Lightscribe?

[ufauxreal]

I need a new printer and thought I would like to get one that has the capability to print on CD's. I really know nothing about this whole process. Do I need a special printer, or just some software? Will it also require special CD's/DVD's or will plain ole garden variety do?

Any recommendations on good printers? It would be a general printer for both images and copy.

Thanks!

Joan

[jlwilm]

Joan,

You will need both a CD printing capable printer and CD blanks with a printable surface.

I just purchased an Epson R380 printer that will do this and is also a great photoprinter. You could get some stick on labels, but these are not recommended (at least by me) as in time the glue will weaken and allow the printer surface to curl. Also, if not properly applied, it will leave the CD out of balance and can cause problems.

[happy-snapper1970]

hi there
well in response to your question .
Lightscribe is a techniology that is used not on printers as far as iam aware, but on CD/DVD drives ... the disc has a special light sensitive coating on that turns a shade of grey when exposed to the laser..
you design your label just like you would using a traditional paper
label , but instead of telling it to print, you make sure your disc is inserted
into your optical drive upside down ... or should i say the top surface down and then tell the program to burn the image...

a good high contrast picture works best ... and bold text ..
mine takes about 20-mins depening on the type of design .....


=====
in reference to printers , i use a r200 with cd printing tray
this works great, but as previously said by other member you need
printabler media .. which isnt that more expensive than the normal ones
and it works great ..

==

a normal printer , with a stomper or pressit type cd labeling kit works great i have been using them for years with no problems , some peole say the labels come off , or the discs get stuck in the drive..
or they spin up funny and break drives .. well i have been using them since 98/99 ish with out any problems ... and is by far the cheapest and easist way to put a label on a disk ...

hope the info helps ..

de Paul

happy-snapper1970
Northwest United Kingdom

[jlwilm]

Well, well. Didn't know that.

[ufauxreal]

Originally Posted by happy-snapper1970

hi there
well in response to your question .
Lightscribe is a techniology that is used not on printers as far as iam aware, but on CD/DVD drives ... the disc has a special light sensitive coating on that turns a shade of grey when exposed to the laser..
you design your label just like you would using a traditional paper
label , but instead of telling it to print, you make sure your disc is inserted
into your optical drive upside down ... or should i say the top surface down and then tell the program to burn the image...

a good high contrast picture works best ... and bold text ..
mine takes about 20-mins depening on the type of design .....

Thanks so much for that info... I really had no idea how the process works. Once the image is on the CD, it then goes into a special tray in the printer? And, is that software that I would have to purchase?? Or is the software bundled with the printer?


=====

in reference to printers , i use a r200 with cd printing tray
this works great, but as previously said by other member you need
printabler media .. which isnt that more expensive than the normal ones
and it works great ..

r200? Which brand?

==

a normal printer , with a stomper or pressit type cd labeling kit works great i have been using them for years with no problems , some peole say the labels come off , or the discs get stuck in the drive..
or they spin up funny and break drives .. well i have been using them since 98/99 ish with out any problems ... and is by far the cheapest and easist way to put a label on a disk ...

I actually purchased a Stomper kit last year and just couldn't make it work... partly due to my ancient printer and the even more ancient computer attached to the printer (or my ancient brain!

I do appreciate the info... trying to educate myself before i go looking for a printer. Also, I am using a Mac... will that make a difference?

Joan

[Tina_B]

I use a HP computer with Lightscribe feature. It works great and you can design what you want to print. I also have a Epson R300 that will print on DVD/CD but have not used that feature. The light scribe works really good for me so why change.
Tina B

[happy-snapper1970]

Hi again ..

quote"Thanks so much for that info... I really had no idea how the process works. Once the image is on the CD, it then goes into a special tray in the printer? And, is that software that I would have to purchase?? Or is the software bundled with the printer?"

No - once the image / label you designed for your disc has been burned using lighscribe thats it , job done..
you can use nero for designing and burning the lighscribe disks ..
purchased optional, or often given with the purchase of a new dvd writer.
--
if you want to print your label directly onto your discs using a printer
you will need the " normally supplied" software, but you can often find it online at the manufactures website..
---

my printer as stated is the R200 is an Epson ... its quite old now and can be picked up cheap on ebay ..

but there are more modern ones out there now but all work the same.

cheers

Paul
Happy-snapper1970

[vawitt]

If anyone lives near a CompUSA, (assume they are only in the states, given the name), many are closing and the sales have started. Today my local store had printable CD media and Lightscribe discs 10% off...more price drops to follow, I'm sure.

[Mary]

I have lightscribe on my Hp computers but prefer to use the print label function on my Epson printer for labels because Lightscribe is only one color and I can do multi color labels direct to disk on the Epson.

[lexcell]

The Epson R380 is an excellent option. If you use it and buy the printable cd's they look really professional.