HP vs Epson DVD Printer

[Mark Holland]

I searched the forum, but didn't see a specific answer to my question, so here goes.

Has anyone switched from the Epson Rxxx series of DVD printers to the new HP (sub $100) DVD printer? If so, what are your thoughts? Do you like the HP better? Do you regret making the change? Is the print quality better/same/worse?

I'm considering replacing my Epson with the HP and wondered what someone's experiences might have been.

Thanks!

Mark

[Damon Gaskin]

Dude! Are you sure you want to do that? Have you checked Newegg reviews of the printers? And more than anything, what is the problem with your Epson and which model? I have one of the original R200's that has been churning away like mad over the years. I have had to do a few mods to it(the cd/dvd tray and I am now running a CIS), but it has been a great printer. The only thing I really worry about with HP as I looked at the printer when it first came out was the cost of the inks and longevity(typical HP stuff that I had to consider before purchasing the Epson).

If you have one of the newer models such as the R260 I am sure ink consumption is an issue for you, but I could recommend the CIS system I have and it becomes a fabulous inkjet on a laser ink consumption. Seriously!

Whats the issue? Do share????

[Mark Holland]

Damon,

Thanks for your reply. I'll go look at the reviews on Newegg.

My reasons for considering the HP over my Epson (R200) are:
- the typical Epson 'feed' problem
- constantly having to stop and clean rollers, sponge, etc, because of streaking on the DVD's
- HP ink cartridges have the print heads built in, Epson's are built into the printer (I can't confirm, I was told by a "printer person") so you get new/clean ones with every ink change
- HP printers have a better reputation for print quality in general (my Epson isn't bad on the disks, but photos...not so much!)

This is why I was asking for someone who had made the switch, to tell me about their results.

As for the cost of inks, I tested Cartridge World inks and found them to be of acceptable quality. I've been using them for about 2 years now, with only 1 problem, and they quickly replaced the defective cartridge.

Mark

[Damon Gaskin]

Hi Mark!

Hmmn, for the streaking, I have only experienced that once or twice and that I believe was due to faulty (I believe, because after they were replaced, I never had the problem again) or almost empty carts. For the "typical and annoying feed problem", I really really suggest checking out the fix on this site for the feed. It works by simply sanding the bottom of the tray(I actually dremel sanded mine) and I haven't had an issue since then. It works just like brand new. For the photos, through trial and error, I discovered that you "have" to use the Epson paper. I always use premium glossy. If you pretty much use anything else, for some reason it looks kinda so so. But with the Epson paper, its extremely difficult to tell between the prints from the printer and a photo lab.

I use the Print On A Dime CIS system and it is simply amazing to put it mildly. It was for me a bit messy on the hands, but once I had it installed(which the installation is not hard at all, just make sure you have some rubber gloves on hand), it has been working flawlessly. I actually have printed 60 full faced dvd's, 200 pages(at the photo setting) and on the CIS tanks it is only showing two bars down. Add to that, the refills for all 6 inks(4oz size) is only 35.00. It is an amazing system. I still have to purchase the waste ink tank, but besides that, it is great. It will honestly probably take a year at the rate I am going to use up the initial ink given, and I print alot(I still have maybe an ounce of ink from the intial set that I can put into the resovior tanks also, so that will delay the necessity to buy a refill). But i am going to get a refill set anyhow just to have on hand.

I am not sure about the quality comparison, but I always had HP printers prior to the epson, and for me, I cannot think of going back.

[Denis Danatzko]

this may or may not affect you, but it MAY be the cause of any streaking you might be experiencing.

It's my understanding that you should never leave any of the Epson Rxxx printers powered up unless you are actively printing with them at the moment.

I remember reading in the manual that there are ports, jets, or whatever the proper term is for the opening(s) through which the ink moves, and those stay open as long as the printer is powered up. If you never turn the printer off when not printing, it can cause the ink to become thicker through evaporation, and might lead to clogging/smearing/streaking/gumming-up at the heads.

Epson recommends to always keep the power to the printer turned off when it's not in use.

Lastly, I know someone who also uses Print-On-A-dime and absolutely loves it. I expect to be buying from there when I next need ink for my R300.

Hope this helps.

[Josh Chesarek]

I have made the switch. Just last month. I usually check reviews and such but I was out of time. I could not find the tray for my R200 and it was annoying to make it work in vista (but I did some how). A job made me need to print a lot of DVDs so off to office Depot I went. I am not sure about the exact model number but I spend about $140 after tax. This thing cranks out DVDs at equal or better quality to the R200. I don't do extremely detailed pictures but the ones I do turn out very nicely, the other thing I liked is that it was able to print the full hub without calibration on my part, I remember spending time trying to calibrate my r200 with the white disk but I never got it just right. The HP nailed a full cover DVD out of the box. there was only minor excess ink on the inner hub which was easily wiped off with a tissue without smearing. I also set the ink levels to a notch below normal in an attempt to save ink and it seems to help the ink dry better/faster and has less dry smearing.

So, in short. It works for me, and Im happy that I didn't have to calibrate it and I have left the "epson push" behind.

[Bob Thieda]

Don't overlook the Canon Pixma printers....
I use the iP4200...
I've printed hundreds of DVDs and it does a great job.....

Canon does not enable the DVD printing option on US sold printers....
But its there for the rest of the world....
All you need is the tray and the info to enable the option...

Do a search on ebay for "canon dvd tray" and you'll see....

Bob T.

[Damon Gaskin]

Good lord, I must be lucky with everything I touch or something.. LOL Either that or excuse the arrogance, but must be that good! LOL All jokes aside, I never had a problem with calibration because I almost instantly went to Surething and even when I didn't use Surething, I would simply set the inner and outer with the Epson Print CD software and was off and running. I never ran into alot of those issues such as the streaking continuously. Maybe it's just utter pure luck.

The tray issue, on the other hand was horrible to say the least, but my unit still was not as bad as my ex wifes(but then again, she was a bit of a moron anyhow.. LOL) with requiring the tray to be jammed in and out. I guess I am a bit out of my league on this one. I have had my epson R200 since about a month after they first came out. It may be lot numbers or something and possibly the older ones were better built? I don't know to be honest, but mine has been churning away and I can pretty easily guess that I have done thousands of disks on this little unit that I initially just wanted to see if it "would work" to print on my dragonball Z collection that I was converting to dvd...

But this is just one man's opinion, and I am sure that I will someday have to replace my R200, and I very well may go with another brand, but I really am for self reluctant to going away from the Epsons due to my experience. All of my components with the exception of the CIS are all original. Tray and all. For photo's, my friend and I are taking digital SLR pics and when she first got her camera, we actually tested the R200 with the Epson paper against prints from various labs(we actually tested Costco, RiteAid, CVS, a local photo shop, and a few of those kiosk units) and sources, and the combo of the R200 and the premium glossy has never let us down, along with utterly shocking people when we continuously tell people that we printed them with my little printer.

It is all about the paper to be honest, it really is when printing pictures with the unit and I simply speak from my experience with the tinkering. Now the old saying of "garbage in-garbage out" of course will apply.

But try out the HP and Canon for yourself and see. Just like I am giving my opinion, everyone is going to give theirs. The best thing you can do is to try and go to Staples(they used to have printers on the floor setup to print a display image) and print a few pictures. Simply buy a pack of paper and compare for yourself, and there you will "truly" have your answer as it is going to be a bit subjective.

D

[Brian Luce]

What's the model number of those sub $100 HP DVD printers?

Couldn't find any review on newegg.

[Mark Holland]

Originally Posted by Brian Luce

What's the model number of those sub $100 HP DVD printers?

Couldn't find any review on newegg.

Sorry, but I can't remember. The next trip I make to the office supply store where I first saw it, I'll get the model number and post it.

Mark

[Phil Hoppes]

D5160

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16828104523

Kind of mixed reviews. I'm thinking of getting this. The R800 from Epson sounds like you need Fort Knox to keep it in ink. It's over $80 for one pass purchase of all 8 cartridges. Ouch.

On the HP some said it scratched others said no problem. Hard to tell on this. Problem could be BTKATC

[Mark Holland]

Originally Posted by Brian Luce

What's the model number of those sub $100 HP DVD printers? ...

I was back in the local office supply store this week-end. The printer I first saw is an "HP Photosmart D5360".

Mark

[Phil Hoppes]

Just got my D5160 from Newegg. Installed it on my Mac (Tiger 10.4.10). Did the update. From previous reviews I did not even try to fire up HP's software. Went straight to Illustrator. Pick the CD/DVD 120mm Tray and your design is sized automatically and it printed right off. Not a hitch to it. If you only need a half dozen DVD's at a time, you can't beat it. $80 for the printer and the ink pair is $40 for color and black which is half what the higher end duplicators cost for ink. Yea, it is hand fed, one at a time but for small quantities it is tough to beat.

No scratches to the DVD either. I have no idea what other people are doing where they say their disks get scratched other than possibly they have loaded the tray backwards. That would do it.

[Skip Hall]

Damon and I have had similar experiences, I guess. My Epson R300 has printed a couple of thousand DVDs, with virtually no problems (except for the notorious "feed issue"... gotta look up that sanding fix, Damon!).

[Jim Parks]

Another DVD printer I can recommend is Epson's Stylus Photo RX595.

I still have my trusty R300, but, when I bought my new laptop with Vista, my HP scanner didn't work anymore. No software update, either. So, I bought the RX595 which is a scanner, copier, printer, including DVD printing.

The DVD tray is much improved, no more babysitting the tray anymore. I think the quality is a little better than my R300, and prints quicker.

I think I bought it on sale for just over $100, too. Great printer.


Jim