[PatH]

I'm new at this and have yet to label my first DVD (I haven't even filled up a short spindle's worth, so I'm not too far behind), but I have benefited from my brother's experience. I won't use the full DVD labels as I've read about the instability they can cause and, having see my brother's practice of using only the hub labels, am unimpressed with that as well.


I recently stumbled across the Casio line of thermal printers for printing directly onto the DVD and wonder if anyone out there has gotten satisfactory results with one of these. Are the DVDs damaged in any way? A blank, unlined surface is specified, but shouldn't any DVD qualify as long as any preprinted areas are avoided? Will the ink smear once you play the DVD because of the high rate of spin? Does the ink fade over time (a problem with thermal printers and paper, I seem to recall.) Even if these questions are stupid, any input will be appreciated. Thanks!


PatH


P. S. I'm comfortable buying over the web, but I'd like a looksee as well. Does anyone know of any brick and mortar in Houston TX that might carry these, excluding Fry's and Best Buy, where I've already checked.

 

[moxie1617]



Quote:
Originally Posted by PatH /forum/post/0


Does the ink fade over time (a problem with thermal printers and paper, I seem to recall.) Even if these questions are stupid, any input will be appreciated. Thanks!


PatH

I would avoid thermal lables because they darken over time just at room temperature. When I remove a DVD from my recorder or Player they are warm to the touch and I fear that a thermal label would be turned black.


Although not pretty I just use a sharpie.

 

[Urlee]



Quote:
Originally Posted by PatH /forum/post/0


I'm new at this and have yet to label my first DVD (I haven't even filled up a short spindle's worth, so I'm not too far behind), but I have benefited from my brother's experience. I won't use the full DVD labels as I've read about the instability they can cause and, having see my brother's practice of using only the hub labels, am unimpressed with that as well.

I was using SureThing labels all the time until someone on this forum mentioned the printable discs.

I thought about it, and being my printer had that feature (printing on discs) which I was leery of trying and neglected using it, finally got brave enough to use it and LOVE it.

My printer is an EpsonStylus PhotoR320. I am still experimenting on what finish and brand DVD I like best to be my prime buy.

I let my discs dry for 24 hours like stated and have no problem.

I lean towards the "full face" and just ordered a 50 Pack Verbatim DVD-R White inkjet "Hub" Printable $9.99 after rebate.

Some people put a spray coat on them but I would never do that. I have no need to.


Urlee

 

[Church AV Guy]



Quote:
Originally Posted by PatH /forum/post/0


I'm new at this and have yet to label my first DVD (I haven't even filled up a short spindle's worth, so I'm not too far behind),

.

.

.

P. S. I'm comfortable buying over the web, but I'd like a looksee as well. Does anyone know of any brick and mortar in Houston TX that might carry these, excluding Fry's and Best Buy, where I've already checked.

I use this printer and have found it to be very good. It uses the shiny-surface disks, won't have balance issues, and it does not rub off. The labels look good too. It is monochrome though. Sure beats a sharpie like I WAS using. There is no smearing, and no fading that I have seen so far. It has never damaged a disk. The print quality suffers a lot if the disk has any kind of surface feature. If there is anything on the surface that you can feel, the device will likely not print well because it must maintain physical contact with the disk surface.

 

[roberc567]

Urlee:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Urlee /forum/post/0


I ... just ordered a 50 Pack Verbatim DVD-R White inkjet "Hub" Printable $9.99 after rebate.

I'm looking to replenish my DVD-R supplies -- can you tell us where you found this deal. Thanks.

 

[goots1]



Quote:
Originally Posted by roberc567 /forum/post/0

Urlee:




I'm looking to replenish my DVD-R supplies -- can you tell us where you found this deal. Thanks.

meritline.com has them

 

[Urlee]



Quote:
Originally Posted by roberc567 /forum/post/0

Urlee:




I'm looking to replenish my DVD-R supplies -- can you tell us where you found this deal. Thanks.

I ordered them from Meritline but actually, considering shipping costs, it turns out it cost me $20.44.


Urlee

 

[dmeader]



Quote:
Originally Posted by moxie1617 /forum/post/0


I would avoid thermal lables because they darken over time just at room temperature. When I remove a DVD from my recorder or Player they are warm to the touch and I fear that a thermal label would be turned black.


Although not pretty I just use a sharpie.

That's not how these thermal labeling systems work. These use a thermal process to transfer a pigment from the source ribbon to the substrate, in this case the DVD disc. There is nothing on the finished DVD that will or can darken more over time.


I agree on the "just use a Sharpie" scheme tho....that's what I do.

 

[sivartk]

look at Epson's line of CD/DVD printers. Yes it requires special media, but I have been very happy with mine and might buy an AIO to eliminate some clutter. I have the older R300 and have printed close to 700 discs without a problem.


The printers will run from $100 to $500 depending on the features. This also print pretty good photos to boot

 

[aviman33]

I'm using the Casio thermal printer, I believe it's the K85. Excellent results, I'm very happy with it.


Jon

 

[02Deuce]

I'm using the Casio CW-100 and Taiyo Yuden thermal label discs. I've been pretty happy with the results as my handwriting with (or without) a Sharpie is pretty bad. Also, you can print a small font that would be tough to do accurately with even a extra-fine Sharpie. Now the labels I've done so far are just simple lettering in two ~1"x2" blocks on the disc. I haven't tried printing a graphic figure yet. But most of my buds think the discs look professional. The wife wouldn't think it was cost effective and she would use a Sharpie. But I'm quite happy with the results. They don't appear to fade and you would have to scratch hard enough to damage the disc before you could get the printing off.


Now the Casio uses print tape cartridges like old typewriters. You should note that you can only have one color cartridge in at a time and you have to swap cartridges to go to another color. So multicolor on one disc would be complicated. I have seen a very few complaints about bad prints, but I think that is due to the printer being left unused for a while. If I use mine every month or so, I don't have a problem. If more time than that has gone by, I figure I'll just print a test label on an old disc just to get to a fresh spot in the print cartridge.

 

[Jetmeck]

Let's see some pics of these masterpieces ?

 

[had1]

I got the Epson R340 on Black Friday for $29.99 after $100 rebates @ Ritz/Wolf Camera. I love it and it does an excellent job! I purchased Printable DVD's + & - @ SAMS for $40 per 100. The best media deals are @ supermediastore.com. They have Taiyo Yuden's & Ritek's with the printable hub area which give you more coverage on the DVD face. I don't understand why basically only Epson makes these type of printers?? If more people try it it's awesome!! I tried everything: sharpies which I still use for non-important DVD's, labels which cause balance problems, lightscribe which is slow and limited to B&W. IMO nothing compares to printable DVD's unless you spend big $$$ for the professional process!! Take it from me, it's the best/cheapest way to go for impressive DVD labeling!!

 

[FarmBubba]

I use a permanent black marker, works great every time!

 

[PatH]

Thanks for all your input. The weather here has prevented me from shopping locally, but then I thought that I should clarify that what I'm currently looking for would print directly on the DVD. Are y'all saying that you have to by "pre-labeled" DVDs before these work or will these thermal printers work on any DVDs that have "un-raised" surfaces?


Thanks!


PatH

 

[Urlee]



Quote:
Originally Posted by PatH /forum/post/0


Thanks for all your input. The weather here has prevented me from shopping locally, but then I thought that I should clarify that what I'm currently looking for would print directly on the DVD. Are y'all saying that you have to by "pre-labeled" DVDs before these work or will these thermal printers work on any DVDs that have "un-raised" surfaces?


Thanks!


PatH

I have the Epson R320 inkjet printer.

You have to buy PRINTABLE discs which have a special coated surface for the ink to be printed on.

The disks say "injet printable" for inkjet printers, when you look to order them.


Urlee

 

[sivartk]

thermal or inkjet, either way you must purchase special discs...unless you have a printer that you can load with sharpie markers instead of ink

 

[crabboy]



Quote:
Originally Posted by sivartk /forum/post/0


thermal or inkjet, either way you must purchase special discs...unless you have a printer that you can load with sharpie markers instead of ink

I hope not! I just ordered a Casio CW-100-IH.

 

[oldnacl]

I labeled more than a thousand DVDs so far with my Casio CW-L300. I have nothing but praise for it, as long as all you want is a simple, neat monochrome label. I label my DVDs with the movie title and a reference number that refers to my database and storage location. I use TY blanks from http://supermediastore.com/taiyo-yud...d-r-media.html

I used the Epson inkjet printer early on, but the amount of time needed to create a simple label put me off. I may use it occasionally for a special DVD to give to a friend, but even for that, I have a lightscribe burner and I'll be more likely use that.

 

[sivartk]



Quote:
Originally Posted by crabboy /forum/post/0


I hope not! I just ordered a Casio CW-100-IH.

I haven't seen any printer that will print on the standard "shiny" discs (I.e. no special surface). So maybe you can sell your discs to a friend?