -
check out the link from DNJ - some great info there, if you haven't already looked!

Jill

Re: Ink smear.
To make any item printed with an ink jet printer waterproof, simply lay it flat on a sheet of paper and give it a light spray of either clear spray lacquer or spray matte polyurethane. works like a charm. Just a light spray - don't need much. Works well on high definition color photo prints too.
Give it a try, you might like it.
Walt

[This message has been edited by Walt Meyer (edited 08-05-2005).]

I heard about the spray and thought... there is the solution but then others said no, it can gum up c.d. players. I dunno.


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Me Bill
Yamaha PSR2000

Smearing on Epson R-series isn't too bad if you let the CD dry well (at least an hour indoors with A/C or more if you can) before you handle it. Yes, it will smear if it gets wet, but not as bad as older ink-jets.

Lightscribe does not begin to compare for presentation - harder to read, no color, looonnngg burn times.

What we need is a commercial spray product designed specifically for this application - as long as it didn't gum up the CD player it'd get my dollar!

I've used matte spray lacquer on my paper CD labels for quite some time and have heard of no "gum up" problems.
Just a light dusting dries in a few minutes to a coating that can not be seen or felt. There would not be anything in a CD player that would soften or desolve the lacquer on the CD. I wouldn't be surprised if the paint that is used by the manufacturer on the direct print CD blanks is of a lacquer base.
The problems that I have had with paper labels (sprayed and not sprayed) is that some of the CD players in Chrysler product automobiles have such a small slot that the CD's jam and will not come out due to the added thickness of the paper label.
Just my thoughts,
Walt

Burn time on my HP is under 7 minutes..
Maybe , not pratical for printing a large number of copies..but I like the look..
Shop around I am sure you can find deals on blanks..
Scott ,the DVD burner is a HP DVD writer 640b..

I'm a little confused.
Does this mean that if I purchase the lightscribe hardware burner that I can actually burn data with it?

I presently have both a DVD burner and a CD burner on my PC. What would I do, replace one of these drives with a lightscribe burner? (I don't have enough slots for a third burner.)

If I replace the CD burner with the Lightscribe burner, can I use my present DVD burner to burn data, flip it over and use Lightscribe to print a label? Or must I use the lightscribe only to burn both data and labels.

Need a little more info from my friends

Thanks,
Larry

my hp burner does just what you are saying, rips the cd / or dvd, then flip it over for the "label" burn.

I believe i have the same model as fran.

Jill

I don't think you need anything other than the Lightscribe CDRW. It writes data, then you flip it over, it burns the label.

Fran, you said 7 minutes... is the regardless of how 'busy' the label is? All take 7 minutes or would it vary with density of the burn? Seven minutes, I could live with.

Just saw an external LightScribe burner for $170 (ouch!) at OfficeMax. I think you might find them online for less than $150. (External... internals are less.)


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Me Bill
Yamaha PSR2000

So lightscribe burns CD-R'S

What about DVD-R'S ?

larry

Yep, Larry. $144 for external. About $100 internal.

Best Buy model here .


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Me Bill
Yamaha PSR2000

For those of you still looking, you might
want to check out the Primivera... http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1032876&CatId=937 it does the same thing in color and I think I read where it only takes like 26 second per print area to write...Tony Rome

What does it mean by 'print area'? It's website make explicit mention that it is for 'small run' CD/DVD production..... an obvious synonym for 'slooooow'!

IMO with the lightscribe only scribing in B&W (gray actually)it's almost useless. Until it does full color which I am sure will come, I have no use for it.

About smearing the way around that is to use an artists spray fixative on it.

LightScribe, I cannot see how it would ever be in color, as it etches the image into the disk.

I've read a LOT about this. If you can spray something over the Epson R300 ink, IMO, I think this is the best value. Beautiful, full color graphics, prints all over, doubles as a desktop printer, and is from a major manufacturer that is likely to stay in business.

I have yet to find info that the spray does or does not work. I read where it could screw up players, the spray could get hot and gum up a player? I have not confirmed this.

More...

Labeling spray . (I have also seen references to art supply store spray.)

CP-88 $79 thermal printer . I have no idea who the manufacturer is but that's the cheapest I've seen.

Seiko thermal printer

PC World article on Primera printer

PC World article on Epson R300

I also read reviews on the Primera thermal printer ($140) on Amazon.com and a couple of people reported a couple of lemons. Replacement units even died. FWIW.

So, *I* would like to know if any spray WORKS such that it does NOT damage players. If anyone knows, advise!


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Me Bill
Yamaha PSR2000

If you are concerned about gumming up from heat, why don't you try this.
Take any CD of your choice, printed or plain, spray it with matte lacquer (spray can), place it your oven at 200 degrees and then check to see if it gets gummy.
Remember - when cars are painted with lacqer they are baked with infra red heaters - and a CD player will never get as hot as 200 degrees.
Walt

After enough problems with labels coming loose after time, turning yellow, or make the cd "wobble" because the label is a fraction off center, I've been looking at the Epson and the Lightscribe technology.

Remembering my Epson color printer I once had and the frequent nozzle cleanings I had to do because of stripes in the printout (and wasting expensive ink), I like the HP system better where you each time also get a new print head.

Furthermore, the Epson cartridges, at $ 12.99 (that's $ 77.94 for the six colors) are impressively little. True that you rarely have to replace all at once, but reading the reviews at CC, it seems that they do run out pretty fast.

If you compare Lightscribe to that, it's only drawback is no color and slower printing (etching), but you can do other things while it makes the label, it's permanent, adds no thickness to the cd, and even though it's monochrome, it does look very classy !

With Lightscribe cd-r's now at $ 19.99 for 30 pieces (Verbatim spindle), printing in color will cost you way more per cd-r.

Gr.
John

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Have a nice day

During the 5 years I've been dealving out CD's to potential clients and friends, I have never had a single label come loose, at least not one that I know of. I've never had one off center, and lately I've been able to pick up glossy labels at BJ's Wholesale Club at a very good price. Unfortunately, they've been out of stock for the past few weeks, and when they get more I'm gonna' buy a case of them. The quality is as good as it gets, and a light coat of protective spray eliminates any possibility of smearing. As for the thickness of the protective spray, it's microscopically thin, not enough to jam anything, and it's acrylic laquer, which you would have to apply a blow-torch to melt. It never gets gummy, but it can get brittle if too much is sprayed on the label.

Cheers,

Gary

Gary, where do you get the spray?

How do you affix the label to be perfectly straight?


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Me Bill
Yamaha PSR2000

I found one at Newegg web site ...$76 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827140007

Larry Hawk

A reviewer on that site said "30 minutes to burn."

Yikes.


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Me Bill
Yamaha PSR2000

Guys (and gals):

IMHO, after all is said and done, the Epson R200 is still the most effective, economical and productive unit available at this time. I have not experienced the smearing problem mentioned by several of you and I do not take extra measures (such as spraying a clear coat) other than letting the finished CD dry for about a minute after printing.

My only gripe is the cost of the darn ink but all inkjets have that problem. $16 or $17 bucks for a cartridge that cost them approx. 50 cents or less to manufacture. Talk about a rip-off. These guys really know how to tighten the screws.

Best to all. RICE (The Lone Arranger)

Hey, Rice, put a drop of water on your fingertip, such as sweat would be and touch an old c.d. and see what you think. (I don't have one but I'm just saying, have you exposed the ink to water? Like sweat or someone picks up a drink and then a c.d.)

If it's a non-issue, I'm getting an Epson 300.


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Me Bill
Yamaha PSR2000

The reports that I've read on the Epson 200 and 300 is that the c/d trays are flimsy and
brake easy..the 200 was advertised on Amazon referbed from the factory for $89.00
with a spindle of 30 cd free....I'm worried about the cd tray....asny feedback on this
part......
Tony Rome

Just another thought, if any of you have lables and cd's that you were using before, put the blamk lables on your normal cd's and print them on the Epson...if the cd's are to expensive...try it and let us all know.....
Tony Rome

Bill,

You can find the spray at any artist supply house, it sells for about $4.95 a can and will easily coat 200 CDs.

The CDs I've purchased lately come from BJ's Wholesale Club and they were $14 to 16.99 per hundred--dirt cheap. I still have an old floppy disk case here from Radio Shack--10 disks for $19.95.

As for the ink, it's the biggest rip man could have ever perpetuated on consumers. My cartridges cost me about $41 at BJ's and while they hold twice as much ink as those purchased elsewhere, they're still expansive as hell. HP could give the printers away and still make a killing on the ink!

Cheers,

Gary

Gary, you didn't say how you stick the label on. Do you just eyeball it or use one of those plastic liner-upper devices?

Spray... do you spray the surface with one light coat or more?


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Me Bill
Yamaha PSR2000

Bill,

I have a sring-loaded label application device that centers it perfectly each time. Before putting the label on the CD I allow them to dry for about 10 minutes or so before applying them. Once the label is in place I spray a single, thin, coat of protective spray on the label, and then allow it to dry for about 30 minutes before putting the CD's into the paper jackets or jewel cases.

Most of the time I use paper jackets and do so for two very good reasons. First, paper jackets are very inexpensive, and has a celephane viewing window that reveals the label. Second, jewel cases are very brittle, most of the time they end up cracked or shattered by the postal service's rough handling and they're more expensive than the CD itself. Additionally, while you can easily scratch a CD, it's darned near impossible to break one in half--they're really tough.

One thing I almost forgot, those jewel cases weigh about twice what the CD itself weighs, thus adding considerable expense to mailing costs. I mail out about 200 CDs a year, and my postage expenses are high enough to ship them with promotional packages. If I were to add the weight of a jewel case, especially a full size one with labels, the cost triples. I'll stick with the paper.

Cheers,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

Here is another link to follow for the Epson 200...$79.00 http://froogle.google.com/froogle/reviews?hl=en&fq=Epson+Stylus+Photo+R200&cid=ad65ccd050145d54 I'read again about the cd tray not
to fuctional.... what the hell, for the price I might just order one.....
Tony Rome

I recall something about the tray and I think it was about the Epson... a tray handling error that people have reported... a fellow had figured out how to beat the error.

I am also thinking maybe the R300 model remedied this problem.


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Me Bill
Yamaha PSR2000

Hi everybody:

Once more into the breech... the Epson R200 does have a flimsy CD printing tray. It's leading edge is made from clear plastic that has been bonded to the front of the tray. After 1000+ uses, the clear plastic begins to become mis-shapen and sometimes causes the tray to hang upon entry into the printer. To circumvent this problem, I provide a little manual thumb pressure at the start of the printing process and the tray slides right on in, automatically aligns itself and prints in stunning color in less than a minute. (Unless of course, I go wild and ask it to print all the colors of the rainbow in very expensive ink.)

No, Semi-live, I don't have the courage to put water on my precious CDs full of a dozen of my original songs. If I had a serious concern about this, I would spray clear protectant (previously discussed in this topic)on the top printed surface. So far, I have not had a single record company or publisher or producer complain about smearing or discolorization.

I still don't recommend the Epson R-300 because you have to load the CD tray from the rear of the machine and that takes up entirely too much desk space to suit me. My partner, the famous actor, Mike Hackworth, has a 300 and my 200 costs less, prints just as fast and does just as good a printing job.

Hope this helps you guys. (No, I am not on Epson's payroll!) Hmmm, maybe I should give them a call... Just kidding!

RICE (The Lone Arranger)

Gary ... Is this a commercial device or something you crafted yourself ... If comm'l, can you give name/model/etc.
t.

Tony, you can find them at office supply stores. Displayed near the labels. Neato makes one.


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Me Bill
Yamaha PSR2000

I got mine with 100 labels at Staple's for about $20. Nothing special, and every label is perfectly centered.

Gary

They are called C/D STOMPERS...cheap and easy to use....
Tony Rome

I have printed [like I said before] more than 800 CD's with my R300 no problems with the tray.



------------------
Precision Mastering
http://vilo4.tripod.com/precisionmastering/

Master Your CD With Us!
Ask Me About it!
www.vicente-lopez.com

HE'S COMING, MAKE MUSIC, GET READY!

If anyone wants to see a report on the Epson
printer you can go to this link....good review.... http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/epson_r300m.html
I'm gonna get one for sure...they got them on e-bay.....
Tony Rome

As I said in my post on "The Bar" I just got an Epson 200 ... got it free with the purchase of a digital camera ...
just tried using it tonight ...seems fine ... the tray loads from the front which is easy ... it's a little flimsy, but with proper handling should be ok ... print quality very good ...
Who ever else is using it: Do you print the CD inserts (for the jewel cases) with the same program?
thnx,
t.

Here's another professional looking results print to CD/DVD device option to consider:
Primera Signature Z1 CD/DVD Printer

Scott

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 08-22-2005).]

Hi Tony Meds, Scott and others:

I have not used the Epson R200 to print CD Plastic Case Inserts but the software and manual lead me to believe it can do it. I am assuming that it would print on a fairly thin card stock (or just plain printer paper) but cannot actually confirm this.

The CDs I prepare are not mailed in plastic cases because I need to keep the weight low for reducing mailing costs. I use plastic bubble wrap for protection of the CD during mailing.

Hope this helps. Scott, you've already pointed out the only "downer" I can think of on the little printer you showed us. Thanks for the info.

All the best, RICE (The Frazzled Arranger)

And then the customer (prospective?) gets it and has nothing to put it in when done? Hmmm. I would think a paper/cellophane sleeve, which costs maybe $.10 might be worth it. Just trying to help.


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Bill
Yamaha PSR2000

Hey Semi:

Your point is well taken. I failed to explain that I put my CD's in a "paper CD envelope" inside the bubble wrap. My clients don't keep CD's and don't want the plastic cases.

Comprende? RICE (The re-Arranger)

I'm using a Canon PIXMA IP4000. I highly recommend it, instead of any Epson!

Luis Santos

Rice ... Prior to getting the EPSON I had bought a package of 'jewel case inserts' which came with its own software, free ... It works well, as I was able to download some music images from the net, save them into the software and print them ... I wanted the CD to look the same as the jewel case insert, so I tried saving the image into the EPSON software, but it would not work ... While the EPSON will support a number of file formats, this apparently is not one of them ... I'll have to see if I can download the image from the original source into EPSON ... If so, I'll print the CDs with EPSON and the inserts with the other software, at least until I run out of the inserts I have ...
I tried using the insert software and putting a CD in the printer ... It worked but I can't get the image centered on the CD correctly ...
It was a lot easier when all I had to do was play the KB !!!
t.