I just tried out the Taiyo Yuden DVD-R Watershield discs. I concur with N3X6, including his findings for the Verbatim glossies!

The Taiyo Yuden's don't read as well (higher PIE and PIF errors - but not too bad either, avg PIE of 3.8 and PIF hit a high of 4 only once in my single sample), but the water-proofing and high-gloss are a bonus. Unfortunately, it does scratch - be careful if you clean the edges with a tissue paper - it WILL scratch but will only be noticeable if you look at the disc from off-angle.

Also, you can't print to the very edge. The ink won't adhere to the white stuff on the outer edge and can be wiped off easily. It will dot, just like the OP said. Be careful when you wipe though - try not to touch the actual printable part or it will scratch a tiny bit.

I use Epson Print CD, and an inner diameter of 23 mm seems to work - no dotting in the middle, so I think the ink can safely cover the inner white area. You can't use more than 117 mm on the outter though, or it will be dotted and may smear when wiped. I did a first test with 118mm, and used a tissue to wipe away the excess ink, leaving a white outline. Unfortunately, I was a bit careless on one edge and there are tiny scratch marks there. Can't see it though unless I look at it from a funny angle.

Good follow up info. Thanks much.

Update: My friend has an Epson R800 and he has problems with the Taiyo Yudens - roller marks! We haven't figured out a solution yet.

I don't recommend the use of those watershield discs - what a load of hype.

I have used the regular Taiyo Yuden printables with EPSON R800 + high gloss ink, and the result is a water proof disc. No roller marks

Gotta try those AquaGuard ones instead, I think.

More problems with the Watershields - they are too damn easy to scuff!

I like to place backups in 3-pack DVD cases. This means there is a flip-out holder that holds 2 discs - but when you close the case, this holder scrapes against the 3rd disc, and will cause circular scuff marks on the 2nd disc.

This is especially bad on discs with strong uniform colors such as a label with a predominately red background - the scuff marks are easily noticed no matter what angle you look at them.

No wonder my friend had trouble with his R800 when they scuff this easy (even a tissue paper will scuff them).

Damn, and I spent good money on these discs. The search for perfect printables continues...maybe the Aquaguards are less prone to minor scuffing?

None of my other printables (Verbatim matte white) appear to have this problem.

Another update: I got sick of the scuffing issue, so I put on my NIOSH mask and sprayed my discs with Krylon Preserve-It Satin Spray. The high-gloss of the Taiyo Yuden Watershield discs diminished a little, but the discs still look extremely good!

The spray should protect them now - and one new thing I noticed - after spraying the discs are completely fingerprint proof. They weren't before.

Note: I didn't screw up my spray technique this time - a first!

I laid down some plastic wrap onto the floor and placed the 9 discs onto it. I shook the can vigorously for a minute and then did a test spray into a plastic bag. Being careful to keep my arm at least 18 inches above the discs (any closer and I will ruin them permanently from the mottling/speckling) I did two fast even coats, taking no more than 3 seconds per pass to go over the 9 discs that were arranged in a 3x3 group. The 2nd pass I stepped to the side of the discs, at a 90 degree angle from the first pass.

Finally, perfect spray! A first for me. And the discs look good and now don't hold fingerprints.

I need to try the spray again on the Verbatim glossies - they are a little bit cheaper than the Taiyo Yuden's, and have more print area (not always a good thing as the 21 mm inner and 120 mm outer diameter area is larger than most commercial DVD areas!). With the spray and good technique I'd expect them to be similar.

BTW: No roller marks reported on the Verbatim Glossies with my friend's Epson R800.

I really don't see a reason why people should use watershield or glossy media with an EPSON R800 - The EPSON R800 uses a lightfast, high gloss pigmented ink and the printed disc is already water proof and gloosy once printed with the R800.

greg, which discs do you print on? We did some tests on matte-white Verbatim DVD+Rs and the R800 ink smudged when immersed in water. However, the ink dried for only 48 hours before we did the test.

I have a test print my friend did on both the Watershield disc and a matte-white Verbatim and the Watershield beats it hands down for glossiness. However, I believe the matte print was down with gloss optimizer set to Auto instead of Always On (or whatever it is called).

With that said, the roller mark issue is a killer. Let me know what settings and software you use and I'll let my friend know right away! He's been struggling to get prints as good as my cheap Epson R200 on these Watershields. If he can avoid these expensive discs that'll be great!

I have an Epson 2200, but it has no CD tray attachment available for it - and my gut instinct told me that pigmented inks wouldn't work at all for CD-Rs/DVD-Rs anyways (no gloss for the 2200 either!)

I've just done a print on the Verbatim glossies. I have the same print on a Taiyo Yuden Watershield disc. When no spray is used on either, the Taiyo Yuden is noticeable better looking - the Verbatim by comparison is more of a semi-gloss. When you hold it under a light, you can see that the reflection has a texture to it that is similar to a semigloss paper.

The Taiyo Yuden Watershield print looks like a true gloss. Very appealing and stands out nicely. Unfortunately, you would need to use a glossy fixative spray to protect from scuff marks - my Satin finish spray (Krylon Preserve-It satin) makes the disc look like a shiny semigloss. Damn.

The nice thing about the Watershields is that they seem to resist dust particles better than the Verbatims. My theory is that the Watershield coating allows the ink to sink in deeper than the Verbatims, so dust won't stick very easily. This agrees with the original poster's findings about sticky printed Verbatim discs.

Also, the Verbatim coating seems prone to flaking off - this might be caused by little dust particles getting stuck to the surface before printing (I always use a blower on the disc surface first), and after the print it comes off leaving a tiny white dot on the disc. This doesn't seem to be an issue with the Taiyos.

In short:

Taiyo Yuden Watershields have the better print quality. Smooth, very detailed, looks exactly like high-gloss paper. Prone to scuff marks - they must be very very carefully handled. Glossy fixative spray highly recommended if you will be using multidisc DVD cases.

Verbatim Glossies are actually more like semi gloss. You will not see a mirror-reflection. Very prone to smudges and dust, and are not water resistant in the slightest. Fixative spray should always be used, unless you never take the discs out of their cases. At least you can print right to the edges of the print area (21 mm inner and 120mm outer).

Verbatim matte-white printable DVD-Rs can look very close to the Verbatim glossies if you use a glossy fixative spray. In fact, you'd be better off buying the much cheaper matte-white discs and spraying them - they'll look similar to the glossies but without the disadvantages!

My sprayed Watershield discs still look more glossy than an unsprayed Verbatim glossy - and I'm using a semigloss fixative spray!

I'd like to test out the Verbatim hardcoat glossies - but this time I'll be smart and buy a sample pack.

Forgive me if this is a stupid question (first post and all) but what are you guys doing with your media that you need them to be so water-resistant?

If the media isn't water resistant, that usually means it won't be smudge resistant either - fingers can be a little bit wet (from the beer and potato chips! Or spittle from the very impressed friend who visits: "That is gorgeous! *drool* Amazing! *spittle* *frothing of the mouth*" ). And if you have kids, it is game over for your backups.

I bet I did something no one else ever did.

I had a Verbatim Glossy in my printer tray when I was having trouble trying to get my printer to print on it. In the process of in and out, and not working, it left black ink marks on the unprinted DVD that I wet to wipe off. That left a dull mark where I wiped. I then, wet the whole disc (print side) under running water, wiping gook off and managed to end up with an even dry surface.
The next day, I got my printer to work again and I put that "newly remodeled finish" disc in and came out with a smooth beautiful unfingerprintable printed look.

By the way, do you print after you burn on the discs?

Cool result Urlee.

Yes, I print after I burn! Otherwise I'd be forced to wait for the ink to dry before doing a burn, and I'm too impatient for that! Also, ink may pool just outside the print area and that can be bad news for your DVD burner.

I forgot, I did read someplace that you should always print AFTER you burn.
Senior moment. Sorry about that.

Maybe so which is what I usually do, but I've also burned the Watershields immediately after printing them with no problem. But I use 25-117 settings.

@rectal prolapse, I can't believe you're spraying your Watershields. Seems counter productive and redundant to me. That's the whole reason I use them so I don't have to spray discs any more.

Of course I only use single disc cases so I don't run into the situation you do with multiple-discs in a case. I agree, though, that the Watershield surface is rather "soft" so I can see where it could get scuffed when rubbed together with another disc. Did you try the Verbatim's yet?

I haven't been able to get a hold of the Verbatim Glossy Hardcoat discs. I only have the regular glossies.

It sucks that I have to spray the Watershields - I guess they are very similar to the Epson glossy photo inkjet paper - prints well, resists water pretty good, but prone to scratches and scuff marks!

DVD-Rs go through quite a bit more handling then photos - most people put photos into photo albums or in a frame. You can't do that with DVDs and still use them.

The Watershields are very nice to look at though - they are the glossiest DVD surfaces I've seen. Verbatim glossies are similar to Epson Semi-gloss paper.

Update: My friend has given up on the Watershields - his Epson R1800 just can't handle them without scratching. The scratching occurs while the CD tray is being fed in, before printing starts.

I just got my first TY Watershields from Rima. All I can say is WOW!

These look awesome, printed in my Canon IP4000, they are near impossible to scuff or smudge right after coming out of the printer. I'm sold on these.

THANKS so much for your post!
I just ordered my first TY Watershields from Rima also. They dropped in price since the last time I was thinking of trying them.
I expect them next Wednesday.
Am anxious to see my results.

I have the Verbatim Glossy and didn't think much of them at all but you can't beat the finish on them if you wash the first coating off before you print on them. After dry of course! NICE SMOOTH & SHINY. DARE anyone to try that.
By accident I did and found that out.