One of the extremely important things is to use some kind of printing method outside of using labels.  Stick on labels are just bad for DVD.  A misapplied label unbalances the disc (it does not take much) making it prone to errors and the possibility of the label coming loose in the recorder.

The choices for printing in a DVD recordable disc are based on several factors.  Budget, how much money do you want to spend?, What is the usage you expect from the printer? and how involved to you want to be in the printing process?

The technologies that are available fall into 4 categories: thermal transfer, thermal re transfer, dye sublimation and inkjet printing.

Thermal print DVDs are the least expensive to label both on the low end home user thermal printer and production printing with the Rimage Prism Plus. It’s strength is in text printing and simple graphics.  With a three color ribbon the Prism Plus can print multiple colors but in a very simplistic manner. thermal printers have printer ribbon consumables and print-heads which are also considered consumable. On a low end unit it’s not replaceable.  Larger units like the Rimage Prism Plus can be replaced in the range of $400 for the print-head.

Inkjet disc printing provides excellent color blending and higher resolution.  DVD inkjet printing also provides an excellent means of reproducing images and with the right DVD media you can get printing that is better then silk-screen printing. One of the major things to keep an eye on is the price of the consumables like printer ink cartridges.  Depending on the printer one can have between 1 and 4 cartridges.  The more the better for color ink efficiency.  Another factor is if the cartridge is available from specialized resellers (that is a proprietary cartridge) or does it use a standard ink cartridge that is available for a wide range of printers. Print-heads is another expense with all printers.  Inkjet is usually built into the cartridge but many of the 4 cartridge printers also require 2 print-heads that need to be replaced every 20,000 prints.

Thermal re-transfer and it’s close cousin dye sublimation are similar to thermal printing except they have a transfer ribbon as an intermediary print area before the multi color print is transferred to the disc.  this allows for higher temperatures and a one time pass on the optical disc.  Thermal transfer liquefies the ink and dye sublimation creates a gas.  Both create a indelible color print that is glossy and appears to have a high resolution.  Dye sublimation (depending on who is advertising which technology) tends to have a better print but at the cost of speed.

As you can see there are a few variables involved in choosing the right DVD printer.  This is why it is important to purchase from a company that can educate you so you can make the most informed decision.  No one is being done a favor in being oversold or undersold on a specific piece of equipment.  Each one has it’s place.  Your supplier should be able to explain each technology and it’s strengths and weaknesses.