CD Printer

There are three common "on-demand" professional CD label printing technologies that exist today. The technologies are Ink jet Thermal and Thermal Retransfer disc label printing with a variation called dye-sublimation transfer printing. Here is an overview of the disc labeling technologies.

Inkjet DVD/CD Printers are based on the same ink jet printing technology that made low cost monochrome and color printing possible for the home PC market. These printers use standard ink cartridges to print on the surface of ink absorbent printable media. Cartridges are available for single color, as well as full 4 color printing. Because ink jet printing is a wet process, the CD printers require special ink absorbent disc to be used. The ink jet wet process has the advantage of being able to mix colors, and can produce excellent multi color printing results at fairly high resolutions. These CD inkjet printers tend to be lower priced than the other technologies, and are available in a broad range of resolutions. Their primary disadvantage is that most printable disc print surfaces are not impervious to moisture. There are several special water resistant disc surfaces with the notable leader called 'Watershield' manufactured and branded by JVC (Taiyo Yuden) although this option comes at a premium price

Thermal Transfer DVD printers , as the name implies, use heat to transfer the disc label print materials to the disc surface. This is accomplished by placing a thin film ribbon between the disc and the print head. Single, dual and multi colored ribbons are available to provide a variety of print output options. Thermal CD printers tend to be faster than the other two CD printing technologies, and they deliver a very durable print. The cost per print of single and two color is very low, while full color per print costs are about on par with ink jet technology. Their primary disadvantage is that the initial purchase of a thermal CD printer is more expensive than an ink jet printer, but can provide a greater return on investment when printing discs. Also, the maximum print resolutions tops out at about 300 x 600 dpi.

Thermal Retransfer DVD Printer and Dye Sublimation CD printer delivers photo realistic printing quality. Like thermal printing on blank CDs, retransfer labeling uses heat transfer and ribbon technology, but with one added step. Thermal re transfer works by 'printing' or transferring the color image to an interim ribbon, which is then used to print to the actual disc. Using the second ribbon, or 'transfer ribbon', allows colors to be better ‘mixed’ and applied to the blank printable disc surface. This on-demand disc labeling technology delivers the highest quality, and most durable printed disc label available.

You are probably wondering 'which printing method is best? How do I compare CD printers? Each DVD/CD printer method has its advantages and disadvantages. All CD printer technologies can deliver single and multi color printing capabilities with some limitations. Thermal CD printing gives you the most durable finish, but does not deliver photographic results. That's because they do not mix colors well, and use dithering to create color tones. Thermal CD printers shine however, when printing text, logos, and simple graphics. Ink jet CD printing gives you full color printing at resolutions as high as 4800 dpi, and do so at a reasonable cost in terms of initial investment, and ongoing per print costs. Thermal retransfer delivers the highest quality, most durable print of all the CD label printing technologies. Quality levels so high that it's often difficult to discern a silk screened disc from one that's been printed using a thermal retransfer CD printer. As one would expect the printer and the per-print costs are the highest of all the DVD/CD printer technologies.

At CD Dimensions you'll find today's leading brands of Blu-ray, DVD CD printers. Select from thermal CD DVD Printers, thermal re-transfer CD printers and inked based CD DVD printers, available with both color and monochrome label printing options. CD printers are compatible with DVD-R, DVD+R, Blu-ray disc and any other specially coated 120mm optical discs.
For high volume applications, we offer automated multi format CD, DVD, Blu-ray printer station solutions to print multiple CD-R, DVD, and Blu-ray in an automated, unattended production environment. Chose from controller-based (can be accessed via a browser on a network), PC and Mac connect and PC embedded automated CD DVD printer models.

To learn more about disc duplication and label printing, request our free

And in addition to our exceptional pricing and quick delivery, you'll also get professional advice from our friendly and knowledgeable sales team. Give us a call toll free @ 888-395-6396 or email us for a quote, and let us help you select the right CD/DVD printer for your budget and production requirements.