Thanks for the heads up on the Canon Printer - just got one off of eBay as damnprinter's price went up substantially from your listed price. Once I get the printer, I'll order the tray once I get done jumping thru all the hoops to enable the printer tray

Cliff Etzel - Solo Video Journalist
bluprojekt | solo video journalism blog

I've been using the same old Epson Photo 900 printer for CDs and DVDs for 5 years. Must have printed 1,000s of them now. Never really missed a beat, no need to buy anything else, comes with the tray and a basic print layout program. Of course the darn thing wouldn't want to miss a beat because I had to import it from the USA as Epson didn't sell any affordable DVD printer in Oz at the time.

Mate of mine bought a Canon, it's now landfill. It couldn't even print black, every photo had mauve shadows.

If this Epson ever dies I'll buy another and fit a CIS, that dramatically cuts the costs especially when printing slicks.

If you only need to label a DVD or CD I also have a little thermal printer. For that I use the cheaper 'silver' media and the ribbons are very cheap.

Bob.

farss,

Silver discs are more expensive than white discs. What silver discs are you referring to that are 'cheaper'?

The thermal printers print on regular CD surfaces. They don't need inkjet printable CDs. I'm guessing 'silver' is the mirror finish that is quite common on non-printable discs.

Using the Epson RX 585. It came with its own DVD/CD tray. Some basic s/w for DVD/CD creativity graphics setups - it works. I have sent client work out as a result and they love the look of their DVDs. Print onto "glossy" TYs and it's the dog's bollox! - I just wish I had had this option years ago.

Oh yeah. it is also a scanner .. and therefore a Fax and copier and has two card options PLUS a USB input - I use my USB stick on it. - Mind you, that does make it a wee bit large to carry around as a Card reader for a laptop? It has an LCD screen for viewing photos.

http://www.buyepson.co.uk/Catalog/CompatibleProducts.aspx?PID=C11C693301RU&wt.mc_id=pricecomparison_uk_ciaoEpson Stylus RX585[/link]

Grazie

Just made a 400 disc production, and both my to IP5300 and my Epson R800 went well.

There are drawbacks on both: Epson uses 8 different cart. Canon: when you use not org. catr. yuo can not cotrol the ink level correctly, but it's fine with me, I pay 10% for compat. compared to org. and print is fine.

/Ulf

Bravo II. Does up to 50 discs at a loading. The ink isn't cheap, but the costs are passed on to the customer so what does it matter?

I recovered the cost of the printer in under a year.

Jack

An Epson printer is your best bet unless you need to do hundreds of DVDs. I have used the 900, R320 and currently use the RX680 which rocks (and also doubles as a copy machine and scanner). This last one handles them better than the other two Epsons I used and the print quality is hard to beat. I use ProDisc DVD-R printable with the white surface and can't remember any that have gone bad. I burn thousands of DVDs. The photo quality for my covers is also fantastic. I've used Canon, HP and many others and Epson by far rules!

I use the Epson 960 and it just keeps on going. I also have the R1800 but use that one for photos.
JJK

As you can tell, people recommend what they use.

In this thread you have a number of users singing the praises of their Epson printers.

If you do a search for past threads on Epson, you'll find a long line of frustrated users, with exactly the same problems I had: ink clogs that prevented me from printing disks when I needed to ship, immense ink consumption when the famous Epson throat-clearing cycle started, continuous feeding problems with the unbelievably poorly designed disk printing tray (which is what brings down most users).

The R800 printer and above have a better tray, but even this gives in eventually.

Canon's Tray F (I haven't seen their trays for other printer models) looks like it will last forever.

With the Canon, I have had no $25.00 throat-clearings (with sometimes a mess of ink afterwards that stains everything you print, whether disks or paper DVD covers).

To add insult to injury, Epson has put the kibosh on 3rd party ink cartridge vendors. I used to buy G&G ink cartridges, which had about 90% of the quality of Epson ink for 15% of the price, but I can't find that any more.

For the moment I'm actually using Canon original ink, and because of the incredibly small ink consumption (1 picoliter) I can live with that until I find a good 3rd party vendor.

It is more convenient to buy an Epson in the U.S., because they come with the disk tray already. But that's where the convenience stops.

Of course my experience with three Epson printers could be a unique experience. As could that of the tens of thousands of people who have grieved in public forums about facing exactly the same problems. Umm, maybe not.

Inkjets are an intermediate evolutionary stage, I can't wait for printers to become land animals across the board, living on dry land only.

One of the mandatory things you have to do with an Epson is read the manual. It says to turn off the printer with the "off" button when not in use. This sets the print heads into a pad to prevent them from drying out. If you let it run all day long without any action the heads definitely will clog up. Turn it off if not in use. If you substitute inks the heads will clog up. The tray on my 960 requires two hands to set properly and it prints better than +- .oo5" and it has never worn out. I print all the way from the hub to the edge. The R1800 prints photos the best I have ever seen on Epson photo Glossy paper. If you can't follow a manual don't purchase an Epson.
JJK

JJ, you're absolutely right about it being necessary to turn off Epsons when not in use, and take the hit when it starts up.

And most 3rd party inks look bad, and clog the heads. What kept me going with G&G for my Epsons was that their ink gave 90% of OEM Epson quality and didn't clog the printer.

The Epson 960 was created in the early 2000s, when I think Epson had a stronger focus on mechanical quality. It may also have helped that this printer cost $300+ in the dollar of its day.

I'm very well aware that Epsons are outstanding for printing photos. Far slower than Canon and HP, but really good quality. When printing photos, you're obviously not suffering from poorly designed disk trays.

That leaves only the $100.00 ink cost to change from matte black to glossy black ink on the higher end models, but if you're not switching so often, the hassle and cost are worth it to professional photographers.

So don't get me wrong. For pro photography, it is really a very personal choice between Canon, Epson, and HP today, as they are all in the same league, and each of them offers some unique benefits.

For disks, I'm not planning to buy any more Epsons, but for someone who already has an Epson with a disk tray, that's what you should use of course. As long as it lasts.

And I agree with JJK: stick with original inks (unless you can get G&Gs).

In almost 40 years of using computer equipment, my Epson R260 is the worst piece of junk I have ever owned. Check out my links on this subject:

Links to Printer Reviews

I strongly recommend that you go to Amazon and look at their reviews for any printer you are considering purchasing, whether new or used. As you will see in the Amazon reviews I link to above, the R260 gets HORRIBLE reviews, whereas the Canon and HP printers get good reviews.

The link above takes you to another thread where this exact same topic is discussed. Here are two other long threads from earlier this year:

Needed DVD Face printer . . but .

I don't have time to post the other links ... there are many of them ... this is very frequently posted on this forum.

So, I just learned that my Canon PIXMA can print CDs. That's awesome, like getting a new Christmas present almost.

Although, I wonder what marketing decision went into hiding the CD printing capability from the U.S. market. That's just stupid in my opinion. Canon doesn't sell standalone CD printers that would be competition as far as I know.

Odd. For years I've heard how great Epson is. It's one of the reasons I switched from HP. When I saw how incredible the quality was on an Epson compared to HP I was sold. Later when I started printing to CD/DVD I had a few difficulties with the tray on the 900. The R320 lasted through several thousand DVDs. The RX680 has a much sturdier tray and one that is easier to set. You can even line it up easily with one hand. It prints perfectly every time. Of course some day I hope to be able to afford a bulk printer.

These things are almost like some sort of a cult:

1) I love Intel (though currently using AMD) and when I say that several people will talk about how Intel sucks.
2) I love Windows XP (also use Vista on laptop). There will be people who rave about how much better their MAC or Linux box is. I have several Linux distros (mainly Ubuntu and US) but prefer XP.
3) I love KMPlayer (just found it) and people want to talk about how much better x, y, or z is and how KMPlayer has all kinds of problems (which it doesn't).
4) I use an nVidea card and people will tell me that ATI is better. (I've used just about all of them).
5) I love Western Digital hard drives. I've actually had people try to say that Maxtors (the worst drive on the planet) are better. What a joke.
6) I love Dell products. There are those who say that Dell sucks and HP, et al is so much better and way, way, way, more reliable. Not only that but they throw in a sunny vacation to Hawaii for any purchase of $500 or more.

Let's see.... Well there is so much more that could be said.

P.S. I started with computers in 1972 and learned COBOL and keypunch. So there. ;-)

V777, You pretty much hit the nail on the head.
There are many companies providing the same or similar products, and each of them has their good points and bad points.
If it works for you, keep usiing it

Well, I'll just comment here that I've got 2 Epson printers, one 300 and one 200, and they both work fine for printing discs. The tray is a little finicky to get set for the first disc, but after that it seems to feed just fine...I just let the first disc error out, reset the tray and hit go, and it's fine from there...

Interesting thread though, because I'm sure I'll be looking for a new printer soon...The cost of a complete set of cartridges for the Epson is almost as much as the cost of a new printer that comes with cartridges, so it would be an equipment upgrade replacing the ink.

The WORST printers I've had for clogging were the HP PhotoSmart printers (the original one, didn't even have a number)...You could get maybe 10-15 pages and the cartridges would go bad...I tossed two of them out of frustration...

Cheers!
JRZ

Lots of opinions on this one. Definitely read the other threads in this forum on this topic.
I disagree on not being able to use 3rd party inks with the Epsons, based on having done so myself on an R200, an R220, and now on 2 R260's. The CIS I use is from Denver Disc, used to be Reliant Digital (reliantdigital.com). How strongly do I disagree? I've printed close to 6000 discs on these printers (they all still work, though we favor the R260's because they are newer). We have a 2000 disc job coming up in a couple of weeks.

Yes, you HAVE to shut it off via the front panel off button when not in use, or you'll be doing an unnerving clean-the-heads, test-print dance over and over until it "unclogs". But other than that...for a total of maybe $200 investment each one has worked well for us.

Personally, I would much rather have one of the robotic systems, but initial and ongoing cost is always a concern.

The cost of a complete set of cartridges for the Epson is almost as much as the cost of a new printer that comes with cartridges, so it would be an equipment upgrade replacing the ink.
Actually, they hold different amounts of ink. The replacement cartridges typically come in two sizes (something like 7.4ml and 11.1ml). They include the smallest and some printers (not necessarily Epson) include a starter cartridge that is much smaller. My one complaint about Epson is that they made it impossible to buy other cartridges. On the bright side - those other brands are what usually causes all the problems.

Primera Signature Pro and Primera Signature Z6. Carts are expensive but they print a long time. I've even tried refilling the carts with moderate success.

The quality is very good for my purposes. However, the Z6, which belongs to my church, is ill right now and I have not had time to really troubleshoot it.

While these are not automated printers, there is no tray to fool with.

Edit: Sorry, missed the "inexpensive" part...

I used to use an Epson R200 and it did a good job, but the ink lifespan was horrible. I was constantly having to fiddle with the disk handling tray to get it "just right" so it would feed correctly.

Some time ago I switched to an HP Photosmart C5280 and am really glad I did. I have had some bad HP printers through the years but the C5280 is a good one, in my opinion.

The prints on disk are nice, the ink is cheaper, the ink lasts much longer, and the disk handling mechanism is MUCH more sure-footed. The thing just works like it is supposed to.

Glad I switched.

The Epson R200 had really good output, but when it costs me as much to do an ink refill as it does to buy a whole new printer and with the seemingly very short lifespan of the ink cartridges, it was time to move on. And I'm very glad I did.

The Epson R200 was one of the first inkjets that would print on CDs/DVDs. From all reports, it was a great printer. However, the R260 has many, many problems. It DOES make great prints when it works, but it will dump ink when it jams, and the amount of ink it dumps sometimes approaches 25% of the total ink capacity in all six cartridges. At $80 for all six cartridges (from Epson), that's $25 each time you have a major jam.

This is not just some problem unique to my unit. This is why I recommended -- and recommend again here -- that you read the reviews on Amazon. The reviews on the R260 are exactly on the mark, both the positive and the negative ones. As you will see from the link I posted above, the reviews for the HP and Canon printers that are currently shipping are far, far better.

I have the HP Photosmart P1000, the HP Photosmart P1100, and the HP 855C inkjets. They operate 24/7 through a print router. The 855C is almost 10 years old and the others are more than six years old. I have not had one single problem with any of them in all those years.