Digital Workshop

Not sure either, but this has been my actual experience -- first discovered by accident:

1. Print 2 labels.
2. Burn data to one. Leave the other to dry.
3. Damp fingers do not smudge the print even on immediate removal from burner.
3. Damp fingers slightly smudge label on unburnt CD, even when left to dry overnight.

There could be many variables in this. These include the burner's characteristics; the specs of the ink; and possibly even ambient conditions in the work area.

Who knows? More importantly, I'm not greatly interested in the whys -- it works for me. If it works for someone else, that's a bonus.

The disc will heat up when the data is(are) burned to it - so I guess it may 'cook' the print to some extent ...if doing a batch I would also work this way round, simply because there's more chance of a print failing than a burn.

Rob Kirkwood
www.visibleform.co.uk

I have had two versions of the Primera Bravo here at work. They are pricy, but allow unattended burning and printing of CDs and DVDs. I have found them to be reliable machines.

I also have an Epson at home for CD/DVD printing. It also does a fine job. I don't print a huge volume of disks at home, so I have yet to encounter the types of loading troubles that some report. There are stories of replacement disk trays for the Epson that resolve some of the problems.

Bottom line, I have the Epson and the Primera Bravo and would recommend them.

As to white or silver disks ... personally I like the silver disks. If you plan your graphics properly, there is an almost holographic/deep quality to the print. White is nice when you need a clear sharp graphic, but the silver adds a little pizazz to the art.

Just my $.02.

Hi and thanks for all the helpful replies.

Tom: which Epson do you have? They range from the 220 at $89 up to the R800 at $399. It appears mechanically, in terms of CD printing, tray, etc., the 220 and R800 are the same. The R800 has 8 ink colors instead of 6, and uses a special, long-lasting ink (100 years, so the ads say). Plus, more bells and whistles for photoprinting probably unnecessary for CD printing.

The entry level inkjet by Primera is the Signature Z6 which has online prices around $1000.

I'm hoping that for small volume, the Epson would suffice. Difficult to know whether the advantages of 8 over 6 ink colors, plus the special ink used by the R800, would warrant the much higher expense. The low end Epson at $89 has a tempting price. I just want a capable printer and professional look for a small volume of CD's.

Don't forget, Primera will be releasing their new TuffCoat AquaGuard CD blanks next week (I believe manufactured by Imation) which will be a big step forward for water resistance. $48 per 100, silver or white. Check the Primera store website: http://www.primerastore.com/

Again, thanks for these helpful suggestions.

Kind Regards,
Stephen

I believe the reason they recommend burning your CDs and DVDs first is to protect your burner's laser. If the ink is not completely dry, it might be possible that the centrifigal force of the wet disc spinning might throw a small amount of ink inside your burner. Especially over time, this would probably NOT be a good thing, so they are recommending the safest route.

If you allow discs to throughly dry, it probably doesn't make much difference then if you burn after printing. I'm often in a hurry, so while I'm burning one CD/DVD I'm also printing one, so it's possible I might be loading a newly printed disc -- etc. Following their directions will probably yield the best results. Too bad I don't always follow my own advice.

I have the R200. It was a freebie with a digital camera purchase. I already had a very capable Canon at home, but the CD capability and the price made it a no brainer. It does a very good job. I have used only white disks in that one with simple one or two color designs to full photographic backgrounds with no problem. If I am going to do anything fancy I create the background in PhotoShop and import it in the included Epson software.

At work we use the Primera BravoII which has the DVD burner and printer combined. It is nice to put it into kiosk mode, load the trays and come back to 50 burned and printed disks. If you keep the bins supplied, you can print as long as the ink lasts.

I believe Microboards and Rimage also make burner/printer combos that are in use around the industry.

Thanks Tom for your reply.

Stephen

I had a bad experience with the Canon i865: the print head gave up the ghost after 13 months of light use - one of the 2 black ink chambers refused to print - and, as the print head is regarded as a consumable, I was told that even if it had failed during the printer's 12 month warranty period it would not have been replaced by Canon. New print heads cost almost the same as the printer's original price so it has worked out quite an expensive way of producing CD's. Canon's support people were unwilling to discuss what they estimated the average life of the print head unit should be.

I've gone back to having my CD's professionally printed as the result is better (the print has a laminate spray coat to protect it from moisture) and it is less expensive if I'm going to have to buy a new printer every year.

Some of the better computer magazines do features on the "real cost of ownership" of these printers but they don't tend to include the fact that some of them are only functional for a year. That makes the cost of each print fairly expensive. I suspect that the inkjet companies have a built-in obsolescence mentality....

Andrew

Thanks Andrew for your reply and feedback.

For now, I'm not rushing out to buy an inkjet printer nor having blanks silk-screened. I'm sticking with my Casio Disk Title (thermal) printer, trying to see if I can get more creative with what it can do (for example, could use a color blank and print text and logo in contrasting colors, top and bottom).

The reviews and experiences for most of the inkjets are mixed, some quite pleased with them, some sorry they ever crossed their path.

I had held out some hope for the new HP LightScribe technology, but it's still in its infancy a year after release. Very slow and only capable of grey tones, so far.

So, it sounds like there's a market niche out there waiting for a uniformly solid solution.

Kind Regards,
Stephen

I use a printer based on an HP inkjet called an Optiprinter Pro.
This prints one CD at a time, but is spot on each time, and I have no ink issues at all.
To be on the safe side I also spray a fixer on the printed side (called "Colour Protection Spray" available from AVD Computer Services Ltd in Reading - I used to use one of their Copytrax adapted Epson printers, too, but that was crap...)

Thanks for the feedback. Optiprinter Pro looks excellent but a little pricey. For now, I'm sticking with my Casio thermal printer for CD printing and promoting download over CD delivery for the pub.

Again, thanks,

Stephen

This could be a solution to your printing needs if you want more than just a few:

Put this item number into the Ebay seach tool - 7563510793

At about £1 each it is quite good value for money. I think my Epson 950 costs more than this to run.

The minimum run is only 25

I have not tried the service and I have no links with the company!

If anyone uses them I would be glad on any feedback on quality.

Regards

Clive Cartmel

Thanks Clive, for this lead.

Kind Regards,
Stephen

Never spotted this before - Canon won't advise you to do this, of course, but you can easily remove the head assembly and wash it. If it's really clogged, leave it to soak overnight. So long as you dry it thoroughly it will be fine. The i865 head assembly is identical to the IP4000, and probably many others.

Also I have now used my Canon IP4000 to print a simple black on white image, and it worked fine - very high-quality print, and easier to set up for CD print than the Epson 950 we'd previously been using.

Rob
www.visibleform.co.uk

Another option might be :


DW CD Replication service

Regards

Brenden Knifton