I've been playing with a new toy…the Epson Photo R200 printer. This is not something you want to use for printing out your day-to-day text files or work. Its main functions are to produce (almost) photo-quality prints on glossy photo paper and to print on DVDs and CD Rom discs. I bought it primarily for the latter function, as we are now hearing that labelling your discs with sticky labels or even Sharpie-style markers is not a good idea. These methods will not damage the discs soon but if you're archiving things for posterity, there's a chance of long-range deterioration. If you're going to write on your discs, you should use water-based markers. They're not dark but they put out a legible line. If you're going to get fancy, buy the white, printable blank discs and print on them with a device like the R200.
They're real good for that, though you have to print them one at a time with a special insert shelf that carries the disc into the printer. I recently tried several programs that enable you to design your own labels before settling on SureThing CD Labeller as the best one. The Epson comes with its own design program which is even better, and when the machine prints on a white disc, the result is very impressive. The way it turns JPG photos stored onto your computer into glossy prints is also pretty good, given how inexpensive the printer is. It goes for a little under a hundred bucks at most discount houses and it seems like quite a bargain…
Okay, here comes the "but"…
But here's where they get you: The cartridges. It takes six Epson color cartridges and they ain't cheap. Staples carries them for $18.35 for the black one and $13.25 each for the other five. So buying all six there will run you $84.60. The machine comes with your first six so it's $99 for the machine and six cartridges, then it's $85 for another six cartridges. You get the idea that Epson is selling these contraptions at a loss and figuring they'll make it back on the ink?
There are slightly cheaper alternatives. OfficeMax wants $17.99 for the black one and $12.99 for each of the others so a full set is $82.94. A bit better is Office Depot which is currently getting $16.94 for black and $11.97 for the other five, for a total of $76.79.
Or you can go off-brand. Those prices are all for Epson cartridges. Other companies make compatible cartridges that run around $50 for the set of six. This sounds like a bargain but according to this article from the Consumer Reports people, off-brand cartridges run out faster and the images are more likely to fade. So unless someone tells me they've had an experience to the contrary, I'm going to stick with the Epson variety. Cartridge price aside, it's a great machine and mine is going to get a lot of traffic.