printing on DVD's

M

mthorsen

Member
im looking for a printer for printing on DVD's (type: Canon Pixma iP4000, Canon Pixma iP6000D, Canon Pixma iP8500, Epson Stylus Photo R300, Epson Stylus Photo R800)
must be able to print color and photo in good quality. anyone got experince to share?
 
Re: printing on DVD's

Epson R200 (the same model as the R300 without the extra card reader features). Can't beat the price. Individual ink cartridges that you can pick up at bargain prices online. The only negative I've ever heard was that a plastic part wears out after about 1,000 disks. I haven't had that experience but the one we use at work is fine after 600 plus disks.
 
Re: printing on DVD's

hows the overall quality of the print?
how does it print solid colors and pictures? Inkjet look?
 
Re: printing on DVD's

I use the R300 and have had excellent results. Yes, if you hold it up and look at it closely you can tell it's ink jet output, but if you've looked at the ink jet output of any modern printers you know it's nothing near as bad as it was a couple of years ago.
 
Re: printing on DVD's

I've had excellent results with the R300 until the last few prints, where black banding started showing up.

Also, it prints too darkly after Service Pack 2 and I can't get the driver patch from the Epson website to install. There's a workaround, but it's a pain, and it doesn't always work.
 
Re: printing on DVD's

I've got an R200 and am very pleased with the quality, but for the life of me I can't get the disk lined up to print correctly. It always seems to print off center.
 
Re: printing on DVD's

ok.. here is the one trick i HIGHLY suggest!  In the settings, choose advanced, Manual load, not sheet, then change paper type from DVD/CD to colorlife photo paper, then quality to Photo RPM.  color mode Epson Standard.   The reason for "tricking" the printer by telling it to print on colorlife photo paper enables you to use Photo RPM instead of best photo... Try it and compare the results.. it's amazing!  

This works on all Epson printers that do disks
 
Re: printing on DVD's

I've got the origional, the Epson Stylus 900, the first one that had dvd / cd printing.. luckily i bought three of them... The reason I like it so much is because it has a full size 8 1/2 x 11 size tray that loads from the back, instead of the front loading flimsy one that comes with the r200/300 etc... I've got two of those at work and both have trouble with those thin plastic feeders that bend.. and get stuck! Has anyone else had this problem? where you have to give the tray a little "nudge" to get it started?

Vince
 
Re: printing on DVD's

I've got the Canon i865, and it does a superb job !!!

The Media you use also has a major impact on the final product!!!

I find the ePerformance to work best for me.

Thanks,
Derrick
 
Re: printing on DVD's

I have the Epson R800. You didn't say how many DVD's you need to run at a time. I would not consider any of the single tray models for any kind of serious production run- would be too slow. Having said that, I have not had any problems with the tray. The only comment I have is that the surface of the printable DVD's that I have purchased is a very flat white and the prints look a little faded. (I will try Vinnie's suggested workaround and see if that improves the print quality.)

Overall, the ability to print directly on our DVD's was a huge breakthrough. I waited months after the announcement for Epson to ship the trays for the 960 model; I finally went out and bought a new R800 just so I could get started and then a week later the tray for the 960 finally showed up in the mail- I'll accept the less than spectacular print quality for now.
 
Re: printing on DVD's

Larry K,

Please let me know if that workaround works for you... For me it's like night and day! That same dull, faded look is what frustrated me at first too. With the workaround you do get a richer fuller looking print.

Vince
 
print area

print area

I would like to print as close to center as possible...any printers (Epson Stylus Photo R300 or other) able of doing that?
I think its looks more proffessional that way...just need some printable dvds with white all the way to the centerhole.
 
With the R300, you’re limited only to the discs themselves as to how far in you can print. But not too many (if any) printable discs have white all the way to the center – there needs to be space for brand identification and barcodes. Believe it or not, a disc will tell the DVD drive what brand and model of DVD it is, so that the drive can adjust to optimal burning conditions. That’s done with the barcode.

Assuming, of course, that the particular disc is in the drive’s firmware.
 
I have the Epson R300 and get excellent results when printing on printable DVDs!

mthorsen said:
I would like to print as close to center as possible...any printers (Epson Stylus Photo R300 or other) able of doing that?
I think its looks more proffessional that way...just need some printable dvds with white all the way to the centerhole.
Click to expand...

To print all the way to the center you will want to buy "hub-printable" media. I personally use the Ritek DVD-R 4.7GB, 8X, White Inkjet Printable ( Hub Printable) RITEKG05

However, each DVD burner is different and your bruner might like other media. I would recommend buying a DVD sample pack from either of the following online stores (I've regularly purchased from both, it's just a matter of which has the best price that day)

http://www.Rima.com or http://www.SuperMediaStore.com
 
Just yesterday I went to Staples enquiring about the Epson printer. They had the R300 in stock, but the guy informed me that they only printed onto special DVd's that came with basically a sticker already attached, and that the dvd's were $3 a piece.

I was hoping to purchase a 50 stack of white inkjet or silver inkjet dvd's for a way cheaper price than $3 a dvd.

From reading your guys threads I'm getting the impression I don't have to buy the special dvd's, please inform this uninformed guy on what I can print with that printer.

Thanks.
 
You need white or silver printable discs (I use and recommend Verbatim), but they don't have a "sticker" on them and they run about 60-80 cents apiece at 4x speed. Check B&H.
 
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