Tedster Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 What sort of CD label printing stuff/hardware do you recommend? I'd like to be able to offer more professional looking demos (without spending an arm and a leg).... "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 Well, you have a few options. You can use adhesive labels, but I wouldn't recommend that. They can come off and jam a player - especially a "slot loader". Some inkjet printers (Epsons come to mind) are designed to print directly on to special CD's... they can look great, but if you get the CD wet, it WILL run. Figure that will cost $200 - $300 for the printer. Of course, there's combo robotic dupe / printer systems, but you're looking at over a grand to get into one of those... and it's still inkjet printing on the disc. You can have some blank CD's custom printed (Discmakers offers these), but that's not very flexible. You can go the thermal printer route - Mitch reviewed one in EQ last year that only cost a bit over $100 for the printer - but that's limited to mainly text and will only be single color. No matter what you pick, these are all best for limited runs... it's cheaper to go commercial if you want larger quantities of CD's. BTW, recheck that "wewus search" thread. I did a search on you and found out some interesting things that I never knew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasticsound Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 I've always used what's available. My old Win98 Machine came with (Then) Adaptec CD Creator which had a decent labellng program incorporated. I haven't looked at the Roxio, new versions so I can't comment on them. But Avery products makes Avery Media Wizard. The version I used at work on my Win2000 machine was easy to use and templated perfectly to various Avery products. Unfortunately, I can't say the same of the WinXP version. It has advanced functions that I haven't been able to overcome. They take what I used to do on the Win2000 machine and, in the name of keeping me from covering one label with the graphics of the next, make it incomprehensibly difficult to format background images, etc. It's been driving me nuts. All that said, if you really want to impress someone, check out the slew of inkjet printers optimized for individual printing directly on CDs. The quality is pretty darned good and the printers are really cheap. But be forewarned, they suck up ink like an anteater in a termite nest. And we all know what printer ink costs... Shouldn't be long before we see market news reports commenting on the barrel price of cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks. It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman Soundclick fntstcsnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennyf Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 Originally posted by Philip O'Keefe: Well, you have a few options. You can use adhesive labels, but I wouldn't recommend that. They can come off and jam a player - especially a "slot loader". Yeah, I still use these for bar demos, but I use a plexiglass roller and burnish them on pretty good. Never had a problem, but a slot loader in a car on a hot day for example is just beggin' for trouble. I probably won't buy any more after I use up the ones I have. Depends on what cost/CD threshold you find acceptable, but mixonic.com gives you a pretty professional printing job in color, and you get to make your own design (which may or may not be a good thing). 'Course, we're talkin' several dollars per CD. band link: bluepearlband.com music, lessons, gig schedules at dennyf.com STURGEON'S LAW --98% of everything is bullshit. My Unitarian Jihad Name is: The Jackhammer of Love and Mercy. Get yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankieP Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 Originally posted by Philip O'Keefe: Some inkjet printers (Epsons come to mind) are designed to print directly on to special CD's... they can look great, but if you get the CD wet, it WILL run. Figure that will cost $200 - $300 for the printer.The Epson R200 prints directly to CD (using printable media) and won't cost you more than $99.00. I've seen it priced $50-65 in the net. It works great and looks nice. But Phil is right. The ink smudges when it gets wet. Speaking of ink, that's where your money will go to most. The Epson uses 6 cartridges and they're expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PBBPaul Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 Originally posted by FrankieP: Originally posted by Philip O'Keefe: Some inkjet printers (Epsons come to mind) are designed to print directly on to special CD's... they can look great, but if you get the CD wet, it WILL run. Figure that will cost $200 - $300 for the printer.The Epson R200 prints directly to CD (using printable media) and won't cost you more than $99.00. I've seen it priced $50-65 in the net. It works great and looks nice. But Phil is right. The ink smudges when it gets wet. Speaking of ink, that's where your money will go to most. The Epson uses 6 cartridges and they're expensive. This is what I use now. It looks great (barring the water issue) especially on printable CDs with a white background. Check out Rhinotek cartridges for a more affordable alternative. Our new and improved website Today's sample tune: Lonesome One Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted June 13, 2005 Author Share Posted June 13, 2005 Thanks for all the tips. I'd just be using these for limited runs of demos, not a whole boatload of CDs for release. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stranger Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 I'm still waiting to hear some more news on the Lightscribe doo-hickeys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveMusic Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 Originally posted by the stranger: I'm still waiting to hear some more news on the Lightscribe doo-hickeys. Sounds good but 30 minutes to burn the label? ( Lightscribe info ) > > > [ Live! ] < < < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
where02190 Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 I highly recommenad against inkjet prinitng. Not only will it smudge if it gets wet, but a sweaty finger will smudge it, and leave ink on the sweaty finger as well. Not impressive. As previously mentioned stay away also from stick ons. No matter how well you apply them, they will come off eventually and most likely ruin someones very expensive deck. While it doesn't look impressive, a good sharpie won't smudge or ruin anything, and is very cost effective. A nice looking jewel case insert front and rear will make your disc look more pro, and can provide much more info. Hope this is helpful. NP Recording Studios Analog approach to digital recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Roberts Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 I use Lightscribe for my customers. They love the look. Bill Roberts Precision Mastering -----------Since 1975----------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rim Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 where02190's comment just gave me an idea: What about making a template (from hard cardboard maybe?) and using a permanent marker to fill in the template? Permanent markers come in different colors so you're not limited to just one color. Of course, you can't be too fancy with the template, but you're also not limited to how well you write with the permanent marker. Haven't tried it myself, but it sounds to me that it may work as a poor man's CD "silk screening". aka riffing Double Post music: Strip Down http://rimspeed.com http://loadedtheband.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.WOW Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 RimDaddy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted June 13, 2005 Author Share Posted June 13, 2005 A stencil...interesting... "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rim Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Originally posted by Mr.WOW: RimDaddy. Yo! Looks like our InterBand is waking up again. aka riffing Double Post music: Strip Down http://rimspeed.com http://loadedtheband.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rim Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Originally posted by Tedster: A stencil...interesting... Stencils! That's the word I was looking for. aka riffing Double Post music: Strip Down http://rimspeed.com http://loadedtheband.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
where02190 Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Rim...fantastic idea!!!!!!!!!!! Hope this is helpful. NP Recording Studios Analog approach to digital recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rim Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 Lemme know if it works. aka riffing Double Post music: Strip Down http://rimspeed.com http://loadedtheband.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mats Olsson. Posted June 14, 2005 Share Posted June 14, 2005 If you are considering ink, Canon's Pixma 4000 is fast and probably less expensive to use than Epson R200/R300. It also has duplex, wich is handy if you want to do double side printing (like cd booklets for example). I've got a Rimage thermal printer, wich is wicked fast (+100 cd's/hour is no problem), cheap to use and prints are waterproof, but the printer works best with monochrome (black or blue or green or red) and it's a lot more expensive to buy than a inkjet printer. I also have a Canon Pixma that I bought recently (I use it mostly for printing photos). On a good week, I burn & print about 2000 cd's, it's part of what I do for a living. http://www.lexam.net/peter/carnut/man.gif What do we want? Procrastination! When do we want it? Later! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveMusic Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 Rather than a stencil and a pen, what about a rubber stamp? As long as proper ink is used, that could be much better. Even with graphics. > > > [ Live! ] < < < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philbo_Tangent Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Yeah, that has potential - some of the epoxy inks are incredibly tough. Thats how we stamp serial numbers onto circuit cards at (day job) work. Phil Tangent Studios http://artists.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/Tangent2/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philbo_Tangent Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Google for 'midi piano tutor' - - it returned about 56000 hits. Midi teaching software is good because it allows the PC to measure your progress & spoon feed new lessons to you at the proper rate. Of course, a MIDI instrument is required... but every plan has some drawback. Phil Tangent Studios http://artists.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/Tangent2/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Gauss Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 i always use one of these... http://www.sharpie.com/sanford/consumer/sharpie/img/marker_fine_black.jpg -d. gauss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Roberts Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Better put that cap back on before it dries up!!!!!!! LOL Bill Roberts Precision Mastering -----------Since 1975----------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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