Hi, Currently considering purchasing the R200 printer. Bit unsure about this CD/DVD print option though - I’m getting visions of DVD’s coming out covered in ink on the underside or something…
Is the CD/DVD print function on this printer any good?
Any thoughts from users please…
Any other comments on this printer welcome too.
(Still unsure if to use compatible inks or get originals for it)
Cheers,
I have owned the Espon R200 for a month now. It’s the best thing I’ve bought yet this year. They really did it right when they added the CD/DVD printing function to the printer. They’re must have been alot of research put into it, because it dominates alot of the functions of the printer.
I haven’t had a single problem with it. The software provided is great and easy to use. I use two different kinds of printable media; Optorite and Ritek, both have printed to and burned flawlessly. I have heard people complain about the ink not drying, but I have none of that. It dries instantly like it would on normal paper.
The quality of the printer is excellent to. Enough in fact to change my mind about who the leader of printer manufacturers is.
The ink is cheap too if you use knock-off refills. If you have any questions more about it, let me know. I can answer them all.
The R200 is part of a $50 rebate/ online 20 coupon deal at Office Depot right now provided you can order it by phone or online, then possibly pick it up in store if you prefer. I got one for that deal, ends up being 28 bucks if you get all the discounts/rebates. Check here http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?catid=18&threadid=321893&highlight_key=y&keyword1=epson%20r200 for a long thread on it and the various deals and peoples luck finding them.
That’s a really good deal. The printer itself is pretty inexpensive in the first place for what it can do.
I paid $88.00 on Newegg.com. No Tax, No Shipping fee. Retailers are still charging the retail price. Just as of last night, I seen that Best Buy was charging $99. So, yeah, that rebate sounds like a great deal.
I’m in the UK and keeping my eye open for a good deal on this printer…
p_notch - you say you’ve had yours a month, has it clogged up at all yet, requring you to clean the heads?
Have you actually starting using compatible inks, or still using the originals it came with?
I’m worried about the price of originals for it, but also for the quality of compatibles…
cheers…
Yes, I have bought compatible inks and they work just fine. The printer has caused me no problems at all. Flawless print jobs, one after the other… And I’ve printed over 60 Discs and DVD inserts along with other items as well.
Seems I’ve seen the individual color inks run for $17.00, and the compatible inks go for $6.75.
Where do you guys get the compatible ink cartridges at?
Crud, I just tried to order the R200 through OfficeDepot for the $50.00 rebate and they’ve discontinued it.
I’ve had my R200 for a couple of weeks now. I love it. Fast & silent. Have some printable DVDs on order, so will have to see how they turn out. The only problem so far is I wish I had waited a week or two to get it at officedepot with the rebate. 
What brand of printables did you purchase? And from where?
I have some “Supermedia” ie, housebrand coming from supermediastore.com.
http://www.supermediastore.com/supermedia-4x-dvd-plus-r-white-inkjet-printable.html
Hopefully they should be here early next week.
I can’t tell you about printing CD’s/DVD’s, but from experience I have to say that in regards to mechanics, Epson makes some of the most craptacular printers on the market. They made awesome dot-matrix machines back in the day; their (failed and no longer made) lasers stank, and their inkjets can have good print quality, but have poor long-term reliability. Most Epson designs have the print heads built into the printer, rather than the cartridge, so if a print head clogs, you’re screwed, as opposed to HP, where you just replace a cartridge. Even though simpler as a result, it doesn’t make their cartridges cheaper.
P.S. Do NOT buy generic cartridges. The Epson printers I have worked with balk at using them, the printer/software detects the cartridge as being manufactured by someone else. To get them to work is more of a pain, and once set up, the color quality is poorer and the inks fade much more rapidly. The cut in price isn’t worth it.
The printables I ordered a little back in this thread showed up. The R200 does a nice job on them. The printable surface is very durable before being printed. After printing though, you can scrape off the surface a little too easily for my tastes. It only has been about 24 hours, so maybe it needs some time to cure? 
I can’t speak for the R200, but I own an Epson 740 & an Epson 1290s A3 Printer n use other makers Ink n Have Never Had a Cloged ink head…Perhaps I’ve been Lucky…Mine have n still Work Flawlessly…
Lonewolf may have some experience with EPSON, but I can assure you, I have 4 printers in the room right now (3 HP, 1 EPSON), and the EPSON is my default printer because of its color printing quality.
I think the issues he discussed have been addressed in recent printers made by EPSON, at least the clogged heads. It has a well built in function that cleans them well.
Robert, I think it really depends on the surface and the brand of printables you got. For instance, my ink cures 100% in ten minutes for a white surface. Some white surface printables are glossy and smear easily, plus it can take up to 24 hours for them to cure. I’m surprised you can ‘scrap’ the ink off??? Does it smear or scrap?
Hi guys. 
ALL the cheap inkjets are made “craptacular” as lonewolf puts it. They all have weak points, and are DESIGNED to be basically disposable. Thats why they are so cheap, when it dies you buy another.
Sure you may get a clogged printhead on an Epson, BUT this usually happens after a crap load of use, or if the printer sits for a long time without being used. There are many, many people who have Epsons several years old, and still work, same for HPs too.
The generic ink thing is a crap shoot. You MAY cause your printer to die young, or you may not. You may get worse print quality or you may not. However, the original Epson inks (the newer printers that have Dura bright inks- water resistant) are nice and you won’t get that with generic inks, yet anyway.
In my opinion, Epsons are not bad printers at all. They have very good print quality, and are made well compared to some others. I’ve been a printer/scanner/micrographics/financial equipment tech for 8yrs, and I’ve worked extensively on all major brands, and some you probably never heard of. Sounds like lonewolf had some bad experiences with Epson, but I think they are well made printers. Again, none of the cheap inkjets are made to handle extensive use over time. You want a gooo000d printer, you pay $$.
I don’t have an R200, But i have used a 1280 for a few years, and never had a problem with it. Print quality is great. If you search for info about inks, you will find that using cheap inks can cause all sorts of problems. Also, switching between different ink manufacturers can cause clogs. The different formulas used to mix dyes by different manufacturers may not be compatable, and result in clogs. Cheap inks also fade easily from exposure to light, and air (ozone does nasty things).
Good Luck!
You could scrap off the printable surface. The ink was dry to the touch almost immediately. Now that more time has passed, its very difficult to get the surface to scrape off.
I like this printer a lot. For $99, you really can’t go wrong.
I have one and was happy with CD printing and general quality (my needs being limited) and have found cheaper than Epson supplies available.
Big drawback is that if one ink tank has run out (magenta, say) then you can’t print anything at all - what a bastard. I mainly do black, but this weekend, print some photos, one colour runs out and I’m f***d for doing the simplest letter print.
How mad is that? Loads of ink of the colour I want, but can’t print. Not only that, it does not tell you what the problem is - it just stops and printer lights flash away, no error message.
Go to Epson website, and there is a low key admission of what is going on.
Bastards.
Hope this helps.
Ian