Epson 960

[TJ_Tigger]

Who is going to test out the new Epson 960 with the ability to print directly onto printable CD-Rs? I would like to see how it works. PC World gave it 3.5 stars. No more stickers for the tops of CDs

www.epson.com/960

[eric_darling]

I'd love to know how fast this guy prints to CD-R, both in black and in color, if anyone gets a chance to time a print and report back. I use a much more expensive printer, so I'd love to be able to spend less for the same or similar functionality.

[TJ_Tigger]

What do you use to print onto CDs right now?

[Corey]

Here at Inidgo Rose we now use a shiny new Everest machine, it does really awesome work. (AMS 4.0 CDs were silkscreened not printed) I don't have the specific model handy but it's a tad out of reach for most consumers price-wise I think but well worth it. Amazing quality, perhaps a tad better than silkscreen and a lot more convenient.

Plus. Get this. It's preferred format is raster (tiff) so you don't have to muck with vectors anymore and you can add all those cool Photoshop effects, etc. and they print razor sharp. When I heard it was raster I was cynical but I've seen a bunch of CDs which were printed on it and they look superb. Definitely just as sharp as vectors.

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software

[eric_darling]

I use the Signature Pro by Primera. It's an ink jet model that will only print on CD media. The machine is probably about $1,000 USD retail now, but it prints at 2400 DPI. Very high quality prints, but it is ink jet, so you know the limitations.

For most of my work, it's perfectly acceptable. When I go beyond 500 qty., I take it out of house.

[TJ_Tigger]

Where do you order your CD's? Are they a special type of CD?

[eric_darling]

Yes - they are either white or silver surface ink jet printable (I tend to like silver surface for black-only printing, whereas the white surface does better for full color). They cost a little bit more than comparable non-printable or logo media. I generally buy them from my videotape suppliers: http://www.thetapecompany.com or http://www.taperesources.com

[Corey]

(I tend to like silver surface for black-only printing, whereas the white surface does better for full color)

Yep that's true...

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software