Dvd insert printing, costing

[Jim Cowan]

Hi,
Until now I've used Costco photopaper and an HP inkjet
to print my Dvd inserts for amateur theater productions.
Most of the front is just black text, the production company,
the show, when/where, and maybe a stylized color image of
the marque. On the back is a clip from the closing showing
the cast, in full color, 1/3 the height of the back cover, wide
screen (hd) 16:9 format.

One group has asked that I use their promotion material
on the front cover. Given that it is full bleed color I don't want
to imagine what my costs will be (I used to put a lot of photos
on the inserts, but not a single full bleed background, and was
seeing $1 to $2 in ink costs per dvd).

Its too late to ask them to include in their print run dvd inserts,
plus this doesn't really benefit any of my other customers.

Have any of you used a color laser for full bleed inserts?
My production runs are 15 to 40, averaging 25.

(by full bleed I meaning that there is edge to edge print, no
unprinted areas)

thanks
jim cowan

[Dustin Moore]

Color laser is kind of unimpressive compared to inkjet on semi-gloss. I also certainly would
not have one of the chain office whatever or copy+shipping shops do it unless I knew
the client was blind.

If you are doing a run of 45 or so you can probably find an online print shop that will do full
bleed to a 8.5x11 flyer for between $1.10 and $1.45 per page shipped. I probably can't
name names but if you spend an hour looking around you can probably find a decent vendor.
Only use vendors that tell you what CMYK colorspace they work in.

The 4 color offset takes more work to design, you have to figure out CMYK proofing,
it takes weeks to print and doesn't look quite as good as a 6+ color inkjet. It is cheaper
though.

[Taky Cheung]

Color inkjet with photo paper quality will surpass color laser IMO.

I have been printing full color on Costco Kirkland photo paper with Epson stylus photo printer with Continuous Ink System CISS. The cost for printing full page color would be minimal. I have been stop buying expensive cartridges and been using CISS for a couple of years now.

You can find them on ebay. You can PM me for the vendor I bought from.

[Kevin McRoberts]

Have you looked into a DVD printing service like Kunaki.com?

[Chris Davis]

Originally Posted by Jim Cowan

and was seeing $1 to $2 in ink costs per dvd

Wow, that's a very inefficient printer you have. I have a Disk Makers ElitePro duplicator and I was getting anywhere between 250 to 500 DVDs per set of HP ink cartridges.

Anyway, I'd also suggest you take a look at Kunaki.com. Very affordable with no minimums. Keep in mind it's 100% automated, so be sure to proof everything because there will be no human eyes double-checking your work.

[Tim Polster]

Originally Posted by Taky Cheung

Color inkjet with photo paper quality will surpass color laser IMO.

I have been printing full color on Costco Kirkland photo paper with Epson stylus photo printer with Continuous Ink System CISS. The cost for printing full page color would be minimal. I have been stop buying expensive cartridges and been using CISS for a couple of years now.

You can find them on ebay. You can PM me for the vendor I bought from.

I have an almost identical setup. I like the Ilford Gallerie paper from Sam's Club ($20 for 100 sheets) with quick dry gloss. I use an Epson Stylus 1400 printer with an Ink to Image CIS using pigment inks.

One other thing is cutting the paper. I found a great paper cutter from Guillo Max that allows me to cut 50 to 100 at a time. This is total in-house stuff and allows you to make sale ready output from your closed system. I really like the design flexibility and turnaround.

[Taky Cheung]

I tried Pigment and Dye on CIS. Pigment last forever but the output is dull and not as accurate. I like Dye better than Pigment.