lightscribe...

[brian_walsh7]

anyone have or use a dvd writer with lightscribe technology to print right on

the disc? if not how do you label your dvds?

[garry edwards]

I bought into this system for another purpose and wish I hadn't.

 

The quality is fine, provided that you're not bothered about the blacks being really black and if you're OK with mono labels, but it's an incredibly slow process. In my experience it takes from 6-20 minutes to burn each label, depending on the content.

 

I suppose it might be usable if you're only producing the occasional disk.

 

I've moved on to using printable disks and running them through an inkjet printer

[mark_schafer1]

i like it. But the timing is much too long, 10-20 per disk and any fingerprint caused by

putting the cd in the tray will be a spot without etching. I use it mostly for plain text labeling

to send final files to clients. It's great, no peeling labels, etc, and look very professional.

m

[eric v]

I like my lightscribe system. You have to choose an appropriate photo if you are going to use an image; some just don't transfer well. I typically just use text. I only use them as final products given to clients. They usually get one that has all the images, and one that is a DVD slideshow.

[kevin cook - stratford upo]

I use Avery free software, designed a template in CS2 and just add images when I need to. Take a couple of minutes. I use glossy labels and providing they are centred properly they loo fine.

 

I thought about lightscribe but the mono aspect looks a little plain and some of the first comments have put me off. I sometimes need to do 10/20 cd/dvds all at once and even 10 minutes would be too much!

 

Gary? "I've moved on to using printable disks and running them through an inkjet printer" you mean labels right?

[garry edwards]

Kevin,

 

As I'm the closest thing to 'Gary' here I take it you mean me :-)

 

No, I don't mean labels, which apparently can come off and wreck the DVD drive. You can get printable DVD disks, and a lot of the cheap inkjet printers can print on to them.

[kevin cook - stratford upo]

Sorry 'Garry' Uk spelling tripping me up there. Most inkjet printers are back fed aren't they? How would you get a CD to go through? I'm confused (or dumb)!

[garry edwards]

Kevin,

 

Not all inkjet printers can print on disk, yours either can or it can't. I bought a cheap one just for this job (my normal office printer is a laserjet. The inkjet printer was cheaper than my Lightscribe DVD writer...

[paul_rogers2]

Epson has printers such as the R260 have CD trays that will allow print directly on the CD. The R260 has a US suggested retail price of $99. The ink is where they get you!

 

Paul Rogers

http://www.MemoriesForAllTime.com/

[godfrey]

Might want to look at the Elesys Duet<br>

<a href="http://www.elesys.net/">www.elesys.net</a>

<br><br>

Not cheap but it both burns and prints on the CD/DVD media without having to transfer it to

another device, which can be a source of confusion and error. I know they're using an

industrial quality CD/DVD drive in it too.

<br><br>

Godfrey

[Ed_Ingold]

Lightscribe is far too slow to be of value to anyone besides an occasional hobbyist. An inexpensive inkjet printer does a better job in a fraction of the time, and can be driven from any graphics program. You have to pick an inkjet with this option, however, including an holder for the CD.

 

My Epson R260 cost less than $80. Inkjet compatible CDs and DVDs (e.g., Taiyo Yuden) cost about $0.60 each. Taiyo Yuden makes CDs with a glossy, gel finish that are nearly waterproof. The R800 and R1800 will print CDs using nearly waterproof pigment-based inks.

 

The fastest and most permanent CD marking short of silkscreen uses a thermal transfer from a ribbon. Existing thermal printers cost nearly $4000, and print in as little as 10 seconds. However, the market seems to be disappearing in favor of dedicated inkjet printers.