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1) Has anyone seen Lightscribe DVD media for sale?

2) How good is the printing quality of, say an Epson R200 (or R300) on printable DVD media versus using Lightscribe technology to mark (won't say print since it doesn't actually print technically-speaking) the disc?

I am curious about the pros and cons of each technology.

I do like the novelty of Lightscribe AND the idea of not needing a separate printer (I already have one printer for each of my two PCs).
Then again often replacement ink costs almost as much as a hot printer deal...

This is the closest I've come to LightScribe DVD media:

http://www.compusa.com/products/product ... pfp=SEARCH

And yeah.. its still "coming soon"

I guess for me, if I wanted color, I'd get a printer. If I was just going to slap down some text or graphics for my own personal reference, I'd do Lightscribe.

Ian wrote:This is the closest I've come to LightScribe DVD media:

http://www.compusa.com/products/product ... pfp=SEARCH

And yeah.. its still "coming soon"

I guess for me, if I wanted color, I'd get a printer. If I was just going to slap down some text or graphics for my own personal reference, I'd do Lightscribe.

Thanks for the feedback Ian.
Time to think about it some more.

Let's take a look at Lightscribe vs. Colour Inkjet printing shall we?

Lightscribe:
Only ~$20 more then regular DVD Burners, however would require a brand new DVD burner if you already have one you like

Media is in short supply currently, and carries a large premium over regular media

Time to print a full disc is ~20min, will be shortened to ~10-15min with later revisions of drive and media

print is monochrome (old-school gameboy style) only

Waterproof printing style (I THINK!)

No Ink costs!

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Inkjet (with Epson style printer):
Additional $100-$120 initial cost, however doesn't require replacement of your DVD burner

Media is widely available in many different "flavours" usually carrying a small premium over regular branded or silver surface media

Time to print a full disc is usually ~5min

Full colour printing

Printing is water soluable

Ink cartridges are an additional charge

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Did I miss anything?

Based on my above observations, I prefer inkjet, but people need to make their own decisions.

Great points, thanks.
I think you covered it all. Nicely done.

Purely based on features, going the printable route makes sense, assuming you don't already have a printer, since it allows color printing.
It also prints faster, as you noted.
I knew this before posting actually, but wanted to see if actual observations noted something I might not have thought of.

It also depends on your usage:
The following is assuming color isn't important:
If you only want to print on discs occasionally, Lightscribe might be better, since you don't have to worry abot having fresh ink in the printer or buying one color cartridge that is low just to print a few discs.

I was looking to get a DVD burner anyway (for my 2nd PC), so that is playing into my decision too.

There are also the intangibles (novelty / coolness of Lightscribe built-in).

Thanks for the feedback so far Ian and dolphinius!


EDIT: I missed the (potentailly) water soluable part!
Not that I expect to get my discs wet, but that does make me wonder about the longevity...

Besides the cost of the dedicated media, there is also the wear on the laser and mechanics. Each recording will take 6-7 minutes at the highest speeds and then the laser is on for another 15-30 minutes for each print. Ok, I guess, if you have money and time to 'burn'.

bob11879 wrote:Besides the cost of the dedicated media, there is also the wear on the laser and mechanics. Each recording will take 6-7 minutes at the highest speeds and then the laser is on for another 15-30 minutes for each print. Ok, I guess, if you have money and time to 'burn'.

Good point (and pun).
I was thinking the exact same thing, earlier, about the wear and tear.
It all dedends how often you print / label I guess.

They sell it at wal mart along with the drives. I dont recall the price but I remember laughing because it was high.

kirpen wrote:They sell it at wal mart along with the drives. I dont recall the price but I remember laughing because it was high.

Thanks that is where I saw it last weekend; I didn't check the price.
I was looking for another HP DVD burner, that was said to be on clearance, but they were out...

The web site says $99, but some forum members said that Walmart's in-store prices not only aren't the same as the web site, but even vary from store to store based on the local market in question in terms of competitors in the area etc.

Circuit City has it for $129.99; they might Price Match Walmart.


I am going with a "regular" DVD burner since the Epson R200 is on sale at the moment.

just to be able to do full color, full hub prints go with epson

and if you just want to print regular black text labels on the dvds you can get tons of prints, sometimes 300+ discs prints from one epson cartridge

but me being one of the heaviest dvd burning/printing users on this forums, I have found that the printing media tray likes to not grab in the printer anymore

one of the benefits of working retail i can just bring it back and upgrade to the r320 for free

ohh and I don't buy cartridges, I just return them because they "break" once there empty and then get new cartridges

hoxlund wrote:ohh and I don't buy cartridges, I just return them because they "break" once there empty and then get new cartridges

ROFLMAO. Do you have one ethical bone in your body? I might have to try this trick sometime...

well i do work in a office supply store, why the hell would i buy cartridges?

i just bring em in cause there broken

why.....why are you coming.....

WTF what does that mean?

nothing really....just me pontificating

Thanks hox for the cartridge info!
That is pretty amazing.

In any case, I decided to probably go with the R200 and a "regular" DVD burner. (Haven't purchased yet) since I found a decent deal.
The printer and DVD burner will cost me about the same as the Lightscribe butner by itself and I get a free (crappy) digital camera [ebay time], unless I go with a PX-716A or something else in the higher price range.

The very cheap camera costs qualifies me for a $50 rebate (the camera costs about half that) on the R200 if the two are purchased as a bundle.

Not paying for ink... that has to be the life.

Is ther any information around about
how the heavy use of the LightScribe feature
affects the aging of the laser and lens of a burner ??

i would imagine it starts to wear on the laser

but the drives haven't been out for very long

and since the media is expensive i don't see someone burning a shit load of lightscribe media

again get yourself a epson printer and use printable media (same as regular non printable, usually)

full color labels, better quality burns as well