DVD Printing-The Good the bad and the ugly? at DVinfo.net

Alastair Brown · February 13th, 2008, 12:46 AM

My trusty Epson 900 Photo looks to have devloped "issues". Either that or it has reached puberty! Anyway, it now refuses to tidy it's room, and won't print any of my DVD's. It just spits them out no matter how many times I tell it to work. Even harsh language is having no effect.

Anybody found something wonderful that they would recommend? Likewise, anything I should avoid like the plague?

Steven Davis · February 13th, 2008, 08:18 AM

Low ink? Will it print paper?

Alastair Brown · February 13th, 2008, 10:02 AM

All the usual stuff checks out. I think the poor thing has just had it's day. Heard that Espons can get funny after about 200 DVD's are printed. Must be well past that by now. Shouldn't really grumble.

Just curious to hear who thinks what is good/bad

Damian Clarke · February 13th, 2008, 10:18 AM

If its any consolation my Canon ip4300 has started behaving senile. It prints normal paper etc as normal, but when I select the DVD printing tray it prints with what seems to be only the magenta and cyan inks, no black and not really any yellow. Have ran a million clean cycles, changed ink tanks and so on.
All my previous printers have went senile after about a year and a half to two years moderate use.
I've always used compatible inks (much cheaper) and maybe this has something to do with it but with the money saved on ink I can just buy a new printer and still be quids in. Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread but these consumer printers are just not made to last.
Hope you do get it sorted though ;)

Steven Davis · February 13th, 2008, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alastair Brown

All the usual stuff checks out. I think the poor thing has just had it's day. Heard that Espons can get funny after about 200 DVD's are printed. Must be well past that by now. Shouldn't really grumble.

Just curious to hear who thinks what is good/bad

Yeah, that may be true. My Epson 200 started going nuts, I had to push the tray along. I found out it was the wear and tear on the tray after I bought a 220 and tried the new tray. (btw, its easier getting a date with Brittany Spears than getting a tray for and Epson printer)

So when I got the 220 and still have the 200, I can print identical disks and the 220 prints much brighter, so there may be something to you theory about old age.

Mike Bisom · February 13th, 2008, 10:47 AM

You really have two options:

1) a cheap inkjet for printing DVDs. I currently use the Epson R260 (< $99) but these cheap printers do bite the dirt fairly quickly. I have been through 5 variations of the R200 model(s).

2) Bite the bullet and buy a Primera system (http://www.primera.com/). Depending on printing/duplication needs it might be hard to justify the ROI.

On a side note, using non-branded ink will generally void your warranty. Part of the issue is that the branded ink uses anti-coagulates to prevent the inkjet nozzles from clogging. Keep in mind that these nozzles are microscopically small! So if the nozzles get clogged, then it's time for a new printer. And I imagine running a clean nozzle utility without an actual cleaning agent in the ink won't do too much!

Mike

Ethan Cooper · February 13th, 2008, 11:56 AM

The Epson 900 is getting a bit old. You might want to spring for one of the newer ones. I don't know how the pricing is there in Scotland, but I just picked up a RX595 for around $100usd straight from Epson.
This was after my year old RX580 was injured in an unfortunate office accident. It was well before his time to go... so sad.
By the way, it's NEVER a good idea to clear a paper jam on one of these Epsons by pulling the paper out backwards. ALWAYS pull it out forward. Learned this the hard way. Dang it.

Alastair Brown · February 13th, 2008, 01:00 PM

Interesting fact. Why are HP print cartridges more expensive than Epson. Because the HP ones INCLUDE new print heads whereas with Epson, all you are doing is changing the tanks. The WORST thing you can ever do is leave your printer with tanks that have run out. You WILL kill your printer doing this. Always have at least one spare set of cartridges sitting. Also, lack of use kills em as well.

I can get the RX585 for about $160 in the UK which will kill two birds with one stone and clear some space on my desk (printer and scanner)

I should add I HATE HP as we have them at work and they drive me mad. They seem to suffer from PPT (Pre Printing Tension) and if they run out of paper god help you. It would happily print little symbols and wipe out entire rainforrests of paper from here to enternity.

Dave Blackhurst · February 13th, 2008, 02:51 PM

I WAS going to suggest that HP has had a CD/DVD printing model out for a couple years now, I've got the first one, and aside from having to be creative to print (I design the entire label in advance on a DVD template I made up - the included software is PFFFFT!), it seems to work quite well.

I even picked up a backup on closeout for less that a set of ink cartridges... they were bringing out the newer model, so I got a deal!

I've had so-so luck with Epsons (although I got a little dedicated 4x6 printer for Christmas that absolutely blows me away with its print quality!), but my HP's seem to last pretty well, retiring before dying... but the ink is pricey!

Frank Simpson · February 13th, 2008, 06:16 PM

My Epson R1800 devloped an attitude for about a month where it simply refused to print CDs/DVDs. After trouble-shooting it to almost unending frustration and coming up with NO answers from Epson or anybody else, it just started working again one day. That was about 7 months ago now, and it's been working just fine.

Alastair gives some valuable advice. Keeping the heads exercised is extremely important to keeping the printer in working order.

Jeremiah Rickert · February 13th, 2008, 06:36 PM

It's not *that* hard to get a new tray for an epson printer. I found a parts dealer (located in Portland, OR no less) and got my tray the next day for about $6 (after seeing them on Ebay for $15-20

Alastair Brown · February 13th, 2008, 10:45 PM

Happy Valentines Day! I'm in love again!!!!!

Me and my Epson sat down and had a long heart to heart about what we both felt had been going wrong. She felt I had been neglecting her, so I made the effort and gave her a little attention and used some compressed air to give here a thorough clean.

Result is, she's agreed to come back to me, and we are now "an item" again. She's actually sitting here, right beside me as I speak, printing DVD after DVD.

I think it may have been something like a dust ball or maybe I dislodged some ink build-up when I blew it all out.

Don't you just love a happy ending!

Ron Anderson · February 14th, 2008, 11:04 AM

I have a R380 that I am mostly happy with. For some reason it will not print the DVD insert (A4 dimensions) properly. I have no problems printing the inserts with my wife's HP. Any ideas?

Ron

Damian Clarke · February 16th, 2008, 08:18 AM

LOL Alastair, your post made me laugh for the first time all day, although it does sound a little dodgy hehe.
Lesson of the week: Don't let your ink build up, blow it all out!
Classic.

Alastair Brown · February 17th, 2008, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damian Clarke

LOL Alastair, your post made me laugh for the first time all day, although it does sound a little dodgy hehe.
Lesson of the week: Don't let your ink build up, blow it all out!
Classic.

Man...and I thought I had my mind set at "gutter level". Even worse, have you seen how many posts you have made!!!!!!!!!!!

February 13th, 2008, 12:46 AM	#1
Alastair Brown Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Glasgow/Scotland Posts: 626	DVD Printing-The Good the bad and the ugly? My trusty Epson 900 Photo looks to have devloped "issues". Either that or it has reached puberty! Anyway, it now refuses to tidy it's room, and won't print any of my DVD's. It just spits them out no matter how many times I tell it to work. Even harsh language is having no effect. Anybody found something wonderful that they would recommend? Likewise, anything I should avoid like the plague?

February 13th, 2008, 08:18 AM	#2
Steven Davis Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 3,065	Low ink? Will it print paper? __________________ What happens if I push the 'Red' button?

February 13th, 2008, 11:56 AM	#7
Ethan Cooper Trustee Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Houma, La. Posts: 1,400 Images: 5	The Epson 900 is getting a bit old. You might want to spring for one of the newer ones. I don't know how the pricing is there in Scotland, but I just picked up a RX595 for around $100usd straight from Epson. This was after my year old RX580 was injured in an unfortunate office accident. It was well before his time to go... so sad. By the way, it's NEVER a good idea to clear a paper jam on one of these Epsons by pulling the paper out backwards. ALWAYS pull it out forward. Learned this the hard way. Dang it. __________________ ∅ -Ethan Cooper

February 13th, 2008, 10:02 AM	#3
Alastair Brown Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Glasgow/Scotland Posts: 626	All the usual stuff checks out. I think the poor thing has just had it's day. Heard that Espons can get funny after about 200 DVD's are printed. Must be well past that by now. Shouldn't really grumble. Just curious to hear who thinks what is good/bad

February 13th, 2008, 10:18 AM	#4
Damian Clarke Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Lincolnshire, United Kingdom Posts: 95	If its any consolation my Canon ip4300 has started behaving senile. It prints normal paper etc as normal, but when I select the DVD printing tray it prints with what seems to be only the magenta and cyan inks, no black and not really any yellow. Have ran a million clean cycles, changed ink tanks and so on. All my previous printers have went senile after about a year and a half to two years moderate use. I've always used compatible inks (much cheaper) and maybe this has something to do with it but with the money saved on ink I can just buy a new printer and still be quids in. Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread but these consumer printers are just not made to last. Hope you do get it sorted though ;)

February 13th, 2008, 10:47 AM	#6
Mike Bisom Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Kenosha WI Posts: 65	You really have two options: 1) a cheap inkjet for printing DVDs. I currently use the Epson R260 (< $99) but these cheap printers do bite the dirt fairly quickly. I have been through 5 variations of the R200 model(s). 2) Bite the bullet and buy a Primera system (http://www.primera.com/). Depending on printing/duplication needs it might be hard to justify the ROI. On a side note, using non-branded ink will generally void your warranty. Part of the issue is that the branded ink uses anti-coagulates to prevent the inkjet nozzles from clogging. Keep in mind that these nozzles are microscopically small! So if the nozzles get clogged, then it's time for a new printer. And I imagine running a clean nozzle utility without an actual cleaning agent in the ink won't do too much! Mike

February 13th, 2008, 01:00 PM	#8
Alastair Brown Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Glasgow/Scotland Posts: 626	Interesting fact. Why are HP print cartridges more expensive than Epson. Because the HP ones INCLUDE new print heads whereas with Epson, all you are doing is changing the tanks. The WORST thing you can ever do is leave your printer with tanks that have run out. You WILL kill your printer doing this. Always have at least one spare set of cartridges sitting. Also, lack of use kills em as well. I can get the RX585 for about $160 in the UK which will kill two birds with one stone and clear some space on my desk (printer and scanner) I should add I HATE HP as we have them at work and they drive me mad. They seem to suffer from PPT (Pre Printing Tension) and if they run out of paper god help you. It would happily print little symbols and wipe out entire rainforrests of paper from here to enternity.

February 13th, 2008, 02:51 PM	#9
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	I WAS going to suggest that HP has had a CD/DVD printing model out for a couple years now, I've got the first one, and aside from having to be creative to print (I design the entire label in advance on a DVD template I made up - the included software is PFFFFT!), it seems to work quite well. I even picked up a backup on closeout for less that a set of ink cartridges... they were bringing out the newer model, so I got a deal! I've had so-so luck with Epsons (although I got a little dedicated 4x6 printer for Christmas that absolutely blows me away with its print quality!), but my HP's seem to last pretty well, retiring before dying... but the ink is pricey!

February 13th, 2008, 06:16 PM	#10
Frank Simpson Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bozeman, MT Posts: 217	My Epson R1800 devloped an attitude for about a month where it simply refused to print CDs/DVDs. After trouble-shooting it to almost unending frustration and coming up with NO answers from Epson or anybody else, it just started working again one day. That was about 7 months ago now, and it's been working just fine. Alastair gives some valuable advice. Keeping the heads exercised is extremely important to keeping the printer in working order.

February 13th, 2008, 06:36 PM	#11
Jeremiah Rickert Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Newberg, Oregon Posts: 494	It's not that hard to get a new tray for an epson printer. I found a parts dealer (located in Portland, OR no less) and got my tray the next day for about $6 (after seeing them on Ebay for $15-20

February 13th, 2008, 10:45 PM	#12
Alastair Brown Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Glasgow/Scotland Posts: 626	Happy Valentines Day! I'm in love again!!!!! Me and my Epson sat down and had a long heart to heart about what we both felt had been going wrong. She felt I had been neglecting her, so I made the effort and gave her a little attention and used some compressed air to give here a thorough clean. Result is, she's agreed to come back to me, and we are now "an item" again. She's actually sitting here, right beside me as I speak, printing DVD after DVD. I think it may have been something like a dust ball or maybe I dislodged some ink build-up when I blew it all out. Don't you just love a happy ending!

February 14th, 2008, 11:04 AM	#13
Ron Anderson Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Waipahu, Hawaii Posts: 45	I have a R380 that I am mostly happy with. For some reason it will not print the DVD insert (A4 dimensions) properly. I have no problems printing the inserts with my wife's HP. Any ideas? Ron

February 16th, 2008, 08:18 AM	#14
Damian Clarke Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Lincolnshire, United Kingdom Posts: 95	LOL Alastair, your post made me laugh for the first time all day, although it does sound a little dodgy hehe. Lesson of the week: Don't let your ink build up, blow it all out! Classic.