Using "printable" DVDs

[pjensen12]

Recently in this forum, there was a series of very informative posts about using stick-on labels on our DVDs. After reading all of the comments, I decided to buy an Epson 200 printer and print labels directly onto the disk. I now need to purchase the printable DVDs. ( I must use -Rs)

I was wondering if those of you who use printable DVD disks have any recommendations as to brand? I apologize if this is a bit "off-topic" for Video Studio, but IMO, using a top-quality DVD disk eliminates a lot of problems, and so I'm VERY interested in what "printable" brands are preferred. Thanks in advance! Pat

[THoff]

Since I was one of the participants in that thread, I'd like to add my feedback here: I use bulk media from Shop4Tech, specifically the 8x DVD-R Silver Inkjet Printable / No Stacking Ring ProDisc and the 8x DVD-R White Inkjet Printable ProDisc.

For simple B&W printing I prefer silver disks, for full-color printing I use white disks.

The ProDisc media has worked exceptionally well with my Sony DRU-510A and a new Plextor 716A that I got recently. Shop4Tech will gladly answer any questions you may have regarding compatibility of their media with specific drives.

[Ken Berry]

I consistently use a Taiwanese brand called Princo, which has a matte printable surface. I have now done more than 150 of these, using a Canon i-865 printer for the direct printing, and have been more than pleased with the results. In terms of the reliability of the discs, I have not had one of the ones I produced show any technical faults, though I have had to dispose of about four of them due to 'pilot error' -- i.e. I did something wrong in burning them, rather than any inherent fault in the disc. The only downside is that they are 4x speed (and of course single layer DVD5). They are readily available here in Australia, and are very competitively priced -- I buy them at weekly computer Fairs for around US$15 for 50.

I have also used successfully the more expensive but readily available Imation printables, as well as another brand called Shintaro. Of course I don't know which of these brands, apart from Imation, may be available in the US, Europe or elsewhere...

[wontonpe]

I use BeAll printables (from Meritline) in white & they turn out great, many clients have commented how nice it is not to have labels. Also use the Epson R200. After at least 200 BeAll disks, I only had one that would not read.
Sony burner.

[Ken Berry]

And, FWIW, after 11 months since my last post on this topic, I can say that I still use the Princo for general DVDs -- they are also now available in 8x speed, and have only had 3 failures in over 1500 of them. But I have now discovered the joys of full-faced labels (i.e. printing down to the spindle hole at the centre of the disc). And my disc of choice right now is the Ritek 8x. Solid burns and only one reject (it looked like a physical abnormality) in 3 spindles of 50. I believe Ritek make discs which are sold under other labels (IIRC, Verbatim used to use some Ritek factory-produced discs under their own label), so it is useful to find out what discs the 'big brands' might currently be using in the lots you buy.

Now my only wish is that Canon would come up with a label printing program like that which accompanies the Epson R200 and up series, and print full face labels. I have checked for updates and believe I have the current version of their label printing program (1.1) but their smallest setting still leaves about a quarter inch of white around the central hole. In the meantime, I use a label printing program by Acoustica, which does an excellent job, once some initial fiddling is done to line up the settings and the program is fooled into believing that my Canon i865 is really a Canon Pixma 5000! SureThing labeller 4.0 also has a template for my printer (just one) but it is far more difficult to set up than Acoustica, and so I don't use that one anymore. (I had originally acquired Version 2 of SureThing when I was printing paper labels for my CDs.)

[dmz]

I would also check out www.videohelp.com . They have a section which has feedback on DVD blanks.

[DamonKelly]

I use Verbatim Inkjet Printable DVD-R (Hub Printable) PN 94854, nominally 8x
using:
* Canon PIXMA ip4000 printer
* LG GSA-4120 and GSA-4167 burner

I have burned about 3 x 50 discs and have yet to have a coaster.

I agree that the Canon disc printing software is a bit basic, but it does the job.
You should set up some "Paper Size" templates, and you may need to fiddle around with the diameters, since the adjustment seems a bit non-intuitive (to me, anyway -- I measured the diameters with a Vernier caliper, and still had to adjust...)
After that, the results seem good.

Good quality ink is important on a surface like a CD/DVD, to get vibrant colours

Cheers,

Damon