About a month ago, I started researching everything and anything concerning inkjet printers and printable DVD+Rs for my home DVDs. I thought I would pass along my results in case anyone else is thinking about throwing out their labels and buying an inkjet printer which can print on CD/DVDs. (Videomaker Magazine recommends not using labels on DVDs because they have been shown to cause problems with the DVDs over time. I know that the use of labels has also been a topic of concern in this forum.)
I looked at several options (one choice being the Casio thermal) and finally decided on the Epson 200 which was very economical (I got mine for $89.99 + free shipping with my teacher discount). This is the same printer as the more expensive Epson 300 minus the slots for memory cards.
Next I had to buy white printable DVD+Rs. I shopped at every site listed on this forum and even wrote a post to this forum about the quality of different DVDs (Pro-Disc in particular). Anyway, I was on the verge of buying the very inexpensive Pro-Disc which ran for 69 cents each, when I realized that I would also have to pay tax and shipping on my purchase (I believe this was through Meritline). For about $5 more, I was able to find 100 Memorex White Printable DVD+Rs (and DVD-Rs, too) at Amazon for $89.99 which included shipping and no tax. That's the best deal I've seen so far on Memorex.
I just printed 65 discs with my Epson and I am quite happy with the results. This is a very large print order for me. I expect to only be printing 5 or 10 at a time in the future. If someone is going to do a lot of printing, this machine would probably not meet your needs as you must carefully insert and remove the disc each time. Anyway, I think the quality of the print is very nice although I am no expert. I would say a bit better than the labels. I used the highest quality settings during printing (Best Photo, Photo Enhance, CD/DVD Premium). Each disc took 3 minutes and 15 seconds to print. I had no problems with ink spills or drips which I had read about in other posts. I also have had no problems with the ink coming off my discs. I mention this because some people had some problems with this. We've had very warm weather lately, and I have definitely had sweaty fingers and nothing has come off yet. (No, I have not splashed water on my discs yet. Maybe later.)
Using the Memorex discs has been great. I have not had a single problem. I plan to buy more before Amazon raises their price.
The program that comes with the Epson printer to design the CD/DVD is actually pretty good. Lots of nice options including arching, shadows, a variety of fonts, etc. I found it much better than the program which comes with the CD Stomper.
A few minor nitpicks I will mention: 1) The machine got "confused" on a couple of occasions -- I had to shut it off two or three times. (Note, it did not ruin any DVDs.) 2) The machine has six ink cartridges. The cheapest I will be able to replace all of them will be for about $85.00 for OEM (I ruined an Epson printer by getting the cheap ink -- I won't do that again). Unfortunately, I could not find these cartridges at Costco (where I often get a good deal on ink). I used just over 1/4 of my ink cartridges printing the 65 DVDs at best quality, so I figure I will get about 200 discs for each set of cartridges. (About 43 cents each.) To be honest, I don't know how this compares to other printers. It seems reasonable to me.
In conclusion, I am thrilled with my new Epson printer and Memorex DVD+Rs. I think the discs look great and now I won't have to worry about labels ruining my DVDs. I hope this post was useful to anyone considering buying these items.
I looked at several options (one choice being the Casio thermal) and finally decided on the Epson 200 which was very economical (I got mine for $89.99 + free shipping with my teacher discount). This is the same printer as the more expensive Epson 300 minus the slots for memory cards.
Next I had to buy white printable DVD+Rs. I shopped at every site listed on this forum and even wrote a post to this forum about the quality of different DVDs (Pro-Disc in particular). Anyway, I was on the verge of buying the very inexpensive Pro-Disc which ran for 69 cents each, when I realized that I would also have to pay tax and shipping on my purchase (I believe this was through Meritline). For about $5 more, I was able to find 100 Memorex White Printable DVD+Rs (and DVD-Rs, too) at Amazon for $89.99 which included shipping and no tax. That's the best deal I've seen so far on Memorex.
I just printed 65 discs with my Epson and I am quite happy with the results. This is a very large print order for me. I expect to only be printing 5 or 10 at a time in the future. If someone is going to do a lot of printing, this machine would probably not meet your needs as you must carefully insert and remove the disc each time. Anyway, I think the quality of the print is very nice although I am no expert. I would say a bit better than the labels. I used the highest quality settings during printing (Best Photo, Photo Enhance, CD/DVD Premium). Each disc took 3 minutes and 15 seconds to print. I had no problems with ink spills or drips which I had read about in other posts. I also have had no problems with the ink coming off my discs. I mention this because some people had some problems with this. We've had very warm weather lately, and I have definitely had sweaty fingers and nothing has come off yet. (No, I have not splashed water on my discs yet. Maybe later.)
Using the Memorex discs has been great. I have not had a single problem. I plan to buy more before Amazon raises their price.
The program that comes with the Epson printer to design the CD/DVD is actually pretty good. Lots of nice options including arching, shadows, a variety of fonts, etc. I found it much better than the program which comes with the CD Stomper.
A few minor nitpicks I will mention: 1) The machine got "confused" on a couple of occasions -- I had to shut it off two or three times. (Note, it did not ruin any DVDs.) 2) The machine has six ink cartridges. The cheapest I will be able to replace all of them will be for about $85.00 for OEM (I ruined an Epson printer by getting the cheap ink -- I won't do that again). Unfortunately, I could not find these cartridges at Costco (where I often get a good deal on ink). I used just over 1/4 of my ink cartridges printing the 65 DVDs at best quality, so I figure I will get about 200 discs for each set of cartridges. (About 43 cents each.) To be honest, I don't know how this compares to other printers. It seems reasonable to me.
In conclusion, I am thrilled with my new Epson printer and Memorex DVD+Rs. I think the discs look great and now I won't have to worry about labels ruining my DVDs. I hope this post was useful to anyone considering buying these items.