#389942 - 07/20/05 06:19 AM
Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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LiveMusic
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Found this...
A huge thumbs-up for the Epson R200 - an affordable CD printer and good all-around photo printer too. The sad news is that with just about all photo quality printers, you are really paying for the ink, the printer ought to be a give-away!! But, as has been said, at least the inks are separate, so you don't throw away your cyan just because the magenta ran out! The inks, by the way, are Epson's Durabrite inks - near archival quality and smudge resistant, if not totally waterproof. Much better, anyway, than the previous Stylus series ink carts. As long as you let the CD dry well, about 15 - 30min indoors, before you stack it or touch the ink surface you should be fine.
Epson R300 is a better printer. Newer model, I suppose.
I have the Epson R-300 ($109 at Costco) and I love it. The CDs look very good. I also like that it uses separate ink cartridges for each of the 6 colors. So if you are going through lots of red, you won't be throwing away lots of other ink when the red runs out.
Anyone know if the newest ink IS waterproof or near waterproof? Assuming you use the CD blanks that you can print directly on.
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#389943 - 07/20/05 06:47 AM
Re: Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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dman
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Registered: 12/14/03
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I'll check it out today. I got a R300 last week and printed a couple last night. Nice printer btw
Update
I just checked it out with water and it smeared right away. I'm using the stock ink so I don't know if it's durabright, will check it out.
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#389944 - 07/20/05 07:45 AM
Re: Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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LiveMusic
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Was it a fresh print job that smeared? See if it matters if you let it dry. Also, if your hand is just damp. Like with sweat.
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#389945 - 07/20/05 07:53 AM
Re: Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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dman
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Was it a fresh print job that smeared?
I'm hoping that the ink I have is different than the ink that was mentioned in your post.
This doesn't really bother me too much as I'm just printing cd's that will be used for a short time: Demos, session cd's etc. Still it would be nice
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#389946 - 07/20/05 10:17 AM
Re: Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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doug osborne
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The R300 has a memory card reader, and the R200 doesn't - I believe that the printing technology is identical.
Were you using the stock inks and printable CDs on the discs where the ink smeared?
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#389947 - 07/20/05 10:24 AM
Re: Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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ViLo
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Are we going to play CD underwater now??? Just kidding 
I own the Epson R300 I have printed and sold about 800 + CD's we no complains.
I have my soundtracks recorded and printed on inkjet printable CD's I handle them and use them with no smearing @ all...But I don't play underwater :p 
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#389948 - 07/20/05 10:33 AM
Re: Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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dman
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Were you using the stock inks and printable CDs on the discs where the ink smeared?
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#389949 - 07/20/05 10:49 AM
Re: Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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PBBPaul
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You can find a good comparison of Epson inks here.
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#389950 - 07/21/05 01:15 AM
Re: Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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Mark Weiss
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Registered: 10/15/03
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I've had my Epson R300 for about a year now and am generally very pleased with it.
I print mainly DVD-R white printables from Samsung (BeAll brand) and the quality on these discs is quite excellent. Different brands print somewhat differently.
My only minor issue with the R300 is it's tendency to error on the first in a series of discs, where it can't seem to find the starting point and spits the disc out and says that the CD tray is not set correctly (even though it was). I reset it and it prints multiple copies thereafter with no issues. Always the first disc does this though, which is strange. But the printer has enabled me to improve the value of my product.
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#389951 - 07/21/05 12:12 PM
Re: Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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AudioMaverick
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I have both the R200 & the R300 printers. The memory card reader and the more complex LCD control panel is the only difference between them... as far as printing is concerned.
The inks are not that great, in regards to indelibility. I won't dig up the thread, but last year I did the water thing. I will just say that one should NOT submerge one of these CDs in ANY liquid! The emulsion will soak up moisture like a baby diaper. And, the result isn't pretty. :rolleyes: To top it off, Epson ink does not do graphics well on most non-Epson brand paper.
Mark, I have found a way to avoid the CD error issue on the R300. Drop the CD door, but don't insert the tray. Send the print and wait for the error light to come on. Then, insert the tray and push the button. It has worked for me, every time.
Right now, I am trying some after-market ink, to see how it works in the R200 & R300. It is about half price. Here is the link -- High-Quality Epson Ink Cartridge Combo Saving Deals - Full Ink Set $35.75 .
. I'm not saying they are great, yet. Just giving an option for those feeling the cost burden of the R200/r300 ink usage. So, far, I don't see any difference in quality. When I check the ink status, the levels report correctly. But, all the *Cartridge Information* reports "Unknown".
. My luck with HP refills & compatibles has been less than impressive. AND, I have always gone back the HP inks. I still have a 970Cxi for my primary printer (with a duplexer).
The R200 & R300 print great photos on Epson paper... AND, they print on CDs, which is also great. The images look good. And, (except for the test) I don't subject the discs to any unnecessary abuse, like dowsing with or submerging in liquids.
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#389952 - 07/21/05 12:54 PM
Re: Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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ViLo
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I buy my ink HERE....
with excellent results.
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#389954 - 07/21/05 01:41 PM
Re: Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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AudioMaverick
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Originally posted by ViLo: I buy my ink HERE....
with excellent results.
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#389956 - 07/22/05 08:30 AM
Re: Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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polyt
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I was about to ask if anyone has tried a fixative. I might have some lying around and I'm picking up a 200 within a few weeks or so.
It might work, then again, it might dissolve the CD too!
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#389957 - 07/22/05 11:07 AM
Re: Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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drumrob
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I use Krylon's art spray product (forget exactly what it is called). I make sure to let it dry overnight before handing the discs to anyone, but it works great. You do have to be a little careful not to get overspray on the recordable surface on the bottom, though. It takes a little extra time, but the ink will not smear at all when you get it a little wet.
Rob
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#389958 - 07/22/05 01:16 PM
Re: Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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AudioMaverick
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Originally posted by drumrob:
I use Krylon's art spray product (forget exactly what it is called). I make sure to let it dry overnight before handing the discs to anyone, but it works great. You do have to be a little careful not to get overspray on the recordable surface on the bottom, though. It takes a little extra time, but the ink will not smear at all when you get it a little wet.
Rob
. The Art Store wants $8.09 for the same thing! If this is it, I'll order some cans.
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#389959 - 07/23/05 01:16 PM
Re: Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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UnderTheGroove_dup2
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Originally posted by drumrob:
I use Krylon's art spray product (forget exactly what it is called). I make sure to let it dry overnight before handing the discs to anyone, but it works great. You do have to be a little careful not to get overspray on the recordable surface on the bottom, though. It takes a little extra time, but the ink will not smear at all when you get it a little wet.
Rob
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#389960 - 07/23/05 01:58 PM
Re: Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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theblue1
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Originally posted by dman:
I'll check it out today. I got a R300 last week and printed a couple last night. Nice printer btw
Update
I just checked it out with water and it smeared right away. I'm using the stock ink so I don't know if it's durabright, will check it out.
Also, it does suck down ink pretty damn fast. So I mostly use it for printing text and line art type graphics on my CDs...
The cost of these disposable ink carts is obscene.
And it's all very well that you don't have to throw out your cyan cart -- but just try buying individual cartridges...
So what you'll end up doing, if you don't want to waste, is designing in the colors you haven't been using so far, to use them up...
Is the CD-feed-in at all improved on the R300, I wonder?
I'm thinking there's not much you can do unless the printer is designed around a stationery CD tray. But the process is pretty slow. You can certainly burn a CD faster than you can print it.
All that said, my R200 was pretty much free, after a stack of rebates. I had to buy a cheap Kodak camera to get if for free, so I sold the $90 camera to a pal for $65 still wrapped (a good deal for him as the cam was selling some places for as much as double that).
And, smearing aside, the CD's do look kind of nice. And, unlike typical stick on CD labels, you don't have to print two at a time. That right there was worth the price. (Of course, the price was like, 30 or 35 bucks...  )
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#389961 - 07/23/05 05:45 PM
Re: Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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AudioMaverick
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I have both. The R200 & R300 use the exact same mechanical assembly. The R200 is a little easier to use, because it only has 3 buttons on the front. The R300 makes you walk through a ton of menus for some issues.
I agree on the loader. You have to keep that clear flap straight, too. I bent the edge of one of mine, which is easy to do. If I don't prestraighten it before inserting. It can get stuck. That is one of the reasons I started waiting for the read light to come on, first.
As for expense of ink, I have an HP 970Cxi for the main stuff. Check out the links Vilo & I put up for third-party Epson ink. The CDs I've printed don't look any different. Half the price helps.
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#389962 - 07/23/05 06:09 PM
Re: Epson R200 / R300 ink no smear now?
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BOOKUMDANO
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I just grabbed a dvd from a sample run that were printed with R300's last November. I put a drop of water on it and touched it. As expected, it smeared. I think that's gonna be the case with any brand of ink because as the Epson manual says, inkjet printed cds/dvds aren't gonna be waterproof.
We run all the dvds here through a Primera Laminator before they go out. It stops any sort of smearing, but the Laminator price is definitely high.
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