I think that my Epson R280 is crapping out because in the past few months I seem to be getting faint lines in my CD prints no matter if I change ink cartridges, clean realign heads, or put all of my weight down on the printer so it doesn't "jar" at all as the print heads move back and forth.....so I'm looking for a new printer. Probably Epson, possibly on clearance from their store (like the R280 was a few years ago).
Anyone have any suggestions for a reliable, high-quality CD printer? I never print anything but CDs and b&w text documents.
**Update** Specifically...NO all-in-one printers! Inkjet only, not looking for any other features or functions that I absolutely don't need, want or have the space for.
I also went with the Artisan 725. I was using an Epson R200, and the Artisan's built-in CD tray is worlds better than the old manual feed system on the R200.
The Epson Artisan 50 is a single-function printer that does discs, although it uses a separate print tray and different inking mechanism. It can also be hard to find.
I've used a number of the older Epsons such as the R280 for disc printing and always found it a bittersweet experience. The 700 and 800 series Artisans seem to have solved pretty much all the problems--clogged inkheads, cranky disc feeding, everything. The Artisan 50 seems to be a throwback to the older models...I'm not sure I'd try it.
There are plenty of dedicated disk printers on the market. Nowhere near a cheap Epson, but better quality and more volume.
I've printed many thousands of discs on Primera printers (made be Lexmark), but now get pre printed disks from a local (national) company. The 5 color offset discs are twice as good as sikh screen and at least 5x better than an inkjet copy.
I just duplicated and delivered over 25,000 discs last weekend to customers in 50 different countries. As you can imagine, that kind of volume is tough to get done by inkjets, but the quality of the 5 color offset discs are so worth it!
I have used an R280 to print CDs for years and last year picked up a couple of Epson Artisan 50's. They are pretty much the same with similar quirks and quality. I forget where I picked up the 50's, but I had to shop around a bit to find them.
