Photo printer for CDs/DVDs ?

photobug

Are the Epson "R" printers (e.g. R200) the only ones on the planet that can print directly on CDs/DVDs?

I'd prefer to print directly on printable CDs/DVDs, as I'm concerned that the adhesives in stick-on labels could damage discs over time.

I have a Canon i9900 and my first wish that there was another Canon printer using the same ink tanks, that could print on CDs/DVDs. I don't think that exists, so am considering biting the bullet and picking up a used Epson, e.g. R200, just to print on CDs/DVDs (and maybe for my wife to use for printing some scrapbook items). I hate to have to stock two different sets of ink tanks, but it looks like I'm stuck with that.

Are there ANY other options out there besides the Epsons for this?

behr655

If you don't need to print in color you can get a new DVD/CD burner with Lightscribe technology. Using the special Lightscribe discs you can "burn" text and images directly onto the CD. I just got a new computer with this type of drive but have not tried it yet. Just bought a 10 pack of DVDs for about $8.00. Not cheap but they won't get stuck in your cd player.


Bear

photobug

behr655 wrote:

If you don't need to print in color you can get a new DVD/CD burner with Lightscribe technology. Using the special Lightscribe discs you can "burn" text and images directly onto the CD.

Yes, I've read up on Lightscribe discs. Great concept. That might work, although it would severely limit what CD/DVD media I could buy. When the Lightscribe drive prices come down further, I may grab one as a second-bay drive.

The other factor is that I can't justify a second color printer just for CD/DVD covers. But if I hooked it to my wife's PC so she could print out scrapbooking photos/clip-art, then it would be easier to justify because it would get more use. (I just hate to end up having to feed two printers with completely different ink sets.)

patch29

I have a friend that purchased the Epson R200 a couple months ago, just for printing on discs and he is very happy with it.

flyingpylon

I looked into LightScribe drives for a new PC I'm building but decided against them for now because the technology is just a little too new. The media is much more expensive, and the burned-in patterns are known to fade over time. I talked to a few retailers and they say demand for the media is very very low, which makes me wonder if they will always be available.

I've seen Epson R200 printers on sale with rebates for like $49 or something, if I recall correctly. Don't know much else about them.

photobug

I've seen Epson R200 printers on sale with rebates for like $49 or something, if I recall correctly. Don't know much else about them.

Yep, $69 - $20 rebate + $10 shipping at Amazon right now .... tempting ...

flyingpylon

photobug wrote:

Yep, $69 - $20 rebate + $10 shipping at Amazon right now .... tempting ...

And I just saw $59 - $20 rebate + $3.60 tax at my local Fry's Electronics... the deals are out there.

photobug

Got a deal on R200 -- and took the plunge

flyingpylon wrote:

I've seen Epson R200 printers on sale with rebates for like $49 or something, if I recall correctly.

It looked like I had no choice except the Epson "R" series for printing on CDs/DVDs, so I've had an R200 sitting in my Amazon "shopping cart" for a couple of weeks. I've been pondering it, but hadn't ordered it yet. Nothing had quite pushed me over the edge.

Then last night, I just happened to check my Amazon "Gold Box" deals and -- lo and behold -- up popped the R200 in the Gold Box with an additional $3.45 discount.

... as an aside ... Amazon is getting much smarter with the Gold Box now; it sometimes actually offers useful deals in the Gold Box -- items that I might actually want to buy(!), instead of a bunch of random kitchen gadgets, like it used to.

So the bottom line is that I finally bit the bullet and ordered the R200. Total cost: $54.35. ($69.00 + 9.99 shipping - $3.45 Gold Box Discount - $1.19 "A9 pi/2" discount - $20 mail-in rebate; no sales tax of course)

Thanks to everyone for your replies!

= photobug.

Jane B.

Print on CD/DVD with Canon printer
I hope this is ok to post here — this site http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=451 has had quite a number of discussions about modifing US version Canon printers to print on disks. The address above is just the latest thread. Quite a bit of interest has been shown so look back from this.

I have not done this myself as I have a Canon S800 that is still working well and I don't do many CDs.

Hope this helps someone.
Jane

LOVEphotos

Epson R200 (Adjust Print Position measurements)
Hello anyone with the R200,

I purchased this printer today ... solely to print directly on my cd/dvd's.

But ... I'm having a bit of trouble getting my pictures/bakcground images to cover the WHOLE cd ... white space is left around the middle and top/right sides

I've tried to adjust the print position measurements but no luck thus far

Any numbers/measurements that anyone can suggest that u have entered for TOP Space & RIGHT Space in the ADJUST PRINT POSITION dialog box.

I would appreciate any help ... THANKS! :

BTW, I'm using Mac OSX.

LOVEphotos

LOVEphotos wrote:

Hello anyone with the R200,

I purchased this printer today ... solely to print directly on my cd/dvd's.

But ... I'm having a bit of trouble getting my pictures/bakcground images to cover the WHOLE cd ... white space is left around the middle and top/right sides

I've tried to adjust the print position measurements but no luck thus far

Any numbers/measurements that anyone can suggest that u have entered for TOP Space & RIGHT Space in the ADJUST PRINT POSITION dialog box.

I would appreciate any help ... THANKS! :

BTW, I'm using Mac OSX.

I returned the printer ... was weary of trying to adjust the printer position so that the photo would be aligned correctly on the CD and not have big blotches of white space on the sides and center

Other than that I really love the photo quality on the CD ... it's a geat invention ... perhaps they will soon release a newer model with a better CD tray intergrated into the printer itself ... or even better ... a standalone just for CD/DVD printing

For now, I'm back to using a sharpie

flyingpylon

I do not have the R200 and know nothing about this but...

In order to do "full bleed" printing, ink would have to be sprayed slightly outside the white label in order to ensure full coverage. That would leave the edges of the CD pretty messy where there is no material available to soak up the ink. So maybe not being able to print to the edge is by design? I'm not sure there would be an easy way to get around this.

mercphoto

flyingpylon wrote:

I do not have the R200 and know nothing about this but...

In order to do "full bleed" printing, ink would have to be sprayed slightly outside the white label in order to ensure full coverage. That would leave the edges of the CD pretty messy where there is no material available to soak up the ink. So maybe not being able to print to the edge is by design? I'm not sure there would be an easy way to get around this.

Absolutely correct.

LOVEphotos

Epson R200

flyingpylon wrote:

I do not have the R200 and know nothing about this but...

In order to do "full bleed" printing, ink would have to be sprayed slightly outside the white label in order to ensure full coverage. That would leave the edges of the CD pretty messy where there is no material available to soak up the ink. So maybe not being able to print to the edge is by design? I'm not sure there would be an easy way to get around this.

Thanks for your feedback...

I'll try to explain again ... maybe I'll post a pic later.
On one side of the cd ... the photo prints close to the edge ... but on the top & another side is a block of white space ... the photo is not evenly aligned on the cd ... it is very, very obvious... it's a matter of adjusting the TOP and RIGHT space printer position in the dialog box of the epson software ... something that I was unsuccessful at doing

BTW, I've seen a sample print CD in the store ... and was impressed ... I just did not know how to manipulate the software to get the same results

Here is a quote that comes from a Epson Rep,
"Do not use the "print preview" feature provided by the Epson printer driver as it will only show the image on a blank field and does not offer a clear indicator of WHERE the image will print."

So, u are NOT able to view b/f actually printing
TRANSLATION = a lot of wasted CD/DVD's ... oh yeah u can still use them but I wouldn't give them to customers

Perhaps someone who have had success with the EPSON R200 would share their experience

mercphoto

I've been happy with my R200 for printing onto CD's, but then again I don't remember doing anything where I had to be concerned about high precision alignment of the image either. One thing to note is that if you go for labels instead you will still have a printer registration issue with the label. You might have simply gotten a bum R200.

LOVEphotos

mercphoto wrote:

I've been happy with my R200 for printing onto CD's...
...You might have simply gotten a bum R200.

THANKS! for your user experience with the printer and feedback..
Yeah, the thought did cross my mind that I may have gotten a bad R200 :uhoh

LOVEphotos

Jane B. wrote:

I hope this is ok to post here — this site http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=451 has had quite a number of discussions about modifing US version Canon printers to print on disks. The address above is just the latest thread. Quite a bit of interest has been shown so look back from this.

Hope this helps someone.
Jane

Thank u for the link ... I hope direct CD/DVD printing for Canon printers becomes available in the U.S.A. soon.

Wonder why they aren't available NOW ... probably something to do with patent issues.

*sigh*