Best Inkjet Printer for Direct CD and DVD Labeling?

[Allen]

Bill Funk wrote:




Most blank VHS tapes for home use come with peel and stick labels not
already on the shell. Those that do come with labels on the shell come
with others that can be pasted on over or in place of them.

Measure the labels--not just the label itself, but the sheet of backing
paper that holds the label(s). Then go to each manufacturer's web site
and find the minimum size paper that each printer will handle. (While
you arethere, _please_ checl all the other specs as well.) I think you
are unlikely to find a printer that will handle paper less than three
inches wide, which will rule out handling most of those labels that are
included with the cartridges.

Allen

 

[Allen]

Sorry for the double post. My system told me the first message had not
been sent, so I rewrote it and tried again.
Allen

 

[measekite]

zakezuke wrote:




So is this saying I'd be less well off with the RX700 than with an R
200 or R 220?




Still having a hard time deciding which is best. The pigment inks
sound a bit more archival than the others.

they are but they are much more prone to clogging

Do the others have other
advantages such as being significantly better-looking,

yes especvially on glossy paper. they are richer and more vibrant. my
canon has not faded in a year using kirkland paper and canon ink.

less expensive

yes about $9.00 for a canon cart at costco

ink, easier use

about the same

 

[cmashieldscapting]

Measure the labels--not just the label itself, but the sheet of backing
paper that holds the label(s). Then go to each manufacturer's web site
and find the minimum size paper that each printer will handle. (While
you arethere, _please_ checl all the other specs as well.) I think you
are unlikely to find a printer that will handle paper less than three
inches wide, which will rule out handling most of those labels that are
included with the cartridges.

Allen

That's about what I was afraid of, but thanks for telling. Typing is
not such a terrible hardship and in some ways easier than printing
would be, I just wondered.

Cori

 

[zakezuke]

measekite said <snipped per request>:

Does costco even carry ink for new canons in the store? If so is it
really $9.00 each?
I know you "can" get it off the website, in twin packs, for $13.50 each
for color, small black for $14.50. The big black, the pgi5, doesn't
even look like they carry that at all. website or store. Buying costco
two packs for these 4 inks, out of 5, saves you 11 cents over buying
singles at office depot. My local costco doesn't carry ink for the new
canons as of Thursday.

You "can" buy a mp780 for $300ish, or an ip8500 for $350ish which will
take the $9.66 ink. Both print on CDs with a tray on e-bay.

The price of ink for the new Canon averages to about $13.75/tank for 4
colors. The ink for the Epson R800 is $13.50 each at office depot.
The estimated yield on the r800 ink is HIGHER than canon. I'm unsure
about actual fact as I never owned that specific model.

While I like the canons, enough to own three of them, and consider them
to be a very trouble free product, the moment someone askes about
archival I have to say Canon presently isn't where it's at. Perhaps
they will offer an a4 pigment printer in the future, they will offer an
a3 printer in the future, but as for this moment Epson is the only
choice.

 

[cmashieldscapting]

The estimated yield on the r800 ink is HIGHER than canon. I'm unsure
about actual fact as I never owned that specific model.

While I like the canons, enough to own three of them, and consider them
to be a very trouble free product, the moment someone askes about
archival I have to say Canon presently isn't where it's at. Perhaps
they will offer an a4 pigment printer in the future, they will offer an
a3 printer in the future, but as for this moment Epson is the only
choice.

Well, what everyone said here, and at Epson when I called the number
you kindly supplied, leads me towards the Epson Stylus Photo R 800.

The only negative things were:
--Not as multi-function as an all-in-one (but I have an Epson Stylus
Photo RX500 now I mainly use as a photocopier and computer
printer--don't use half the functions on it)
--Colors may not be as vibrant and inks are more prone to clog
--Drying time may be slow, but to "cure" no slower than those using
dye-based inks.
--Ink is NOT water-soluble, so users have to be SURE not to get any on
themselves or anything else! I've never had a mess with the Epson
Stylus Photo RX500, but the ink's so expensive I haven't used it enough
to have a clog. Could anyone offer info about cleaning procedures for
either this or the Stylus Photo R 800? Is it ever necessary to come
into contact with the ink, or do you just run a cleaning cycle, or, if
worse comes to worst, take it in to repair?

The REALLY positive things are:
--Archival prints, possibly 100 years! I'm having a professional scan
all my negatives and prints onto CD due to his MUCH higher-quality
scanner, but it would be so nice to be able to make prints myself,
whenever I want and almost whatever size I want.
--Print size 4" - 44" -- much greater than RX500 or RX700.
--Ink costs almost the same so not a big issue, and lasts much longer.
--Smallest drop size so not only is resolution better but hopefully
doesn't waste as much ink.
--Has gloss optimizer, which costs the same as ink, to put a better
finish on prints, presumably including CDs/DVDs, so smearing wouldn't
be a big issue.
--Several like-new units available online for way less than factory
cost.

Anyone with anything to add, please speak now or forever hold your
peace! Thanks!

Cori

 

[measekite]

zakezuke wrote:

he does not use canon ink therefore he is not really using a 100 percent
canon printer. he is using a generic printer so he really cannot
comment on fadability since that is controlled by the ink and paper.
i think they will offer a b4 before an a4. look at the pro9500.

 

[Taliesyn]

zakezuke wrote:

he does not use canon ink therefore he is not really using a 100 percent
canon printer. he is using a generic printer [edited]

I think Canon makes great generic printers. ;-)

I have a generic i860, a generic iP4000, and a smashingly generic
iP5000. But I *insist* on using HobbiColors OEM ink with them.

Welcome to Measekite-speak!

-Taliesyn

 

[measekite]

zakezuke wrote:



The estimated yield on the r800 ink is HIGHER than canon. I'm unsure
about actual fact as I never owned that specific model.

While I like the canons, enough to own three of them, and consider
them
to be a very trouble free product, the moment someone askes about
archival I have to say Canon presently isn't where it's at.

he does not use canon ink therefore he is not really using a 100
percent canon printer. he is using a generic printer [edited]

I think Canon makes great generic printers. ;-)

I have a generic i860, a generic iP4000, and a smashingly generic
iP5000. But I *insist* on using HobbiColors

becqause he does not want to know what he is buying. snf hrn hr found
out that the pigmented ink was not pigmented
snip

 

[Frank]

zakezuke wrote:



The estimated yield on the r800 ink is HIGHER than canon. I'm unsure
about actual fact as I never owned that specific model.

While I like the canons, enough to own three of them, and consider them
to be a very trouble free product, the moment someone askes about
archival I have to say Canon presently isn't where it's at.

he does not use canon ink therefore he is not really using a 100
percent canon printer. he is using a generic printer [edited]

I think Canon makes great generic printers. ;-)

I have a generic i860, a generic iP4000, and a smashingly generic
iP5000. But I *insist* on using HobbiColors OEM ink with them.

Welcome to Measekite-speak!

-Taliesyn

hehehe...I too use HobbiColors OEM ink in my Canon's. Great stuff!
Frank

 

[Taliesyn]

(e-mail address removed) wrote:

zakezuke wrote:



The estimated yield on the r800 ink is HIGHER than canon. I'm unsure
about actual fact as I never owned that specific model.

While I like the canons, enough to own three of them, and consider
them
to be a very trouble free product, the moment someone askes about
archival I have to say Canon presently isn't where it's at.




he does not use canon ink therefore he is not really using a 100
percent canon printer. he is using a generic printer [edited]

I think Canon makes great generic printers. ;-)

I have a generic i860, a generic iP4000, and a smashingly generic
iP5000. But I *insist* on using HobbiColors OEM ink with them.

snf hrn hr found out [snipped]

Do you ever read what you write? This isn't a typo, it's gibberish.

-Taliesyn

 

[zakezuke]

Well, what everyone said here, and at Epson when I called the number
you kindly supplied, leads me towards the Epson Stylus Photo R 800.

The only negative things were:
--Not as multi-function as an all-in-one (but I have an Epson Stylus
Photo RX500 now I mainly use as a photocopier and computer
printer--don't use half the functions on it)
--Colors may not be as vibrant and inks are more prone to clog
--Drying time may be slow, but to "cure" no slower than those using
dye-based inks.
--Ink is NOT water-soluble, so users have to be SURE not to get any on
themselves or anything else! I've never had a mess with the Epson
Stylus Photo RX500, but the ink's so expensive I haven't used it enough
to have a clog. Could anyone offer info about cleaning procedures for
either this or the Stylus Photo R 800? Is it ever necessary to come
into contact with the ink, or do you just run a cleaning cycle, or, if
worse comes to worst, take it in to repair?

There are procedures you can follow to clean the heads in the event of
a clog.

http://groups.google.com/group/comp.periphs.printers/msg/e418354378537894

Arthur Entlich offers a free cleaning manual. Epsons use micropiezos
rather than thermal jets. The difference is you can put just about
anything though a micropiezo as chemistry or the rate of expantion of a
liquid to a gas doesn't enter into the picture at all. The drawback
is, from my understanding, the shaft is longer, clogs are bigger, and
you don't have an expanding gas to clean them. This is resolved at
least in the r2x0/r3x0 model by having a pump hooked directly up to the
pladen geared to operate when the printer goes in reverse, but it's not
always enough. In this event, do get a cleaning manual, or cleaning
cartridges. Do get the cleaning manual before you use any paper
towels.

Taking it in for repair is an option, and considering this is a $400
printer, it's worth shelling out shop fees to resolve issues. But the
main issues can most often be resolved with windex. I think of Epsons
as being fickle, requiring more maintance than other more disposable
technologies.

http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=51595&forum_id=40

The other bit of maintance is the waste ink pads, aka the diaper. An
external tank is highly reccomended because the technique of cleaning
the heads sucks a fair amount of ink. I don't know the r800 personaly,
but i'm willing to wager that like the lesser models it too has a door
to access the pad tube and can be re-routed to an external tank. You
will still get a waste ink full error, but this can be reset using the
ssc utility.... a link can be found in the above thread.

The SSC utility also has a function to hot swap ink cartridges. There
is no way change one cartridge and have it clean that one cartridge. I
don't know if it's a good idea, but you can use the utility to park the
head and replace the tank, without the reverse pladen suck the ink
mode. Seek a wiser authority on this subject as I abanonded my Epson.

Clogging is typicaly the result of lack of use, not use. Others have
looked for software to automaticly print a test page once a week.

 

[zakezuke]

Well, what everyone said here, and at Epson when I called the number
you kindly supplied, leads me towards the Epson Stylus Photo R 800.

The only negative things were:
--Not as multi-function as an all-in-one (but I have an Epson Stylus
Photo RX500 now I mainly use as a photocopier and computer
printer--don't use half the functions on it)
--Colors may not be as vibrant and inks are more prone to clog
--Drying time may be slow, but to "cure" no slower than those using
dye-based inks.
--Ink is NOT water-soluble, so users have to be SURE not to get any on
themselves or anything else! I've never had a mess with the Epson
Stylus Photo RX500, but the ink's so expensive I haven't used it enough
to have a clog. Could anyone offer info about cleaning procedures for
either this or the Stylus Photo R 800? Is it ever necessary to come
into contact with the ink, or do you just run a cleaning cycle, or, if
worse comes to worst, take it in to repair?

There are procedures you can follow to clean the heads in the event of
a clog.

http://groups.google.com/group/comp.periphs.printers/msg/e418354378537894

Arthur Entlich offers a free cleaning manual. Epsons use micropiezos
rather than thermal jets. The difference is you can put just about
anything though a micropiezo as chemistry or the rate of expantion of a
liquid to a gas doesn't enter into the picture at all. The drawback
is, from my understanding, the shaft is longer, clogs are bigger, and
you don't have an expanding gas to clean them. This is resolved at
least in the r2x0/r3x0 model by having a pump hooked directly up to the
pladen geared to operate when the printer goes in reverse, but it's not
always enough. In this event, do get a cleaning manual, or cleaning
cartridges. Do get the cleaning manual before you use any paper
towels.

Taking it in for repair is an option, and considering this is a $400
printer, it's worth shelling out shop fees to resolve issues. But the
main issues can most often be resolved with windex. I think of Epsons
as being fickle, requiring more maintance than other more disposable
technologies.

http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=51595&forum_id=40

The other bit of maintance is the waste ink pads, aka the diaper. An
external tank is highly reccomended because the technique of cleaning
the heads sucks a fair amount of ink. I don't know the r800 personaly,
but i'm willing to wager that like the lesser models it too has a door
to access the pad tube and can be re-routed to an external tank. You
will still get a waste ink full error, but this can be reset using the
ssc utility.... a link can be found in the above thread.

The SSC utility also has a function to hot swap ink cartridges. There
is no way change one cartridge and have it clean that one cartridge. I
don't know if it's a good idea, but you can use the utility to park the
head and replace the tank, without the reverse pladen suck the ink
mode. Seek a wiser authority on this subject as I abanonded my Epson.

Clogging is typicaly the result of lack of use, not use. Others have
looked for software to automaticly print a test page once a week.

 

[cmashieldscapting]

The other bit of maintance is the waste ink pads, aka the diaper. An
external tank is highly reccomended because the technique of cleaning
the heads sucks a fair amount of ink. I don't know the r800 personaly,
but i'm willing to wager that like the lesser models it too has a door
to access the pad tube and can be re-routed to an external tank.

Should I ask at a computer store whether this is even possible, what
type of tank to get, and how to install it, since there are bound to be
various kinds so can't just order one online?

Cori

 

[cmashieldscapting]

Clogging is typicaly the result of lack of use, not use. Others have
looked for software to automaticly print a test page once a week.

Since this printer is presumably connected to my computer (don't know
how else it would work!) couldn't I just go online once a week and
print something being sure to use this printer?

Cori

 

[zakezuke]

Should I ask at a computer store whether this is even possible, what
type of tank to get, and how to install it, since there are bound to be
various kinds so can't just order one online?

A computer store, to be fair, is going to know jack about the subject.
This is a undocumented procedure, and will require tubing from a
hardware store. An aftermarket ink store or website will have useful
info on this subject.

I just googled the subject, and it looks like it's not as simple as the
r2x0/r3x0 series.
http://www.inkrepublic.com/KnowledgeBase/R800WasteInk.asp?C=0
http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=51595&forum_id=40

 

[Hendo]

they are all the same series, the same basic print engine and the same
basic ink

The R300 and the R800 are very different printers ,using different
inks.

The R300 uses 6-color Dye based photo Inks.

The R800 uses 8-color Epson UltraChrome pigment ink. Which include
inks and ink colors that the R300 does not use. This printer also uses
a Gloss Optimizer.

I own both these printers and I aggree that the R300 prints better on
CD's than the R800, using OEM inks.

 

[cmashieldscapting]

The R300 and the R800 are very different printers ,using different
inks.

The R300 uses 6-color Dye based photo Inks.

The R800 uses 8-color Epson UltraChrome pigment ink. Which include
inks and ink colors that the R300 does not use. This printer also uses
a Gloss Optimizer.

I own both these printers and I aggree that the R300 prints better on
CD's than the R800, using OEM inks.

I haven't bought, or committed to buy, anything yet. Could you (and
anyone who knows!) please explain "prints better," and other pros and
cons you have learned from experience, including the archival issue?

As for archival properties, it stands to reason any fairly intelligent
person would keep a DVD in a case out of sunlight. But moisture, even
very small amounts such as drops of sweat, is sometimes unavoidable.
Sure one should always avoid handling a CD's surface, but what are the
chances of accidental smears, color coming off the edge of the disk
onto the user's fingers and so on, using the R300? I don't want to
have to apply any treatment afterwards that doesn't come with the
printer--that's why the gloss optimizer sounds so good!

I'd really appreciate as much information as possible. I will probably
end up buying from the Epson clearance center, which doesn't allow
returns.

Cori

 

[measekite]

I haven't bought, or committed to buy, anything yet. Could you (and
anyone who knows!) please explain "prints better," and other pros and
cons you have learned from experience, including the archival issue?

As for archival properties, it stands to reason any fairly intelligent
person would keep a DVD in a case out of sunlight.

this discussion is like ink. stupid come and stupid go. why you ask.
here is the answer. who cares how long the archival quality of ink is
as long as it lasts 5 to 7 years. the dye on the dvd is good for an
average lifespan o 5 years. some more and some less. it is recommended
to copy over your dvd every 5 years if you value them. so as long as
the ink is readable for the same time the dye is good who cares.

 

[measekite]

zakezuke wrote:




Since this printer is presumably connected to my computer (don't know
how else it would work!) couldn't I just go online once a week and
print something being sure to use this printer?

yes and you should also use oem ink since you do not print much