WHAT KIND OF CD'S OR DVD'S...

[raylynn31]

do i use to put pictures on? What is everyone else using. I would like them to be nice when people pay for them. Any suggestions?

[Mark_Cohran]

I use whatever I happen to have at the time to transfer images to clients. I buy them in bulk, put them in slip covers with copyright info, and then warn them to transfer the images to a hard drive as a back-up.

[raylynn31]

What brand is best?

[Wilt]

Taiyo Yuden CDs. Little has been published by anyone, regarding DVD. Remember that DVD media is inherently less stable than CD, because they have to be written at a higher speed.

[Grimes]

Lightscribe media gives good results (if you have a lightscribe drive though). You can make professional looking DVDs.

[20droger]

We use Verbatim LightScribe CDs and DVDs to burn stuff for friends and family. This lets us burn simple or fancy labels to suit the occasion. We use paper sleeves to protect the media.

We use Taiyo Yuden printable CDs and DVDs for stuff to sell. We are then able to print full color labels directly on the media, which have much greater marketing appeal. These go in thin Jewel cases without case labels, and are set up on easel displays in the store. Works quite well.

[raylynn31]

Taiyo Yuden printable CDs and DVDs (where do I purchase these) what do I have to purchase to print on them?

[20droger]

We buy our media from SuperMediaStore.com -- http://www.supermediastore.com/. Good prices and fast delivery.

If you go Lightscribe, get Verbatim or HP (Verbatim makes the disks for HP.) They have the best contrast.

And you should go to Http://www.lightscribe.com/ and download the free disk labeling software. Much better than the stuff that comes with the drives. You don't need to spring the bucks for Nero or other commercial software. The free stuff is just as good and just as fast—which it is not. All Lightscribe label burning is slow. But it doesn't use much in the way of system resources, so you can start it then go about your other business with no problems.

As for printers to print on printable media, check out Canon, Epson, and HP. We have an HP Photosmart D7560. We love it. Relatively inexpensive, not too greedy with the inks, and produces beautiful disks (as well as primo regular printing).

They also have an all-in-one PhotoSmart printer that does direct media printing (with the same print engine). I would have gotten it, but the budget was a bit tight at the time.

We chose the HP over the Canon and the Epson primarily because of their CD/DVD carrier. I find it much more reliable than Canon and Epson's methodologies.

Overall, I like Canon printers. Our other (large format) printer is a tried and true Canon i9900. However, Canon would be my last choice for direct CD/DVD printers. They are well behind Epson and HP in this area. Just my personal opinion.