Archive for the ‘Printing Systems’ Category
The Teac P-55 thermal dye-sublimation disc printer creates CD and DVD labels on printable CDs and printable DVDs with the same or better quality then silk screening. Teac's P-55 software features a color matching process that allows you to match Pantone color accurately. As the world's only dye-sublimation disc printer the Teac P-55 four color, CMYK thermal printing prints at 400 DPI (290 LPI) one of the highest resolution desktop thermal printers. The Teac P-55 has 4 different print modes in one printer: Photo Mode (Dye-Sublimation), Color (cyan, magenta, yellow and K-true black/thermal re-transfer), Black (thermal re-transfer, 256 shades of gray)) and VersaMax (thermal re-transfer). The new VersaMax ribbon offers more CD and DVD options to choose from. VersaMax can print on most inkjet printable CD and DVD discs and silver lacquer media by utilizing a print process that adds a printable surface layer onto the disc first before the label is actually printed.
The process of thermal re-transfer works in the following manner. The image is printed with 4 individual color panels onto a re-transfer ribbon that is adhered to the disc. The P-55 does this in two seperate modes based on the consumables: First thermal wax transfer, and then dye sublimation.
Dye sublimation is a process of thermal printing in which a "dye" is transferred from the color ribbon to a transfer ribbon as a solid to a gas to a solid. The dye never becomes liquid, only a gas. Thus it is not applied like an ink-jet process in dots. The gas application allows the colors to blend better to produce a more photo realistic image.
The P-55 will print the photo, color and VersaMax prints including the transfer time in about 100 seconds. The black print will take 40 seconds for the print and transfer time. The P-55 has a 400 dpi print head. This is the highest resolution print head available. This produces the equivalent of 290 lpi, compared to the Rimage Everest III with only 173 lpi. Photo, Color and VersaMax ink ribbons get 500 prints per ribbon and the black ribbon gets 2000 prints.
An interesting feature of the Teac P-55 is it's method of holding the disc. All other printers drop the disc into a tray which "aligns" the disc in a rather crude manner. Teac uses a device that holds the disc in the center of the hub which precisely aligns the disc with the print head.
Why is thermal re-transfer and dye-sublimation better then inkjet?
Thermal printed surfaces are indelible vs. inkjet which is easy to scratch, fade, run and smudge
Thermal provides a more consistent print quality whereas inkjet print quality can be inconsistent
Thermal printing drys instantly vs. inkjet which can vary on dry times due to the print surface and amount of ink applied. Full color inkjet can take a minute or more to dry.
Thermal printing does not create banding or "run out" where as inkjet does. This can create a large number of discs of inferior print quality. As the ink cartridges run out of color they still print but in less and less colors. Color shifting occurs when one of the three colors in a cartridge runs out.
Edge-to-edge printing: Inkjet printer can not print to the edge of the disc. Due to the non-printable characteristics of the edges of an inkjet printable disc. Over-run ink never dries and smears when touched. Thermal printing prints edge-to edge.
What is included with the Teac P-55 thermal dye sublimation disc printer?
Teac p-55 printer
USB 2.0 interface cable
IEEE 1284 parallel interface cable
disc labeling editor software
thermal printable CD-R discs (10)
Color ink ribbon/transfer kit
AC power cord.
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The Recordex StudioJet 50 CD Printer offers value and performance. It uses non-proprietary ink cartridges that are half the cost of other CD printer manufacturer's ink cartridges. The Recordex StudioJet 50 features HP printer technology using out of the box HP56 black and HP57 color. The HP inkjet engine is very quick and the Discus LE label software is very intuitive so you are not sitting in front of a CD printer for an hour trying to get everything to work. I have demo'd a lot of units and this was the easiest and actually worked right out of the box. The Recordex StudioJet 50 features a 50 disc input hopper and a 50 disc output. Essentially the disc drops down from the hopper into the printer tray (using a singulator that only allows one disc to drop at a time) the disc prints, the tray opens and the disc is ejected out into a bin that sits to the right of the unit. No robotics and a very short path between input and output.
It's very easy to set-up and operate: Snap on the output bin, screw in the input hoppers posts, USB 2.0 connection, install 2 ink cartridges, install the driver and disc software and you are ready to print labels. Works with all inkjet printable media for CD-R, DVD-R,DVD+R and recordable Blu-ray. It only supports PC and comes with a one year warranty Link
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There are several different print technologies for on-demand CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs duplication and disc printing. Inkjet, thermal transfer and thermal re-transfer / dye-sublimation. This is a discussion on inkjet printing.
Inkjet CD Printers can be used for DVD and Blu-ray discs that have a special inkjet printable surface applied. Inkjet CD printers use print engines primarily from HP (Hewlett Packard) and several from Lexmark. This means for the most part the ink cartridges are off-the-shelf. Several manufacturers use modified cartridges that require the purchase of ink from the manufacturer's sales network which increases the cost per print. Inkjet CD printers come in Single print PC connected models and autoloading print stations that can output a high volume of printable CDs , printable DVD and printable Blu-ray discs.
The resolution of inkjet printers is 4800 dpi (dots per inch) which produces an excellent print image. Inkjet CD printers use a liquid ink that is sprayed onto the inkjet printable surface. It mixes Magneta, Cyan and Yellow to produce color and black is usually produced by a second cartridge. This makes it a "wet" process. Ink application can be controlled by setting the software driver between photo quality and draft on the printable CD. The less ink the faster the job is completed. The less ink the more washed out the color is and horizontal print lines show up on the finished disc.
There are some systems that use separate CMY inks, the Microboards Print Factory Pro is an example of this technology. The Print Factory Pro is a automated Printer system that can be loaded with 100 discs. It is PC and Mac connect via USB 2.0 The Microboards Print Factory Pro relies on a singulator with stacked discs instead of a robotic arm. Designs vary for several different reasons but the most important is speed. The closer you can get the disc to the print head the faster the job goes. Also reliability is a big factor.
Disc print design software for printable CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs comes in several different versions. SureThing and Discus seem to be the most popular. These programs allow you to design your CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs and save the print file for future use. Some rely on special print files that can only be used with the specific model so make sure you know what you want. .prn files contain all the print meta data for a specific printer and can not be shared with other printer models. Recently there has been a move away from this with some systems. Usually Discus can support this feature. One of my favorite inkjet CD printers is the Recordex StudioJet 50 . This auto-loading CD printer uses off the shelf HP ink cartridges for a great print job. Fast and efficient. I believe it's the cheapest per print. Very easy to set up and calibrate.
There are some Epson inkjet document printers that have a little disc caddy as a means of printing on a printable CD, DVD or Blu-ray disc. They do work for an occasional disc. Bad idea for any quantity of discs. The caddy wears out along with the rollers in the printer.
Drying time is a critical issue in choosing printable CDs for your CD printer. If you are laying down any amount of ink drying time is important to keep the ink from getting on your other discs. The idea is to use enough ink to do the job and not over apply for economy and quick drying. Printable CDs, Printable DVDs and Printable Blu-ray discs all have different formulas specific to a manufacturer. Taiyo Yuden and a new brand, FTI or Falcon have great surfaces and quick drying. Taiyo Yuden also offers a Watershield printable CD and a Watershield printable which give a glossy finish and water-resistant properties. Other excellent surfaces include Falcon premium white inkjet printable DVD-R
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If you want to move beyond magic markers and labels for labeling your inkjet printable CDs then it may be time to consider a printer that is designed for printing on recordable CD, DVD and Blu-ray discs. There are some inkjet document printers that provide a means of printing on a disc or two but they are not up to the task of printing on any quantity of discs. They typically use a plastic template that holds a disc and it slides through like a piece of paper...until the rollers give out. We used to carry such document and CD printers but customers complained about the lack of durability (in fairness the document printers were not designed for production CD printing). Printing 10-15 discs a day, or even more then one really falls into a production grade CD printer.
CD Printers come in 3 flavors.
Inkjet CD Printers: Inkjet printable cd-r printers use existing ink jet technology in a specially designed printer housing that usually has a automated tray (not to be confused with robotics that moves the disc out of the tray) to move the disc in-line with the print head (s). Inkjet printers are excellent for full color printing and can print to the hub of printable recordable CDs and printable DVD. Inkjet CD printers have between one and 6 ink cartridges. The more the better. Something to be aware of is some printers use off the shelf ink and some use proprietary ink even though they all use the same print engine as the off the shelf cartridges. Two reasons is product branding and to provide a feature like showing the operator how much ink is remaining. Of course the units with off the shelf ink can do the same thing ;)
Depending on how much ink you use on your printable CDs it would be highly advisable to consider the cost of the cartridges when looking at any unit. Same advice goes for any inkjet printer. In the consumer world the printers are given away so you have to buy the ink. Similar to the free razor holder to get you to buy the razor blades. A consumer actually has to pay more for a unit that uses more cost effective ink cartridges. Unfortunately we don't control the manufacturers decision to have open cartridges or not. A unit I really like for a great price is the Recordex StudioJet50 Pro. It uses a singleator to drop the disc into printer and then when the tray comes out there is a spring-loaded bumper that pushes the disc onto the output spindle. This unit uses off-the-shelf HP cartridges so it's cheap to print. Really cheap. :) Discus CD printing software.
Most inkjet CD printers print at 4800 dpi (dots per inch) although there are several with lower resolution. The ink medium provides excellent color reproduction with little effort from the operator. Inkjet printing is Dependent on special ink jet printable CDs and DVD blank discs. The surfaces come in white, silver and gold. I have seen some strange pastel colors but they did not last very long in the U.S. market. Like paper the surfaces have certain characteristics like the shade of white (there is a trade off in pure white color and drying: the more pure the white the slower it drys). Silver is also problematic in shades of gray and silver white to a pearl white. Really the key thing with silver inkjet printable CD and DVDs is the iridescence and almost three dimensions of the print. It can be very striking if used correctly (that is not trying to print a white background over the silver...better off using white ink jet printable CDs then).
The primary objection to inkjet printable media is that it is not water proof nor glossy. Currently there are some new products in the market that address this drawback: Taiyo Yuden's WaterShield, Imation's Aquaguard and Verbatim's glossy white inkjet printable surface. There are other substrates (what I call an applied label, like AquaGuard) but most are actually applied to the disc as a coating. Taiyo Yuden WaterShield CD and WaterShield DVD is by far the most popular surface. It is more expensive to produce and so it costs more per disc to the consumer.
CD inkjet printers come in manual versions that require being connected to a PC. Automated versions come in PC connect (and Mac in this case), Standalone and PC embedded CD printers. Automation let's you to print a large number of discs unattended. PC connect and embedded PC systems allow you to design your label, specify how many discs you want to print (or even set different print jobs).
Thermal CD Printers: Thermal CD printer technology uses a special ribbon that is a wax-based resin material that when heated transfers the resin to the disc's surface. It uses a single ribbon which the print-head directly imprints the image onto the printable DVD or printable CD. It's fast and cheap. Up until recently the hardware was very expensive as there were no cheap models. Rimage makes several excellent printers including the Rimage Prism Plus thermal printer. The Prism Plus is costly and when you combine the Rimage robotics it's around $8413 The Rimage Prism Plus AutoprinterII is a very durable print station. Combining Rimage engineering and reliability. There are other auto-loaders that use the Rimage Prism Plus, although it is a more expensive "OEM" version.
There are several consumer thermal printers, one "made" by Teac, Casio has a line and there are several other brands. They have limited print area and a higher per print cost (compared to a commercial unit like the Rimage Prism Plus) but do provide a good print quality. For the cost they can be an excellent solution for small labeling jobs. The Teac P-11 CD printer is a good choice.
Thermal printing has several drawbacks. It has limited resolution, 600 dpi (dots per inch) and no capacity for mixing colors. Thermal printing can print in multiple colors with the correct media but it does not mix. The thermal CD printers work best for graphics and text. It's not something you would want to print your digital images with.
Thermal Retransfer CD Printers: Thermal Re-transfer uses ...
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