Sorry to post this here but I need a quick answer.
 
Someone was telling me that you can get DVD drives that will also print labels on to CD's & DVD's.
Does anyone know who how good they are, who makes the best ones and how much they cost ?
Also what discs do I need ?
Cheers
 
Steve

lightscribe is what I think your referring to.
the disks are a little more expensive and it takes a while to finish a disk, the more detail the longer it takes.
ive had mixed results, at one point a dvd with black print only / 100 char. took about 20 minutes.
 
these disks
http://www.verbatim.com/subcat/optical-media/lightscribe/
 

HP makes LightScribe drives wihich will etch a label on a DVD, BD or CD.  A BD will cost around $100 to 150.  The disc needs to be Light Scribe compatible.  After the disk is burned, turn it over to burn the label.
 
The commercial machines will cost around #1000.  They will print the label using special inkjet technology after they burn the disk.
 
 
http://www.summationtechnology.com/cd-printers.htm
 

If you are talking about lightscribe, it takes forever.  I will say, they look pretty cool but are monochromatic.  Fine for one-offs, but if you are thinking of printing more than a couple you need to budget 1/2 a day.
 
@

Thanks for that
I was going to buy one of those cheap CD labelling kits until someone told me about these drives
but I think I'll stick with my first choice or get some done professionally.
 
Steve

Depending on the price of getting the labels done professionally and the quantity you want to print, you might also want to consider an inkjet printer with a cd printing tray. You have to use the printable CD's but these are only a small increase on standard CD's (unlike the quite big hike for Lightscribe) and you can print full colour with a lot of detail.  Takes a minute or 2 per CD (depending on the amount of coverage)
 
Andy
 

Lemonboy
Depending on the price of getting the labels done professionally and the quantity you want to print, you might also want to consider an inkjet printer with a cd printing tray. You have to use the printable CD's but these are only a small increase on standard CD's (unlike the quite big hike for Lightscribe) and you can print full colour with a lot of detail.  Takes a minute or 2 per CD (depending on the amount of coverage)
 
Andy
 

That might be an option but do you know what makes are good and affordable ?
I already have a very good printer that I rarely use so if I'm buying another one just to print CD's
I don't want to spend much more than £50 which I think is unlikely.
I could sell my other printer but I think I only paid about £40 for it so would get much for it.
 
Steve

I've had an Epson 300 printer for 12 years that has the CD tray, trouble is now it's getting hard to find the printable CD's, All the chain stores now only stock DVD's. I find them in Staples for $1 per CD. Used to be at Costco for $.40 per CD. No big deal if your charging $10 or more for the finished product. I sell them to my client's for $5.00 with a full color label and a paper sleeve. 
It's a very professional looking product if your handy with graphics. 
WE have a brand new HP all in one that has the tray. But the included software is terrible compared to the Epson "PrintCD" software. Avery and even MS word have printing software but all of those never calibrated properly to the printer...Best to print to a piece of paper first. 
 
DO NOT use sticky CD Labels... they will jam in most peoples players. If put on off centre they will wobble the CD causing skips. 
Litescribe was a total bomb. The CD's are at least $3 and they are only Septa not color. They take a long long time. I still have a spindle pak sitting there reminding me of the bad move to pay more for  a DVD drive with that feature.. 
 

Yeah we're only looking to make some home made CD's of my bands EP we recorded recently to sell at gigs.
The kind of thing you buy when you're drunk and you think the band are awesome then you never play it again
 
I did just buy a 100 CD's that are "full surface inkjet printable" that were very cheap so that's a start.
 
Steve

http://www.epson.ca/cgi-bin/ceStore/jsp/ProductCategory.do?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=-14841&sortid=1&sortOrder=1&page=1
 
I see it still comes with Print CD software, so this is the one I will buy if mine dies. 
It's a time consuming task, but you can be burning and then printing in one sitting