Product Review’s
By Kris “The Tech”
© 2003
March 20, 2003

Product Review

Ink Jet Printers v. Thermal Printers
Advantages & Disadvantages:

INK JET PRINTERS:

This type of printing allows for a variety of colors to be used on the same label and highly sophisticated graphics or pictures can be printed. The ink-jet printer can attain higher dpi levels than a thermal printer. The dpi levels depend on the model and manufacturer of the printer. The ink-jet cartridges are usually cheaper than thermal ribbons, however they have a lower throughput than the ribbons (200 disks per cartridge on average). There is a drying time involved with the CD after it is printed. Fingerprints can be the death of a newly printed inkjet CD! Ink-Jet printers require the use of slightly higher priced CDR’s with a printable surface that comes in either matte silver or white. If your CD’s will be in contact with water or wet hands I would not recommend an ink jet printer unless you are willing to buy a clear spray coat for your finished product. If you want a printer that can do graphics and colors than an ink-jet printer is your best bet.

THERMAL PRINTERS:

Thermal printers use a heat transfer ribbon that prints directly on the surface of some shiny silver disks or thermal printable disks. There is a cost savings on the disks, however the cost of the ribbons is greater than the ink cartridges for the ink-jet printers. However, the through-put of the thermal ribbons is higher (500-800 disks per ribbon). The other drawback of this technology is that it is meant for data disks that don’t need high quality graphics or fancy color patterns, just printed words or simple logos. If your company is printing a software or data disk that does not need a fancy look to its label than this is the right choice for you.

REVIEW
Primera Ink-Jet Printer:

I have tested the Primera Signature Pro printer and use it on a regular basis for short-run duplication jobs. The printer has given minimal problems in the 2 years that I have used it. I had to upgrade the firmware once for the use of new ink cartridges and have had to upgrade the printer drivers after switching the printer to a new computer. Otherwise the printer has not given any trouble. The software that is provided with the printer is “point and click” and is pretty self-explanatory. We had upgraded from the Signature IV line of printers because the Signature Pro can provide a 2400 dpi print vs. the Signature IV’s 1200 dpi. The Sig Pro also has a faster print time than the Sig IV.

The new product that integrates this printer technology with an auto loading/duplicating technology is the Primera Bravo. This unit is wondrously easy to use and frees up your time by duplicating and loading the CD’s into the printer so you get a two jobs done at one time. If you want to set up the unit and walk away this is what I would recommend using. It is a lower price solution for smaller companies or companies that just have smaller runs at a time. The alternative for companies that needed a larger number of CD/DVD’s completed at a time would be the Composer line of units from Primera.