CD / DVD Printer Recommendation « Videomaker Community Forums

Chino
Member

Can anyone recommend an affordable CD / DVD printer? I had an Epson R800 which worked well for six months then quit. Dealing with Epson was a nightmare to say the least so, long story short, I'm not interested in Epson. Is there anything else out there in that category?
Thanks!

Posted 5 years ago #
compusolver
Member

HP just came out with a cheap printer that does DVD/CD blanks, but its resolution isn't as good as the Epson R200 series. Your best bet is to swallow your anger and look for R220's that may still be out there new on eBay, etc. for $100. Even at six months each, its a good deal.

Posted 5 years ago #
faqvideo
Member

Try PRIMERA BRAVO:
http://www.codespro-online.com/PRIMERA-BRAVO_SE_Publisher.html

Shoot-It-Yourself Wedding Video Guide
Shoot-It-Yourself Wedding Video Guide, http://www.faqvideo.com/siy_book

Posted 5 years ago #
Chino
Member

compusolver Wrote:
HP just came out with a cheap printer that does DVD/CD blanks, but its resolution isn't as good as the Epson R200 series. Your best bet is to swallow your anger and look for R220's that may still be out there new on eBay, etc. for $100. Even at six months each, its a good deal.

What happened with Epson is when my (still in warranty) R800 quit (DVD tray wouldn't load), I took it to the nearest factory service center which was 100 miles away. They said they fixed it but they didn't. At least they admitted they couldn't fix the problem and told me to contact Epson Tech Support. Long story short again, tech support accused me of printing too many DVDs. They said the unit is not meant to print lots of DVDs, and said they would not honor my warranty. I had printed less than 40 DVDs. I had never even changed the ink cartridges! Also, I spent three hours on and off hold with their tech support and it was not an 800 number.
Okay, the violins are playing for me, LOL. But I thank you for your information! The members of this board are what makes it a great place to get quality information
Thanks again.

Posted 5 years ago #
Chino
Member

faqvideo Wrote:
Try PRIMERA BRAVO:
http://www.codespro-online.com/PRIMERA-BRAVO_SE_Publisher.html

Shoot-It-Yourself Wedding Video Guide

Thank you! I will check them out!

Posted 5 years ago #
compusolver
Member

The Epson R200 & 220 series had a tray problem where, with time the trays wouldn't self-load. But a gentle push with a finger at the right moment will keep those things servicable for at least five thousand prints.

Posted 5 years ago #
Chino
Member

faqvideo Wrote:
Try PRIMERA BRAVO:
http://www.codespro-online.com/PRIMERA-BRAVO_SE_Publisher.html

Shoot-It-Yourself Wedding Video Guide

Thank you for your info. However, I print maybe a hundred discs a year. I hope I don't have to spend that kind of money to get something that works! :D

Posted 5 years ago #
Microchip
Member

Amazon seems to have them, or have sellers who have them:

http://www.amazon.com/Epson-Stylus-R220-Photo-Printer/dp/B000AYA588/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-8424821-6376808?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1172853645&sr=8-1

I bought a new R220 in December. It's excellent printing on DVDs, looks professional. From the outset I've had a very slight problem with the loading tray but this is so negligible - you must line up the arrows on the tray with the arrows on the feeder or the DVD won't be pulled in to be printed on.

Once you follow the instruction manual and the suggested Tips in the Epson program which prints the DVDs, you should be good to go.

Posted 5 years ago #
Chino
Member

Microchip Wrote:
Amazon seems to have them, or have sellers who have them:

http://www.amazon.com/Epson-Stylus-R220-Photo-Printer/dp/B000AYA588/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-8424821-6376808?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1172853645&sr=8-1

I bought a new R220 in December. It's excellent printing on DVDs, looks professional. From the outset I've had a very slight problem with the loading tray but this is so negligible - you must line up the arrows on the tray with the arrows on the feeder or the DVD won't be pulled in to be printed on.

Once you follow the instruction manual and the suggested Tips in the Epson program which prints the DVDs, you should be good to go.

Thanks! I just ordered an Epson R260 for $80. That way if anything happens to it I can throw it away and get another!

Posted 5 years ago #
wfenn
Member

I have Epson 800, 200, and 220 and print hundreds of CD's using them all. There has always been a feed problem but, as suggested above, a gentle push at the right time and they print wonderfully. They are CHEAP and can't be expected to perform as well as a dedicated printer. I have been very pleased by my Epsons for CD's and most everything else. Give yours another try.

Regards,
W Fenn
http://www.fennfoto.com

Posted 5 years ago #
Chino
Member

wfenn Wrote:
I have Epson 800, 200, and 220 and print hundreds of CD's using them all. There has always been a feed problem but, as suggested above, a gentle push at the right time and they print wonderfully. They are CHEAP and can't be expected to perform as well as a dedicated printer. I have been very pleased by my Epsons for CD's and most everything else. Give yours another try.

Regards,
W Fenn
http://www.fennfoto.com

Thanks for the input! Actually, the tray feeds properly but when I try to print I get a message saying either the printer is out of paper or the tray is not positioned properly. I've printed enough DVDs to know the tray is properly positioned, and should be no paper in it when I am printing DVDs. Epson refuses to honor the warrantee. They accuse me of printing too many DVDs. I have printed maybe 40 or 50 DVDs. I haven't even had to chang the orgninal ink cartridges yet.

Posted 5 years ago #
Microchip
Member

It could be just that particular customer rep's response. They have a warranty on how many DVDs you're allowed to print??? 8-O

Posted 5 years ago #
compusolver
Member

It could be just that particular customer rep's response.

That's what I was thinking. Try again, and record the entire conversation. Then, if you still get nowhere, ask for a manager and give it one last shot. If you still draw a blank, post it here with the audio and we (all 1.4 million of us VM forum members!) will BOYCOT EPSON!

No, seriously do post it here, but there are also other good places to post warnings about companies who disregard customer service. I bet you could easily cost them 1,000 sales or more.

Posted 5 years ago #
KBVP
Member

My old R200 is still ticking. I have printed thousands of DVDs with it, but it has the common problem of having to nudge the tray. The clear tabs at the edge of the tray got messed up early on, so I cut them off. There is a sensor located somewhere under the left bottom of the ink cartridge assembly that may mess up the process. I cleaned it once, that seems to be the fix. I'll see if I can find that link from a year or so ago.

OK, here it is! http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/forums/inkjet/27268

Posted 5 years ago #
compusolver
Member

Thanks for that link! To save everyone the time it takes to read over a hundred (or so it seemed) messages, here are two that seem to sum up the solutions:

I also suffer from R200 but I figured out a way to overcome the tray alignment problem. The sensor for tray is on the left bottom side of cartigde assembly. Somehow ink is "sprayed" also there or ink sticks there from a jammed paper.(90% design problem) Press on ink button wait until the cartigdes come to replacement position then unplug the printer. Wet couple of cotton earsticks and push the assembly to right ( there is more room at the bottom at right where the assembly normally positioned when it is off) then clean the bottom left part of the assembly until there is no ink on the cotton. It will need couple of runs until it comes clean so be sure that you have enough sticks. Then use one dry one. It worked for me but first time I had to open up the whole printer to understand the problem. (Ofcourse this info is given with good info but without guarantee try not to touch the print head you may damage it. It's just half of an inch further right ) Now it prints just fine but still I have to kick the tray to get it print. If someone know a good solution for tray taking problem please reply.
Thanks

After going through my 3rd tray, the 2nd was under warranty and the 3rd cost me $10.00 I thought it was time to do something about it. I purchased a 4' x 2' sheet of 10 mil Duralar plastic from a local Art supply shop, some tacky glue from Walmart and pulled the mylar strip from one of the trays that wasn't working. I used the mylar strip as a template to make up a new strip and cut it out using a sharp pair of scissors. I then glued the new strip on to the tray and added a couple of small pieces of 1/2" scotch tape at each end to keep it in place. So far I've printed over 100 dvd's without a problem. I made up a couple extra strips and have them ready to go on the old trays. I believe the 10 mil is a little thicker then the original mylar strip and think it may last a little longer. I also wiped the bottom of the tray with alcohol to clean up the ink. The sheet of Duralar cost me $3.00 and the glue cost .85. If I have any problems with this setup as time goes by I will be sure to post them on this forum.

Posted 5 years ago #
Chino
Member

Well, I'm a moron. I did not record the conversation. I do not have any way to record the converstion. In this situation, all I could do is try to endure and hope I would get some sort of customer support. It didn't happen. The way they deal with you is to leave you on hold for twenty minutes or more, and wear you down. Remember, this is not an 800 number. I was paying full long distance rates all the time.
I'm not here to complain. I appreciate your input and information!
Thank you!

Posted 5 years ago #
brandon0409
Member

Personally, I use Lightscribe to produce my final DVD's. My customers love them and find them extremely professional looking. Plus the ink does not come off on your fingers because there is NO ink.

The downside is that I have only been able to find Lightscribe DVD in DVD+R. No DVD-R. At least not that I've found. But I have had no problems.

Posted 5 years ago #
Kemper
Member

Lightscribe has a nice look but if you select the high quality setting (if you don't the shading is very light) it takes about 20-30 minutes to print one disc. I still offer it as the default but I also have an Epson Stylus R260 to print full color (5760 x 1440 optimized dpi ) as an upgrade option. The print time goes from 30 minutes to 30 seconds and is a world apart form the gray shades of lightscribe. The Epson printer was $75 ish from Sams but they are available at B&H Photo and similar suppliers.
I had an I/O Magic Lightscribe drive that worked flawlessly for just over a year but has since stopped working. I will replace it since I like the presentation.

Posted 5 years ago #
Chino
Member

Thanks for the info everyone. I did buy a Epson 260 for $80. If anything happens to it I won't be out much!

Posted 5 years ago #
virtualscribe
Member

At the end of last year when I was looking for media printers I checked and found the usual RImage and Primera companies pushing their $1500 printers. These are fine for people who are printing thousands of CD/DVDs and would like to step up to automation and don't mind purchasing all their ink supplies from the original manufacturer.

I have wanted to get a CD printer for a while, and it seemed like Epson was the only game in town for a sub $500 CD printer. I had been looking for a Hewlett Packard brand because I have a bunch of HP inks for other printers. I did see one by something called Verity Systems in England for about $1100. And for the short metal cover which allows you to print on miniCD it's an extra $130 charge.

I was very surprised to see HP has come out with a very inexpensive CD photo printer, with a price range of about $89. It seemed to have been put out with no fanfare in November of 2006 or so, called the D5160. It's like they didn't WANT anyone to know they are now printing on CD/DVDs. I stumbled across it while looking for HP inks at a neighborhood store. Sadly a lot of COMP USAs are closing, and I snagged one there for about $62 before taxes. The marketing for these claim photo printing, CD printing, miniCD printing, and a pretty wide range of benefits/features.

I have printed some really good glossy documents. Media printing is a bit fussy, but for a $60 pricetag, I don't mind fussing a bit to get the media tray working. Its tray holds both full sized and 8cm disks. I can't get the rectangular CDs or hockey rink ones to align properly, as there is no adapter for business card sized media.

I see printer prices going down; but with the cost of a single 19mL HP 56 black ink cartridge selling for $19, I wonder why the complaints are still about the prices of milk and gasoline. At that price I calculate the price per gallon of black ink, for 19mL, to be $71,922.82 !!!

1mL = 0.000264172051 Gal
1mL/0.000264172051Gal*19mL = 71922.82

I do think it's important to be price conscious about your printer purchase, but the unspoken costs are ink and media used to print.

I ran across an interesting article/news section from a company which primarily sells media. I would caution you that they are in the business of selling product, so beware that the end of each story has a link to products they sell, but the information contained in these stories is pretty concise and important for printing on media. It's varied information, but seems like the inkjet companies are beginning to tackle the smaller problems, like what happens when water runs across your disc. They seemed to have solved the main problems, so now they are reaching for niche markets, it looks like.

Inkjet Printable Vs. Thermal Printable - Which is best for you?

Waterproof Inkjet Disc Printing, Part One: The Smear Factor

Taiyo Yuden WaterShield Media Test

Verbatim Takes Printable Media to Next Level With New Glossy Inkjet Printable CDRs, DVD+/-Rs

_________________________
virtualscribe
http://www.sharingmyjoy.com

Posted 5 years ago #
compusolver
Member

I buy my ink on ebay where I'm probably only paying about twenty grand per gallon! X-D

I posted about this HP printer a month or so back. Its specs aren't quite as good as the Epson and Epson gives you an insert for 8cm and hockey rink discs.

Posted 5 years ago #