Need some advise. I presently use an Inkjet print for all my wedding DVD labels and I'm please with the results. Now with being able to print directly on the DVD disk I'm concidering going that route. The Epson Stylus Photo R320 prints directly into Cd or DVD disks. Does anyone have any thoughts on this epson printer or can suggest a better one for the price? Does anyone have experience with this one? NewEgg.com Has a good deal on this Printer. Thanks in advance.

Harry

epson inks are about 7ml, so youll be changing cartridges more than youll be printing...

also their driver updates regualrly "remanage" the ink, most of the time its forcing more ink to be used when its not needed.. this can be averted by using a program called "inksaver"

I find the Canon units are far more superior with ink management and generic ink tanks are about $6 each for 5 colours.
Also the canon ip4000/5000 offer awesome resolution of 4800x2400 with a great software bundle with picolitre drops at 2 and 1 respectively.
The new ip5200 prints at 9600x2400 or something stupidly high like that

Harry,

I've got a Canoni960 and an EpsonR200. I've have not experienced the excessive ink use on DVD labels with the R200 and have been VERY pleased with it. My Canon is what we use to print dig photos and it IS an ink piggy.

This is probably all confusing because my experience is exactly opposite Peter's, but that could be directly attributable to the models I have compared to the actual models he has. Not all siblings have the same temperment. I highly recommend the R200 for label printing though, it does a good job for me, meeting all my needs.

You mileage may vary (as obviously mine did from Peter's).

Hi to all, Over here in Singapore, we have some very innovative pple that came out with a system called Inkstation, that will save on printing costs. I have been using the system for a while now..

I'm using the Epson R310 model(not sure if its the same model in States). I do printing direct on the DVD too.

For more info, click on the link.. don't know if they do shipping to states but maybe someone may wanna try doing up a OEM version!

*Edited: I saw that the ink came from states, so im sure u guys can find something similar there. Cheers!

http://www.vip.com.sg/index.htm

The Epson R200 seems to be very popular, and with an $85 price tag, seems like a great deal.

I plan on getting one soon.

I am also planning to go on this route, i think i'll go for R210, according to the sales rep here, the only difference of R210 from R310 is it can sirectly print from a camera with usb. my 2-cent

The R200 is great! My cartridges are 1/4 empty and I have printed nearly 50 DVDs.

Mike

Ditto the R200 I picked it up from Amazon with 50 printable Verbatim DVD-R's for $100.. I use the R200 for CD/DVD printing only. It has yet to ever see a piece of paper. I have printed though my first 50 with edge to edge full color photo quality and I am still on the original ink..

I use a HP Photo Smart 7750(i think) for my DVD covers and inserts and my trusty old LaserJet 6P for B&W/Text..

Pat, I agree, for less than $100 its easy to make it a dedicated DVD label printer and get a personal laser printer for documents.

Cast my vote for the Epson R200 as well. Still using the original ink carts and over 50 DVDs printed. Can be a little cantankerous at times, but so can I. So we have a symbiotic relationship. I get information all the time about much more expensive units, but don't see that they do enough of a better job to be worth the cost difference.

Just an additional note, on my R200. I have not even needed to try them yet, as the original cartridges are still nearly full, but I bought replacement cartridges form a company on ebay for about $20.00 for a complete set of 6 cartridges. When I do use them I will post the results. The company has a 99.9% rating and all the dissenters I saw complained that the cartridges were not from Epson---Duh!

They are inkjetking99.

The printer is so cheap and easy to use, I can't see any reason to buy something much more expensive.

Mike

Hi Gang,

I have to throw my vote in on the R200 as well. I've only had to change the black cartridge and I've printed well over 70 full colour, "to the edge", DVDs.

I've managed to find a great company here in Canada called www.blankmedia.ca that offer third party R200 cartridges for as little $8/cartridge or under $47 for the six pack.

Unfortunately the R200 is difficult to find these days here in Canada, eh?

Still. I love it. It's a sight better than this crappy Dell printer I have with it's non-acceptance of third party cartridges and the outrageous charges (plus shipping!) for the Dell ink.

But I digress.

R200.

Epson.

I like.

That is all.

sincerely,


ian

i am using the r300. prints good looking discs, which is why i have not even looked into the primera printers. the only complaint is that driver support is not always up to date for my os x machines. i am currently running it on 10.4 (tiger) by installing the r200 driver and then installing the r300 driver over top of it. the r300 driver only supports os 10.2 (jaguar).

also, the authoring application it comes with is horrible. just about as bad as the "discus" software that came with the "cdprint" printer i upgraded from. took me awhile (and a few printed cds) to figure out the offsets to make my own illustrator template.

i use an hp laser printer for all docs, and run all dvd covers off a fiery.

used to be a print designer, so i'm pretty picky about these things.

when you guys print on the printable disc directly... does the ink come off if someone touches it? It has always been a problem for me. btw, i use R300

Thanks to everyone for your input. This has helped alot for me to make a decison.
Harry

when you guys print on the printable disc directly... does the ink come off if someone touches it? It has always been a problem for me. btw, i use R300

That is only a problem if you print outside of the printable area. I like running the printing all the way to the edge, but then I just wipe off where I over run, otherwise dry in minutes.

Mike

The R300 has had some reported problems printing discs. I first started having problems a few weeks ago. Printer is only a few months old and without much use. But, the printer's tray does not always track correctly and causes a printer error.

There was a discussion about this on another forum and many people are reporting the same problem. Don't know why the 200 works any better but the 300 is not a disc printing solution yet in my opinion.
Bob

when you guys print on the printable disc directly... does the ink come off if someone touches it? It has always been a problem for me. btw, i use R300

have you tried the matte printable cd? there is another glossy type printable cd but then you have to let it dry before you let someone else touch your work...

The R300 has had some reported problems printing discs. I first started having problems a few weeks ago. Printer is only a few months old and without much use. But, the printer's tray does not always track correctly and causes a printer error.

There was a discussion about this on another forum and many people are reporting the same problem. Don't know why the 200 works any better but the 300 is not a disc printing solution yet in my opinion.
Bob

Bob, it must be peculiar to the R300 or you just got a lemon. I've had an R200 for over a year and its never not worked perfectly. Recommended the R200 to two others who each purchased one and they've never had a problem either.

Oh Boy:-(
You all say you've got problems with the R300. I just ordered that one last week before your replies were posted. I ordered it from Newegg.com. Mainly because it had the connections for Dig Camera's and the R200 didn't. Least I thought it didn't. The price was good and the reviews seemed great. I guess I'll just have to wait and try it out for myself. It should arrive by Wed. I'll post back once I try it out.

Harry

Not everyone has problem with R300. I got a R300 for almost a year now and has not given me any problem. I print mostly DVDs and in full color. Drying is no problem either. Just make sure not to play your newly printed disc into your DVD player at least a few hours after printing. There is a message that pops out in your PC monitor in regards to drying and playing your disc.

In regards to the disc tray, make sure that the 2 arrows are aligned before hitting "print".

Good luck and Have Fun !

I have had an epson r200 for about 6 months now. Only used for CD/DVD labeling, mostly with full color images. After about 50 uses, my tray would not go in correctly without a tap from me to get it going....arrows were aligned and all but it would just sit and spin without taking the tray in...not a big deal but a bit of a hassle if I forget to tap it in and it gives me an error message...I have not changed ink cartridges as of yet, but will be looking into the e-bay deal if that pans out for MIke...

Other than that little problem, I would recommend buying at a local BJ's Warehouse for $80...I will probably be purchasing another, just for backup!

Thanks for your input Guys
I do feel better about now. I'll give it quite abit of time for me to adjust. looking forward to it.

Thanks Again
Harry

Since we're talking about the R200 anyone have a good photoshop template they use for their R200s?