EPSON R300 - Focus on CD PRinting
Written: Mar 13 '04 (Updated Mar 22 '04)
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Pros: CD printing works - way faster and more professional looking than label kits.
Cons: Will smudge. Not as "rich" and "deep" as screen printing but more tests needed.
The Bottom Line: Very happy with my purchase. Exciting to quickly print acceptably professional looking CDs without the cost, wait, hassle or bulk requirements of sending to a printing company.
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| EDuPUNK's Full Review: Epson Stylus Photo R300 InkJet Printer |
OTHER INK-JETS USED (most recent to oldest): Canon S620, HP895, Epson 640, Epson 440.
COMPUTER: Currently use with HP w/ Celeron 500 mhz, 192 meg RAM, shared video memory and USB 1.0 ports.
SUPPLIES USED: Taiyo Yuden CDs - white faced, hub printable.
SOFTWARE USED: Adobe Photoshop 7.0
MATERIAL PRINTED: 4 color Photoshop created graphic at 72dpi resolution and required being scaled up (ie. it was not large enough to cover the CD and needed stretched out).
REVIEW
I purchased the R300 in Feb. 2004, specifically for printing to CDs. Setup went according to instructions, using USB connection.
Make sure to setup the software before connecting the printer to the computer. Wait for the software to prompt for powering on the printer and connecting it by USB.
PRINT TEMPLATE
For my first effort at CD printing, I chose to print a 4 color (ie. full color) of one of the proposed cd covers for the group Right Side Thief - a band that I am producing and one of the leaders of the "stadium core" sound.
Though I read on message boards that the Epson R300 software is suppose to come with CD templates, I could not find any on the CD or in the print program that comes on the driver CD that I installed.
Using Photoshop 7.0, I first tried to print without a template. I went through 4 misaligned prints before I got it almost right.
At that point, I went searching for a template off the web to download. Ended up downloading and using a template for the Epson Photo Stylus 960, which also prints on CD, though according to forums I've checked, the R300 is suppose to print better.
First and continued prints using the 960 template have been perfect. Easy mistakes to make when using a template in Photoshop or Adobe Elements, include have the "center" graphic or "stretch" to size boxes checked in page setup.
I also had to alter the template (shrink the size of the circle in the middle) to allow for "to the hub" printing (meaning more of the pic gets printed on the CD. Please note that you have to get special printable CDs that are printable to the hub. Non-hub printables are the most common and what is likely to only be carried by retailers. I had to search the web to find mine.
PRINT SPEED
PRrinting time was approximately 2:42 seconds; however, out of that 2:42, more than a minute passed by before printing actually began, ie. the computer or printer was processing the image/print request. THus processing time may likely be shortened with a faster printer (I will be getting an AThlon 2600 system within the next four weeks and will update accordingly).
THus, once the printing actually started, the cd was printed in approx. 1:30 at standard CD/DVD media setting (there is a second setting for Cd/DVD premium media) and best photo quality.
PRINT QUALITY
So how did the prints turn out?
Though the cd printing does not look as vibrant, smooth and deep (textured) like professional screen printing, the cds do look good and definitely better than using labels.
I definitely feel comfortable using such cds in a professional sense - ie. sending to promoters, reviewers, etc.
It should be noted that I played with other settings, including the highest quality setting: CD/DVD premium media with best photo selected. I did not discern any difference in quality between this setting and the CD/DVD standard setting with best photo quality.
This leads me to believe that the quality of the CD (well-regarded but low cost brand) and the photo (only 72 dpi resolution that had to be stretched to fit) used may be the limiting factor towards getting more vibrant, screenprinting type quality.
I have seen posts on message boards of R300 users claiming pro/screenprinting like quality. Discs mentioned were the Beall and Mitsui brand.
The CD maker Discmakers sells a premium "Photocoat" disc (.69per disc/100D vs. normal .50 and under price of other brands/100). PREsumably, this disc should result in a more pro looking print.
SMUDGING
Dry Rub - Immediate
I printed another CD of the same graphic above and immediately started rubbing the surface with my hand to see if the freshly printed ink might smudge. The printed CD looked and felt absolutely dry and did not smudge at all, despite vigorous rubbing.
Wet Rub - After Hours
I took a CD that had been printed several hours earlier. I then took a napkin, wet it, and then wiped it across the CD and it wiped off the ink and smudged the printing. However, this was a very active (Deliberate) test.
I did not try just putting a drop of water on it and letting it dry or shaking off to see whether the printing would smudge without the added pressure of being rubbed. Will try that in a future update.
FUTURE UPDATES:
Look for future updates:
- Using a faster system
- Using other printable CD brands, including "premium" priced brands.
- More smudge tests and solutions.
- Link or information on where to get CD templates.
Please leave feedback or questions - they will be read and responded to as best as I can.
UPDATES
> Mar. 21, 04: Added more smudge testing info. [Dry Rub Test]
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 175
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
EDuPUNK
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Location: Penn Run, PA
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
Founder of Investment Banking Firm, J.D. & Marketing, Hobbies incl. Producing Bands & Graphic Design.
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