Standalone Disc Printer

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Standalone Disc Printer

Postby Bald Runner » Sat Sep 13, 2014 12:07 pm

I have an Epson photo printer that I use it print the surface of my discs. There is an adaptor that the disc fits onto so instead of printing to paper, the printer prints directly onto inkjet printable discs. You do have to use the supplied Epson software though, and frankly, it is very basic.
My thought processes did consider that I have had this particular printer for 7 years and when it does eventually pack in, how will I print my discs? I may want a different printer that might not have the ability to print discs.
Is there such a thing as a standalone disc printer? Something that just prints discs?

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Re: Standalone Disc Printer

Postby heckydog » Sat Sep 13, 2014 4:37 pm

Although the imminent demise of dvd's and BD' is mentioned often, I think they will still be around for a while. As long as they are, someone will be making a printer that prints on dvd/bluray discs.

As far as a printer that does only discs . . . .I did a quick google search and found this: http://www.amazon.com/PRIMERA-BRAVO-DVD ... B0089Y6Q6G but I don't think you want to spend that kind of money just to print on a dvd.

They also have a link to an Epson Artisan 50 which is the printer I have. I'm sure I paid closer to $100 for it a few years ago. For the amount I print, it serves me very well and I'm able to find generic ink that also suits my needs at a reasonable price.

I'm sure others can recommend other makes and models that they use. Here in the US Epson used to be the only company that could sell those types of printers. Don't think that is true any longer and I don't think they ever had the exclusive patent rights in Europe so you should be able to find a number of options to choose form. One thing you have to keep in mind is the ease of getting, and cost of, the replacement ink for whatever printer you choose. That's where the real expense comes in to play.

Joe

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Re: Standalone Disc Printer

Postby Bald Runner » Sun Sep 14, 2014 3:25 am

Thanks Joe,
I did see that Primera Bravo printer. Here in the UK they are the equivalent of about $1500...
A bit too much, I think.
My Epson RX685 is still going strong and, as it is well out of warranty, I also, buy generic inks.
I shall persevere with what I have.
I haven't heard of the likely promulgated demise of discs. What would replace discs anyway?

Mark
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Re: Standalone Disc Printer

Postby heckydog » Sun Sep 14, 2014 5:23 am

Bald Runner wrote:. . . . I haven't heard of the likely promulgated demise of discs. What would replace discs anyway?

Mark


The cloud? Thumb drives? Streaming? MicroSD cards? Who knows what's coming around the corner?

I don't trust "the cloud" enough to put all my eggs in one basket. Actually I don't put ANY of my eggs in that basket. :wink:

The others are too expensive for sharing just a slide show or a family video. Rest assured, someone somewhere is working on a way to separate you from your money with a newer technology. :D

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Re: Standalone Disc Printer

Postby debngar » Sun Sep 14, 2014 5:36 am

heckydog wrote:The cloud? Thumb drives? Streaming? MicroSD cards? Who knows what's coming around the corner?

I don't trust "the cloud" enough to put all my eggs in one basket. Actually I don't put ANY of my eggs in that basket. :wink:

The others are too expensive for sharing just a slide show or a family video. Rest assured, someone somewhere is working on a way to separate you from your money with a newer technology. :D


A certain amount of it must be planned obsolescence, for sure. :roll:
Since so many people carry devices that can play videos and store pictures, that's another format to provide for as well. :)
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Re: Standalone Disc Printer

Postby Bald Runner » Sun Sep 14, 2014 10:41 am

I saw on the BBC news today that Sandisc have produced a 512Gb SD card, the size of a postage stamp. Estimated cost is $800. Experts believe that in time, we could be seeing 2Tb SD cards.
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Re: Standalone Disc Printer

Postby bobradarbob » Sun Sep 14, 2014 7:44 pm

Since I have actual experience with the Primera units, I will chime in regarding that stand-alone option (or NON-option as the case may be).......

Schools have need to duplicate CD or DVD discs. As indicated by others, DVD and CD media is slowly being replaced but it is still going strong is some areas of distribution. You may know someone in Education and could ask about rather they have a Primera/Epson unit that they simply don't use any longer. I work in Education but only in that I help support the tech side of Education. I was asked if my department needed a disc duplicator. It seems they needed to upgrade the Primera Bravo model they were using and had no use for its smaller capacity. The old one had maximum blank disc hopper size of 50 and it's recorder drive was slower. I took the unit and just played with it but did not have a real need. HEY, they were giving it to me!! The ink cart. must be purchased from the Primera company. The Software could be problematic. The disc drive unites are not particularly fast. From time to time the unit can malfunction and fail to load or unload a disc properly and requires intervention. I used this unit with Windows XP and never tested it with Windows 7 or greater. I never attempted to even find out if it would work with a Mac. I finally gave the unit to yet another department as I was not using it and (of course) the ink had dried and I was not going to spend what the company was asking for ink. When it worked, it worked well though......

I use a Canon PIXMA MG8220 printer for my slide show DVD prints. Since I have not made more than about 15 discs for any given project, it does all I need and quickly produces fantastic results.
Epson does make the DiscProducer line but the 50 capacity one costs about $2K and I know that is so steep, for a lot of us, that it is really not in the price range for many of us.

If YOU have a need for mass duplication with color print option that could be satisfied with a 50 or 100 capacity hopper, you will be spending between ~$1500 and $2000 for a new unit. There is always the ebay or cragislist or other classified USED source. BUT, as has been pointed out, eventually we will need to replace what we have worn out so let us all know if you do replace and with what!

bob

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Re: Standalone Disc Printer

Postby Bald Runner » Mon Sep 15, 2014 6:26 am

Thank you Bob. Your input is appreciated. Should I invest in something new, I will update this thread.

Mark
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Re: Standalone Disc Printer

Postby DanMac » Wed Sep 17, 2014 10:26 pm

I use an Epson printer to print on my disk. I use the software Surething CD Labeler. He is the link, it allows you to create some very nice CD or DVD printed disk.

http://www.surething.com/?af=ST-DLX-02. Hope this helps.
Dan

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Re: Standalone Disc Printer

Postby PhotoMill » Fri Sep 19, 2014 4:27 pm

I agree with Dan.

At this end, I run both Epson R800 and R1800. Ink is very expensive at $20.00 per tank. Both units have 8 tanks btw.

As well, if anyone has investigated the M-disk world, you will find that the military is using this disc and that it has a supposed 1000 year life. Not all that much more expensive. The take is that, a standard needed to be made for future generations without someone 100 years from now having to go to the Smithsonian to borrow a player. The optical disc drive is set to be a standard diehard usable medium in the next millennium. With the leaps and bounds of tech these days, what is new today, is old news tomorrow and being replaced a year later. This is of no value for future generations so the standard piece of equipment for all technologies is or soon will be, the optical disc. M-disc has just released notification that their disks are now Blu Ray compliant.

If you have not heard of this before now, please visit: www.mdisc.com to get the full low down.

Just a bit of "FYI" for you.

...Steve
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I'm Canadian, eh?

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Re: Standalone Disc Printer

Postby Bald Runner » Tue Sep 30, 2014 11:54 am

Thanks to Steve and Dan for their input on SureThing labeler and the MDisc info

Mark
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Re: Standalone Disc Printer

Postby BocaBuckeye » Mon Jul 09, 2018 10:26 am

Hello Everyone! I was a member many years ago and had to put things on hold while attending to my parent's care. I've missed a lot in the past 5 years and look forward to catching up!

This topic seems dated, was wondering if anyone has found a new standalone disc printer. What is everyone using to create professional-looking DVDs? I've found a few by Canon and Epson and just not sure which way to go. All that's required is a printer that prints directly to CD/DVD, as I have a printer for scanning, printing, and copying.
The world needs more smiles, laughter, and heartwarming tears . . . doing my part, one video at a time.

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