DVD Printer

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b1030

Well-Known Member
customshopkv1 said:
I was thinking about buying a printer to label my dvd's. Any recommendations?
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Epson makes several printers you can get. They are the "R" series. Check Epson's web site for refurbed items. I buy refurbs direct from Epson all the time without any problems whatsoever. These are not the fastest printers but do a great job for the money. You can spend thousand of you really want to do it right.
Replacement cartridges for the Epson (non-OEM) are real cheap at supermediastore.com. Work great and are the 17mm carts.
Taiyo Yuden makes both white inkjet printable media and silver injet printable media. The white is to the hub and the silver print to 42mm. TY also makes a watershield disc that will give a more professional finis (glossier and won't run as bad if wet), but they are not cheap.
Verbatum's white inkjet printable media is good too.
I use the Epson R200 personally, but it is getting kinda hard to find. The R200 & R300 use the same carts, while the R220 is different.
Hope this helps.
Brad
 
G

G-Omaha

Well-Known Member
b1030 said:
Epson makes several printers you can get. They are the "R" series. Check Epson's web site for refurbed items. I buy refurbs direct from Epson all the time without any problems whatsoever. These are not the fastest printers but do a great job for the money. You can spend thousand of you really want to do it right.
Replacement cartridges for the Epson (non-OEM) are real cheap at supermediastore.com. Work great and are the 17mm carts.
Taiyo Yuden makes both white inkjet printable media and silver injet printable media. The white is to the hub and the silver print to 42mm. TY also makes a watershield disc that will give a more professional finis (glossier and won't run as bad if wet), but they are not cheap.
Verbatum's white inkjet printable media is good too.
I use the Epson R200 personally, but it is getting kinda hard to find. The R200 & R300 use the same carts, while the R220 is different.
Hope this helps.
Brad
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Epson Photo Stylus R260 is about the best you can get for the money. Go to the New Egg site and you can find it there for a reasonable price. I used to have the R200 and then the R220 modules and have had to replace it with the R260. I just bought my second one as a "backup". The ink, if you but the Epson "Real McCoy" will cost you about as much as the printer did. I have used "generic" ink on the R200 and R220 in the past with very good results - ordered several sets of generics and currently waiting for their delivery. The Epson ink provides a much "richer and truer" color than the generatics; however the cost difference is significant (generics cost about 1/4 or less than the Epson cartrides).

The reason that I have "gone" through so many of these printers is that they simply wear out when printing a large number of DVDs. I esimate that the life of the printer, under heavy usage is about 2,000 DVDs - that's been my "track record" so far. Generally speaking the printer lasts me about a year before it needs to be replaced. When I print CD/DVD labels it is on a "Project Basis" (Weddings, Slideshows, Special Events, Funeral Montages, etc..) and this places high demand "spurts" on the printer. Need to print 50 or more CD/DVDs in a single day over the course of about 2 1/2 hours. With "normal" usage you should expect this printer to last many years. My neighbor still has his original R200 that he purchased about two+ years ago and it remains in "like new" condition.

As mentioned earlier SuperMediaStore sells the generic ink for a reasonable price and offers quantity and "Special" discounts. If you are buying the R260 printer, be advised, that the lighter two colors (Magenta and Teal) are used less ofter than the other colors and that you will probably consume the Black ink at well over the 2x ratio over the other colors.

Overall, in my opinion, the R260, it the "best buy for the money" and produces excellent results on everything that I have tried (except for Pio Media - for some reason that media "bubbles" when ink is applied to it).

Good Luck and Happy printing....
 
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oldjoe

Well-Known Member
I have an Epson R200 and a R220. It's very hard to distinguish the original from the backup. I get the cartridges from SuperMediaStore and use Verbatim Hub Printable media.
 
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locoeng

Well-Known Member
That printer and ink combo should be great...it won't smudge or smear and should be waterproof, unlike the traditional R series Espon ink. If my R320 wasn't so new, I'd probably get one myself.

Claria Hi-Definition Ink is a revolutionary new six-color, dye-based ink technology that delivers unsurpassed image quality and long-lasting results. Claria is tailor-made to fit the needs of the discerning photo enthusiast. It provides vivid, true-to-life colors with a wide color gamut that's ideal for printing your best shots.

Best of all, photos printed with Claria ink will last longer than traditional, lab-processed photos. And, they'll even stand up to spills, smudges and fading. That means you can share and frame your favorite photos, or place them in an album — worry-free.
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http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/Landing/Claria.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes
 
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b1030

Well-Known Member
The only probelm with any of the newer "R" series Epson Photo printers, they build in an electonic life expectancy based on usage. No matter if your printer is working perfectly. The chip can be removed but takes a bit of skill. The older "CX" Stylus printers didn't do this.
This is the same kinda crap that got Epson sued. Their ink carts would show empty when actally contained 5-7% ink left.
So if you're gona be a high user, buy 2. Another member noted he got a back-up, well I do too. When the refurbs come avail I will buy 4 at a time. I print 400-600 discs a month as well as maybe 200 DVD case covers and about 200 pages of CD jewel case covers. I get about 4-5 months life out of an "R" series printer, but then since buying refurbs, only pay about $60.00 each.
Geneally the cd/dvd tray starts sticking quite a while before getting the "internal parts are nearing the end of their life" message.
As far as Dura-Bright and Clarion ink carts, way too expensive! I now spend a few hundred a month on ink, would be thousands if I bought Epson products.
Does anyone know of a way to get the cd/dvd tray from sticking after heavy use? thanks,
Brad
 
G

G-Omaha

Well-Known Member
b1030 said:
The only probelm with any of the newer "R" series Epson Photo printers, they build in an electonic life expectancy based on usage. No matter if your printer is working perfectly. The chip can be removed but takes a bit of skill. The older "CX" Stylus printers didn't do this.
This is the same kinda crap that got Epson sued. Their ink carts would show empty when actally contained 5-7% ink left.
So if you're gona be a high user, buy 2. Another member noted he got a back-up, well I do too. When the refurbs come avail I will buy 4 at a time. I print 400-600 discs a month as well as maybe 200 DVD case covers and about 200 pages of CD jewel case covers. I get about 4-5 months life out of an "R" series printer, but then since buying refurbs, only pay about $60.00 each.
Geneally the cd/dvd tray starts sticking quite a while before getting the "internal parts are nearing the end of their life" message.
As far as Dura-Bright and Clarion ink carts, way too expensive! I now spend a few hundred a month on ink, would be thousands if I bought Epson products.
Does anyone know of a way to get the cd/dvd tray from sticking after heavy use? thanks,
Brad
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Brad,

If you look closely at the rear roller assembly, you will see some very shiny surfaces. These are the "spots" where the original embossed "grip" material has worn off. "No grip - No Movement"! I have not figured out how to "resurface" these spots and simply either give the printer away (still good for photo or test printing) or trash it.

As to that dang error message about "internal parts". I have found two things that help with this. The first one is that the "Excess Ink Capture Pad" is saturated and needs replacement or "draining". I use about 10/20 Q-Tips and "Dip" them into the "sponge" and let them soak up the ink. Then there is a "freeware" utility that lets you "reset" all of the counters on the printer. By employing both of these, I have found that I can almost double the life of the printer - or at least until it quits "grabbing" and moving the CD/DVD tray (at which point it's a "gonner").

As far as the ink - Some people want the good stuff and I charge them accordingly (about $.75 per disc extra). Just depends on the client.. And that ink is Water resistant - NOT waterproof - Have done tests to prove it...
 
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Lineman

New Member
I use an Canon MP830 cut over to euro by using "5 Easy Steps." I purchased the CD tray from EB^Y. I couldn't be happier. It takes a little setup, but well worth it and I am not stuck with Epson.
Lineman
 
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nancy2002

Member
What is the name of the freeware program you use to reset your printer? I have an Epson r300 and have reset the counter at least 4 times with a manual process. The tray does stick but if you pull the paper guide out so the dvd tray is just resting on it, it helps. The tray is to long and bows causing errors. Slight hand pressure on the end when it starts to print also helps.
 
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