Litescribe

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Hi All

I have the option for my new PC to have a Litescribe disc drive as an alternative to a conventional CD/DVD RW. I have printed 100's of CD's & DVD's but with ink, considering the price it is I wondered if Litescribe is a cost effective alternative. I believe it uses the same laser to etch the picture as the burn/copy laser. Having heard comments on here about burn capacity of drives and how long they last, I wondered what others think. I can't find any info on how long it takes to etch a picture to a disc, any ideas???

Yachtsman1.

[MickyP]

Hi Yachtsman

The length of time taken to burn a Lightscribe label much depends on how much detail is in the design.

Even a simple title and list of contents could take 15-20mins. A more intricate design would take longer

(30mins plus?)

Curved text takes less time than straight text because it etches the pattern as it spins.

The main problem with Lightscribe is that although burning to Cd gives gives a nice sharp image, a DVD is layered differently with the etchable layer deeper below the surface. This gives a very blurred look to the finished disk.

AND they are monochrome only!

Apart from that, they're great.

Have a look around the Lightscribe users forums.

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Hi Mickyp

Thanks for that info, I don't think I will go litescribe, copying 50 DVDs then scribing them sounds horrendous. I think I'll continue to print them. Did 50 of the attached pic recently took a couple of hours at the most.

Regards Eric

Yachtsman1

[coopernatural]

Hi Eric,

If your printer is an epson or Canon you should be able to get a cheap bulk ink system for it

From about £20,unless its one of those high end models.

Original manufacturers ink is ml for ml more expensive than Dom Perignon.

A good compatible ink will give great results.

For any printed discs you want to keep for yourself you can give them a protective spray of aerosol lacquer.

Davy

[Bruss444]

Hello Yachtsman. I favor thermal printing myself. I do small DVD orders (1-25) which are Presentations I have built for clients and have been very satisfied and they can look very professional. One is limited with mostly just text and in several basic colors. I read that DVDs printed with a jet printer can smear if gotten wet and the printed label system can come loose or be out off balance when spinning and can damage the burner/player. I too have read the Lightscribe is very slow. After setup I can thermally print a DVD in around 2 minutes. No system is perfect but I am very satisfied thermally printing my DVDs. I currently am using the stand-alone Casio Printer Model CW-L300. Bill

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Hi Davy in particular & Bill. I have a Canon Pixma IP4500 A4 sized photo printer which I bought in 2007, I use it for club competition prints & the charity DVD's I produce. To date I would estimate I have printed 100 A4 prints & 300 DVDs/CDs and numerous documents. I never use anyone's inks but Canon's own. There are so many horror stories around about compatable inks damaging printers, I have always steered clear of them. It would be interesting to hear how long it would take to Litescribe the picture I posted earlier.

Regards Eric

Yachtsman1

[coopernatural]

Hi Davy in particular & Bill. I have a Canon Pixma IP4500 A4 sized photo printer which I bought in 2007, I use it for club competition prints & the charity DVD's I produce. To date I would estimate I have printed 100 A4 prints & 300 DVDs/CDs and numerous documents. I never use anyone's inks but Canon's own. There are so many horror stories around about compatable inks damaging printers, I have always steered clear of them. It would be interesting to hear how long it would take to Litescribe the picture I posted earlier.

Regards Eric

Yachtsman1

Hi Eric,

Things have moved along from Mr.Wing Dings Bulk Ink backstreet Emporium.I have used several ink systems and produced

100s of discs along with the normal photo/document prints.

I visited a store recently where it was possible to buy a printer for almost the same price as the replacement inks.

I could buy the printer,and Ebay the ink supplied with it.Get a new printer for around £10!

Printers are carefully designed to waste their expensive ink.The cleaning purges in the firmware see to that.

For those with deep pockets and living in an ideal world then stick with the manufacturers ink.

Some of these expensive inks have also contained coagulants that help gum up a system and make you think it was the

iffy compatible ink at fault.If I was running a printer from new I would not install the original ink to avoid the possibility.A used printer can be flushed with a cleanig fluid first.

Early bulk ink systems and the ink where a bit dodgy.Inks would contain high levels of evaporate and gave poor results.

A decent continuous flow system can give very good results.Some suppliers will even give you profiles for your particular printing paper.

For printing discs there are usually tweaks beyond the manufacturers instructions on forums,along with enhanced software

for the printer.

You will take forever to do that label in Lightscribe.A guestimate would be about for every 10 discs you do with the Canon you will have 1 Lightscribe disc made.

Davy