CD/DVD printing with Epson R800

[Bob]

I am about to print my first CD with my R800. There are a couple of things not
mentioned in the User Guide, that I'd like to clear up before I make coasters.

Should I turn off the Gloss Coat before printing, or is it OK to use it on a
printable CD? (Maxell)

Can I do my artwork in PS CS and print directly from PS? The User Guide wants me to
use the printer software.

How critical is the alignment? Should I use the cardboard "CD" that came with the
printer, or just cross my fingers and print? If I should use the cardboard, where can
I get them? The one that came with the printer will quickly be used up.

TIA

 

[Mike Marquis]

No comment on the Gloss Coat. I have an R200. A little experimentation might
be required.

As far as doing the artwork in PS, it is possible, but aligning the printout
on the disk is problematic. You might consider doing some of the work in PS
and importing it into the printer software to make the alignment easier.

Don't worry about using up the cardboard blank. You can rotate it and use it
again. I only used mine once or twice (R200)

Mike

 

[Bob]

No comment on the Gloss Coat. I have an R200. A little experimentation might
be required.

As far as doing the artwork in PS, it is possible, but aligning the printout
on the disk is problematic. You might consider doing some of the work in PS
and importing it into the printer software to make the alignment easier.

I'll give it a try

Don't worry about using up the cardboard blank. You can rotate it and use it
again. I only used mine once or twice (R200)

I'll give it a try tomorrow.

Thanks

 

[Meander Holefield]

I am about to print my first CD with my R800. There are a couple of things not
mentioned in the User Guide, that I'd like to clear up before I make coasters.

Should I turn off the Gloss Coat before printing, or is it OK to use it on a
printable CD? (Maxell)

Can I do my artwork in PS CS and print directly from PS? The User Guide wants me to
use the printer software.

How critical is the alignment? Should I use the cardboard "CD" that came with the
printer, or just cross my fingers and print? If I should use the cardboard, where can
I get them? The one that came with the printer will quickly be used up.

TIA

I've been using Adobe PS in conjunction with the labeler software at
www.surething.com. I think the software is about $30 U.S-downloadable. It
takes care of any alignment problems you might think you will have because
it's got templates already built-in for the Epson R800 (regular face CD,
full face CD, mini-sized CD, "puck" shaped CD, and so on so that it will
print to the tray in just the right spot.

From that SureThing software you can export and import *.tif and *.jpg as
much as you like and of course Adobe will import and export *.tif and
*.jpg.

Work on it first in SureThing CD Labeler to get the proper sized circular
format if that makes things easier. Export it as a *.tif or *.jpg. Work
on it in Adobe. Import it back to SureThing. Back and forth and so on and
so forth until you're happy with it.

Only problem I've had is with those multiple imports and exports. After
several times, the image is noticeably degraded. Maybe that's because
SureThing compresses the *.tif. I don't know. (We know it surely
compresses the *.jpg since that's what JPEG is all about anyway.) So, I
try to export from SureThing and import back into SureThing only once if at
all possible.

That's the only quick and easy solution I can think of.

For the coating? I don't have an Epson that will do the coating. I'm
still using an old Stylus Photo 900 to print discs. I'm guessing it
shouldn't hurt if the gloss optimizer is the same water based stuff as
printer inks.

Just an aside, for this 900, I've discovered that I get the best color
saturation on a printed disc if I tell the printer driver that I'm printing
on heavy matte paper. This old 900 knows there's a disc tray in the feed
because I have to manually move a lever. So, any driver settings will
work. I presume the R800 might give the same lattitude.

If I choose "CD/DVD" from the Epson driver settings, I get a weak print on
a disc. If I choose "matte paper" and "vivid colors" in the Epson drivers,
the printed disc looks great.

I'm looking forward to the R800 (or something like it) some day if they
develop a gloss coating that becomes totally waterproof. Presently, I
spray discs with a fixative if I think it needs to be resistant to coffee
spills and rain drops.

Got to be careful with that lacquer spray when doing DVD's. Lots of older
DVD players can't tolerate the additional wobble of an uneven coating.
Actually, it's amazing just how "touchy" those older players are. However,
after 10 or 20 discs, I finally got the right "touch" so that I just
"dust" the disc with lacquer. It is then waterproof, shiny, and spins
true.

//rus\\

 

[Bob]

n article <[email protected]>,

I've been using Adobe PS in conjunction with the labeler software at
www.surething.com. I think the software is about $30 U.S-downloadable. It
takes care of any alignment problems you might think you will have because
it's got templates already built-in for the Epson R800 (regular face CD,
full face CD, mini-sized CD, "puck" shaped CD, and so on so that it will
print to the tray in just the right spot.

//rus\\,

Thanks for the info. I'll check it out.

Is the fixative you talked about something like Krylon?

bobert

 

[Meander Holefield]

n article <[email protected]>,


//rus\\,

Thanks for the info. I'll check it out.

Is the fixative you talked about something like Krylon?

bobert

Yes. Krylon or any clear lacquer. I use whatever I can find. None seem,
to me, to be any better than the other.

You can spray it on rather heavily for music CD's because they only spin at
45 rpm and they have a relatively "coarse" spiral groove pressed into the
dye so that dynamic balance isn't as critical as with DVD's.

For me, DVD's sprayed with anything more than a light dusting can cause
some problems in some DVD players. In some cases, the discs will almost
play fine but FF and FR will cause a freeze or something like that.

Taiyo Yuden is making some "waterproof" printable DVD's. I haven't yet
ordered any. If they work as they say, we might be able to give up the
fixative altogether.

//rus\\