I have never bought a printer before, thus I know nothing about any printer on earth other than the fact that they print. I have purchased a heep of dvd-r media that I want to use to burn discs and than print directly to them using a printer. I assume the only way to print on white discs is inkjet??? Anyways I need a printer and I only have $200 to spend. I want the best one that won't run out of ink so fast.

I would also like an estimate as to how many discs you can say the printer can print on before the ink runs out. And how much the replacement ink costs. I want to use it for multimedia purposes to sell and also for my own personal use. I really want the print to look good.

Other things the printer can have if possible:

- Paper/Photo Paper Printing

- Scanner


That's all.


Thank You Very Much...

I think you can only print on "inkjet printable" discs, with an inkjet printer. These discs have a special surface designed to accept the ink. Maybe you can somehow print on regular discs with a thermal printer, I don't know about that.

I think you can get a decent inkjet printer for under $100 that prints on CD/DVDs and does a good job printing photos also.

I don't know about printers that scan. You might consider buying a separate scanner.

If you live outside the U.S., you can get a Canon that prints discs. I don't know anything about Canons, but their owners seem to like them.

I have the Epson R220. It would do a good job with discs and photos except the ink jets dry out and plug up. There are quite a few of us that have this problem, but apparently there are a lot of Epson owners that don't have this problem because Epson is still in business.

I intend to replace mine with the H.P. There is only one H.P. printer that can print on discs, and it too costs under $100. In my experience, H.P. printers don't have any problems with the ink jets. Unfortunately I'm told the software for printing discs that comes with the H.P. is pretty lame. Most recommend getting other software, like Acoustica label maker.

I should mention that in the long run, the cost of ink and photo paper will exceed the cost of the printer. If you do much photo printing, it wil greatly exceed the cost of the printer.

You need to state where you are at, as models vary by region.

For a basic printer: Canon IP4300. IF you want multifunction, the Canon MP600 has the same print engine. In the USA, both of these need minor modification to print on discs.
These models use individual ink tanks, so you only replace the inks that you actually use up. The separate tanks cost around $14, how long they last is entirely dependent on what you are printing.

I have the Canon MP600R wireless and its great but due to some kinda law in USA you need to buy a tray to print CD/DVD in it, I am in UK so got all that kit with it and it makes a great job, and you wont be printing on normal media it simple runs off as it cant stick.

what do you guys think about this one? Anyone know any info about this as to whether it's good and cost efficient on ink or not?

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/ca...affixedcode=WW

Area doesn't matter as I can order it. & yes I know that you can only do inkjet disks on it.

I don't know any Canadian postal codes :-/

Try H0H 0H0 - it's the postal code for Santa Claus at the North Pole! (No kidding!)

ok thanks Drage

Let me know if its good guys i need to buy this thing before it's sold out. Well if it's good that is...

Good choice, but it doesn't scan. For that you need a MP600, or Canadian equivalent.

True. Hey someone here said that it was not legal to buy a printer with a disc tray that is capable of printing on inkjet discs. Something about how you'd have to modify your printer and order parts to make it have a tray...

Why would it not be legal to have a printer that can print on discs in the US?

I mean I did notice that the printer Canon Pixma iP4300 in the US has no disc tray and outside the US it does... Weird huh?

By the way what the hell is 5760x1440 dpi??? When they say that it means the clarity of a picture coming from the printer correct? If so than that means that the higher the dpi numbers the better the picture no?

In the USA, Canon does not yet have a license for disc printing, so the function is disabled in the firmware. In CA, they do have it. USA models are fairly easy to mod for disc printing though.

Best to ignore these numbers, as they are fudged. The IP4300 uses a 1 picoliter technology that is among the best. Reviews and user reports on this printer are excellent. Anyway, Canon claims 9600x2400 with this disclaimer: " 1. Resolution may vary based on printer driver setting. Color ink droplets can be placed with a horizontal pitch of 1/9600 inch at minimum."

Thanks I just looked at some of the reviews and they seem to be supportive of the printer. Seems like it's a good choice, plus purchasing a continuous external ink system with this [sold separately] would be very cost efficient.

What does "Color ink droplets can be placed with a horizontal pitch of 1/9600 inch at minimum" mean? I understand the part about the driver settings. But to me it seems like you mean that you have to physically move the ink cartridge a bit to make it drop less ink? Or is this still relevant to the driver settings?

It means that in theory, you can get 9600 droplets per inch. How much actual resolution you see on the paper will depend on the paper.

Hi my fellow inmate pennitentiary lol,


If i were u (wich iam not hehe) i sugest u go for an Canon Pixma multifunctional = for the reasons u requested. It has build-in scanner, it can takes copies from documents in color or black and white whitout using an computer just the printer in stand alone mode and so on many benefits whit multifunctional classes. But thats up to u to decide. I myself have worked 5 years whit 5* different hp's and i strongly advice u to stay away from them for the following reasons that ocure as soon as the waranty expires

1. cant use heavy weighted photo paper
2. After several months (if ur lucky if not sooner) the sheetfeeder starts to eat tons of papersheets (in short PAPERJAMS al the way)
3. Inkt very expensive
4. and so on and on and on....

I strongly advice u to buy Canon Pixma MP600/R
My sister bought that one based on my judgement from several reviews ive readd and i must say the Text quality is just stunning. Its as close as the quality u woud get from an laser printer (no kidding)
Even i wos surprised that my Pixma MP500 couldnt achieve even BLACK as the NIGHT text prints. So, iam looking forward aswell to upgrade to an next model of cannon. Again, if u by any model from mp600 and above ull be fine.

my experience in short whit my canon mp500,

1. NO PAPERJAMS after even a year
2. Very cheap prints even in color
3. Ive used photo paper from over 230 grams
4. very usefull is also, the duplex printing. It prints on both sides ( to save paper . It automattically print on both sides, u dont need to manualy turn the paper sheets unlike whit hp psc-1315 back then.

Oh and Refilling those tanks is indeed MOST COST efecient
However, those inkt tanks are secured whit chips to prevent u from printing whitout voiding ur waranty. Also, if u contineu it wont detect the amount of inkt left in the tanks. So u need to watch out u dont run out of inkt and pull out the tanks to check the quantity inkt on an regular base.. Because, those printers comes whit an printhead MOST EXPENSIVE to REPLACE if u screw it up there. But then again if u look arround i can buy an NEW printhead for 40 euros for all the multifunctional printers up to date


urs kabster