The Best, Most Cost Effective DVD Labeling Method?

[Greg Watts]

Originally Posted by Hart Boyd

I will have to add that I use an Epson R800 which costs a little more and the ink does too but the ink is more smudge resident and with the new Primera AguaGuard DVD/CD I have a hard time trying to get them to smudge when I try and I have tried. For costs, the best I can figure it cost me around 50 cents per DVD/CD and jacket cover plus the printer is also an excellent photo printer.

As for LightScribe, I have one and gave up on it as it takes about 15-20 minutes per disk and then only one color and not that impressive in my option.

Where are you getting the primera aquaguard disks because on the Primera site and just about everywhere else I've looked they cost a buck a piece in the 45 pack? So that means you're spending well over a buck a disk. Ouch.

Cheers

[Chris Barcellos]

I use some Fuji Disks from Walmart and came out with a pretty good result.

[Hart Boyd]

I have to purchase my from the Primera store as I could not fine an alternative source. When I said 50 cents per disk I was refering to ink usage not DVD/CD media costs or jacket cover paper.

[Greg Watts]

Ah ok. That makes sense. I'm shooting for no more than a buck a pop total.

Cheers

[Carlos E. Martinez]

Originally Posted by Chris Barcellos

Off course, you left one other possible label method, printable stick on labels, using something like CD Stomper.

Not really. Better not to use that method. A stickable label will unbalance the disk and cause lots of errors to be corrected in playback.

Tha's why on-disk printing has become the norm.

[Greg Watts]

I pulled the trigger on the Epson Stylus Photo R340 and it more than lives up to my needs and expectations. In fact, I'd say it blows them away. Short of the really expensive screen printing method, I'd say to 90% of the population this would pass for a much higher quality and costly DVD label. Thanks for everyone's input.

Plus, to test the smudge factor, I rubbed my thumb across it 5 minutes after it printed and could see no discernible smudging which is nice and if only keeping it from getting wet is the downfall to smudging then we're in business cause that ought to be a rare event for most folks. Color me happy. :)

Cheers

[Cal Johnson]

Originally Posted by Carlos E. Martinez

Not really. Better not to use that method. A stickable label will unbalance the disk and cause lots of errors to be corrected in playback.

Tha's why on-disk printing has become the norm.

I wouldn't agree with that. I've used glossy stick on labels for 100's of DVD's, they all played no problem and I haven't had any complaints.

[Paul Cascio]

It is, without a doubt, one of the worst products ever made. Takes forever to print and you get a nearly unreadable, low-contrast image that is all but useless. Sharpie should sue HP or whoever invented Lightscribe. I'll take the Sharpie anyday.

[Chris Barcellos]

Originally Posted by Carlos E. Martinez

Not really. Better not to use that method. A stickable label will unbalance the disk and cause lots of errors to be corrected in playback.

Tha's why on-disk printing has become the norm.

Carlos were you trying to apply the label without the applicator like Stomper has. I can see where it might go wrong if you were trying to eyeball it... but the Stomper centers it pretty well.

I do like the printables, but the Stomper system has also worked for me.

[Kevin Shaw]

Originally Posted by Chris Barcellos

Carlos were you trying to apply the label without the applicator like Stomper has. I can see where it might go wrong if you were trying to eyeball it... but the Stomper centers it pretty well.

I used CD Stomper labels for a while when I first started making DVDs, and after a few months I had customers start complaining that their discs weren't playing reliably. With at least one customer I was able to see that the labels were starting to peel off the discs, and that was the most logical explanation for why the discs had stopped working. Since I stopped using press-on labels and switched to printable DVDs, I've yet to have a disc go bad like those early ones did. Conclusion: it doesn't make sense to use stick-on labels when printable DVDs are easy and inexpensive to produce.

[Michael Hendrix]

For everyone using the Epson printers, go to RIMA.com. You can buy a set of cartridges for $18 and they work fine on my R300.

[Cal Johnson]

Originally Posted by Kevin Shaw

Conclusion: it doesn't make sense to use stick-on labels when printable DVDs are easy and inexpensive to produce.

Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I never even thought about printing direct to disk until I read this thread, and I definitely want to make the switch to printing direct to disk. So with something like the Epson R800, it prints full color with a high gloss finish?

[Greg Watts]

Originally Posted by Cal Johnson

Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I never even thought about printing direct to disk until I read this thread, and I definitely want to make the switch to printing direct to disk. So with something like the Epson R800, it prints full color with a high gloss finish?

It does do a glossy finish but I'm not sure it's worth the extra cash for that printer versus the R340. Especially since the R340 is 130.00 at Staples right now. Glossy disks won't make you anymore money per project so why spend the extra cash? What ends up happening, is your client opens the disk, takes a look at the label, thinks it's really nice looking, puts it into the player and that's the last time they really consider the quality of the label and whether or not it's glossy probably isn't in their mindset. Now, if you want to offer glossy printing at a premium, then by all means try it. But I'm not sure the recordable/printable media really supports the glossy inks so you might want to check on that.

Just a thought.

Cheers

[Hart Boyd]

I can tell you that I use an Epson R800 and it will not print a glossy image on standard matte finish DVD/CD. If you think about it to get glossy prints you must use special photo paper which has a glossy coating. Most all printable DVD/CD have a matte surface to them but Primera has some new "TuffCoat Photo Quality Media" at about $1 per disk (have not tried them so I don't know for sure). To put a gloss finish on a matte printable DVD/CD you would have to get something like Primera's Accent Disc Laminator that puts a thin glossy film over your printed DVD/CD and also makes them waterproof.

[Cal Johnson]

Originally Posted by Greg Watts

Glossy disks won't make you anymore money per project so why spend the extra cash? What ends up happening, is your client opens the disk, takes a look at the label, thinks it's really nice looking, puts it into the player and that's the last time they really consider the quality of the label and whether or not it's glossy probably isn't in their mindset.

Greg, don't take this the wrong way, but I think you're totally under-estimating the value that a finished product has to a client. I have produced many corporate videos, and we work to try and offer the highest quality product that we can reasonably afford. About 4 years ago we switched from using matte finish labels to glossy labels, and clients reaction was very positive. When finishing off a project that the client is paying $5000 for, it sure doesn't hurt to hand them a professional looking DVD, with case, cover, and a nice glossy label. Most of my clients actually have remarked on the label quality with comments like "wow, that looks great!" or "how did you get such a good print job on the DVD?". They sure do seem to notice. While you might not be saying to the client "you owe me 50 cents more for each disk because of the nice label I put on there", a high quality product is a statement that you're professional. Its like handing someone a business card that you printed off on your computer. It won't make you any more money to get them professionally printed, but it does make an impression. It the little details that count.