shtroumf

I print a lot of DVD cover and im looking for a good paper at a good price with a decent quality, im using standard paper at the moment and want to improve my result

thanks in advance

John

Forum Troll

Try Kodak Anytime photopaper, semigloss. It's dirt cheap, and produces excellent results.

johnmc_76

I've had good luck with HP Everyday semi-gloss paper. Also very inexpensive.

Artman

Quick question (and maybe this is somewhere in the FAQ's..) but how do you enable your printer to print on the whole 8.5" by 11" paper, or do you need to use 11" by 17"?

One more - if you print out a pretty good quality cover, will the UPC scan correctly if for some reason you trade it in later, or should you just keep your original?

ams

You should use legal sized paper (8.5x14) and center the cover using the printing properties setting.

RockStrongo

I use dvd cover print and it prints on one 8 1/2 x 11. Its shareware for 30 days then like $8. Works great.

www.dvdcoverprint.com

Yes, I have actually used them to trade at Blockbuster.

joliom

You need a printer that does borderless printing in order to print on the entire 8.5 x 11" piece of paper. Otherwise, try taping a strip of paper to the end of a standard piece to make what looks like a longer piece. Then tell your printer that you want to print on 8.5 x 14" sized paper (legal). This will fool your printer into thinking that you have legal-sized paper loaded. Don't worry though, as long as you're just printing a single-sized cover the print will be entirely contained on the 8.5 x 11" sheet of paper and won't continue onto the extra strip.

As for what paper to use, you can't beat glossy photo paper. It blows the doors off of any standard paper when printing at full resolution. Just set your printer to the highest allowable quality setting and look at the difference. Personally, I use Epson heavy-weight glossy photo paper (a 100 pack can be had from Costco for $20), but I have an Epson printer. For best results, I'd recommend buying whatever paper matches the brand of printer you use. Btw, you can buy photo paper in rolls and cut your own legal-sized sheets for all of those over-sized multi-disc covers.

ZackR

Good thread guys. By the way, what printers would you recommend? I am going to hopefully be getting one soon and would love some suggestions. Not trying to hijack the thread, and if this should not be here, I can start a new one. Thanks for any input!

RockStrongo

I have the Epson CX5400. I got it at Best Buy some time back for $135 with a $20 MIB. It works great...

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...103-150&depa=0

If I had it to do over though, I would get one that can print on DVD disks too. My friend has one and loves it.

ZackR

Thanks! Got some BB gift cards to burn so I will check it out!

Artman

It worked! My standard Traffic is now a Criterion - haha! Only thing is my blacks aren't as black as I was hoping. I know glossy paper gets darker blacks - but do they stick at all to the DVD plastic, leaving those funny looking patterns? This happens to the paper in my portfolio.

Or I could just pay $1 each for color copies, upping the contrast and saturation should look better...

joliom

That depends on the type of printer/ink/paper you use. I have an Epson photo printer and this is not a problem at all. Epson's use a cold ink system so photos print dry. There is no dry time at all. You can literally take them out, cut them, and throw them straight into a DVD case - no stickiness - no smearing. But other printer brands are totally different. I've heard some people say that when they print covers with a lot of black they literally have to let it dry for days before it is suitably dry. Someone else I talked with said that if it is a really black cover, it never dries completely with his printer/ink. Epson's print beautifully - in fact I'd go so far as to say they lead the pack in terms of vibrancy, quality, and lightfastness - but they are not the best workhorse printers. They tend to be ink guzzlers, need more frequent print head & nozzle cleanings, and are more sensitive to generic inks (you pretty much have to stick with real Epson inks which can get pricey if you do a lot of photo printing). I'd recommend HP for workhorse duty - they are tanks. But if you can afford it, or have the extra space, you seriously should consider picking up an Epson as a dedicated photo printer. I've had three and they put out some of the most gorgeous prints in my collection. I agree with RockStrongo, though - the next Epson I pick up will probably be one that does the direct CD printing.

Michael Corvin

It all depends on your printer so take this with a grain of salt. I've tried

I use an Epson 785EPX

Epson Glossy Photo: Great results, dries fast

HP Premium Glossy Photo: Even better results, colors pop off the page but it takes forever to dry

Kodak Glossy: Piss poor, colors are muted way off from what it should be, print isn't very crisp, but on the positive it dries quick and the paper is lightweight compared to the other two, and glossy on both sides if you wanted to do double sided for a clear case.

kakihara1

For my covers I also use an epson 785EPX and it is bad ass, the prints are unbelievable in fact I actually bought an r300 and I was going to use it for both covers and direct cd/dvd prints but the 785 cannot be matched for its beautiful prints, so I've kept it on board as my photo printer and the r300 just kind of sits there.

I use epson premium quality photo paper, and it is fantastic, quick dry prints.....just cut and insert.

My 785epx was a godsend for replacing horrible studio art.

Michael Corvin

Kakihara,
I thought about replacing my 785epx for one that does the cds/dvds as well. Good to hear your comments though. I guess I will hold out.

Artman

Well the HP glossy photo looks great, unfortunately it does stick to the dvd cover in spots, causing those irregular spotty patterns. It's not that noticeable, but I might just stick with the non-glossy. I could always make color copies if I wanted.

RockStrongo

I use HP brochure paper from Office max. Its $12.99 for 50 sheets. Looks just like retail covers.

arholmes

Try the Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy. I use it with my Canon Pixma I3000 and it does a fantastic job. Staples has it on sale until Saturday for 5.98 for 20 sheets.

Artman

Thanx for the suggestions, I'll try those.

kakihara1

Yeah Corvin I've had my 785EPX for 3 years now and I've never had a problem with it at all

But that's not to say the r300 is useless it does do an exellent job of printing to cd and DVD. But I think if I had to do it all over again I would have bought the R800 because it has the pigment ink and the droplets are half the size of the r300s.

So you just keep making awesome covers and I'll keep printing them with my tried and true 785, oh by the way you cost me a shitload of money getting all those damn Disney movies.......but it's all worth it.