The world of disc printing at times can seem like a jungle of information, this article should help carve a path and move ahead. By carefully evaluating your needs and selecting the right DVD/CD printer, you can save a bunch of money, trouble, and of course, time. Please do not confuse thermal retransfer printers with ordinary thermal printers - although the names are similar there is a world of difference. Thermal printers such as the Teac P-11 or Rimage Prism typically use a single-color, often black ribbon to print high-quality text or line art onto thermal-printable discs. They are not well suited to doing multi-color, full-coverage graphics or photos. Thermal “re-transfer” printers do an excellent job of bridging the gap between entry-level inkjet printers and multi-million dollar professional silkscreen and offset printing machines. For the best quality in-house printing, thermal retransfer is the way to go.
A thermal retransfer printer is called RE-transfer because of a unique process where a colored ribbon passes over a clear ribbon, transferring the image to the clear ribbon and then heat and pressure are used to RE-transfer the complete image to the disc. Thermal just refers to the high temperature of the print head when the image is laid down. With that said, let's examine two of the most popular thermal retransfer printers on the market today: the Rimage Everest III and the Teac P-55. Thermal retransfer printers offer solutions to the three most common complaints associated with inkjet disc printers:
Fixed Consumable cost: Because retransfer printers use panel ribbons, you will always know how many discs you will get from a ribbon. Unlike inkjet cartridges that may run out of just blue if printing discs that are mostly blue.
Consistency: Again, because the ribbons are the same from start to finish, the last disc from a ribbon will look as good as the first disc. Inkjet printers tend to have problems with dark colors as the cartridges run out.
Durability: The prints from thermal retransfer printers are durable and waterproof. Inkjet printing tends to smear and flake under rough handling.
As one of the most established names in the industry, Rimage knows a thing or two about DVD/CD printers. Their Everest printer, now in its third generation the Everest III, operates with the smooth refinement that only years of experience can bring to a platform. Load either a black or color ribbon (C,M,Y) into the machine, depending on which type of printing you wish to do. An available C,M,Y,+White ribbon has an additional white panel for printing the color white onto silver discs. It also helps to create bright whites over dark colors.
You might say that the folks at TEAC are no strangers to modesty, since they have managed to fit their most versatile thermal retransfer printer into a very unassuming black metal box. While it doesn’t look like anything special on the outside, the inside is quite impressive. With the black or color ribbon, the P-55 is a high-output thermal retransfer printer. When loaded with the photo ribbon, the machine can print warm and beautiful tones through the dye-sublimation process. Finally, when equipped with a Versamax ribbon, the P-55 can apply high-quality images to nearly ANY kind of disc, even ones that do not have a thermal printable surface.
For more information on what thermal re-transfer printer may be right for you contact one of our knowledgeable account representatives at 1.877.992.3766.
