Filed under: Accessories, Hardware, Peripherals
TUAW Review: Dymo DiscPainter Part 4
Conclusion
Reviewer Rating: 3 out of 5 possible
Should you buy one? If you need to do a lot of CD/DVD labeling and money isn't an object, yes. However, if you need a new printer anyway, the HP Photosmart C5280 all-in-one gives you a disc and paper printer, copier, scanner, and more, all in one box that costs less than half the price of the DiscPainter. You can also buy HP LightScribe external drives for much less, but the media is quite expensive.
If you DO buy one, remember to include the cost of BeLight Disc Cover to replace the Discus for Dymo software.
Pros
Reviewer Rating: 3 out of 5 possible
Should you buy one? If you need to do a lot of CD/DVD labeling and money isn't an object, yes. However, if you need a new printer anyway, the HP Photosmart C5280 all-in-one gives you a disc and paper printer, copier, scanner, and more, all in one box that costs less than half the price of the DiscPainter. You can also buy HP LightScribe external drives for much less, but the media is quite expensive.
If you DO buy one, remember to include the cost of BeLight Disc Cover to replace the Discus for Dymo software.
Pros
- Fast high-resolution printing
- Very quiet
- Does the job it is designed for, despite software shortcomings
- Does excellent job of printing directly on CD/DVD media
- Software isn't very Mac-like
- Printer footprint larger than it needs to be
- No power switch, can't turn it fully off without unplugging
- Very Expensive ($279.95 MSRP, about $250 online)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tom said 7:32AM on 6-29-2008
I wrote this for Part 1 of the 4 part (same day) review, and I'm pasting it into every other part's page just so it gets seen...
Are your corporate overlords now forcing you to write multiple page reviews when this incredibly short 4 parter would have easily fitted on one page? The screenshot app from barely over a month ago is at least 2 or 3 times as long as all these 4 pages combined.
I am really disappointed with this move and do believe it will be the end of TUAW, as well as the rest of Weblogs Inc. if it catches on.
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Ondra Soukup said 7:50AM on 6-29-2008
this is horrible, if you want to make "parts", make it short enough so I don't have to scroll. but it's longer and utterly USELESS! the screenshot itself takes up about the same space as the rest of the text :/
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Sven Gebhardt said 8:08AM on 6-29-2008
This is just a simple attempt to push the PI (page impressions) count. If the PI is higher, advertising space on the site gets more valuable. Simple as that. And annoying as hell.
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Tom said 9:45AM on 6-29-2008
And by posting your hatred on page 4 instead of page 1, you're contributing! Ugh.
Bob Roberts said 10:22AM on 6-29-2008
Comments at Amazon and at http://www.imaginginsider.com/?p=71103 have also proved insightful on the DiscPainter.
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obtusegoose said 10:45AM on 6-29-2008
The "4 pages" thing is lame and annoying. The DiscPainter is insanely overpriced compared to buying a $99 Epson printer that can also print on CDs.
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obtusegoose said 10:45AM on 6-29-2008
The "4 pages" thing is lame and annoying. The DiscPainter is insanely overpriced compared to buying a $99 Epson printer that can also print on CDs.
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Nolan Burris said 7:13PM on 6-29-2008
I've owned the DiscPainter for a while now. The software is clunky at best but that's not the real problem: the print quality is awful.
High resolution? I don't think so. Even at the highest quality setting any graphics you include will be covered in concentric circular bands and will be very grainy. Text is crisp but anything graphic is a mess.
Also, the the CD just rests upon a rubber ring rather than snapping into place. That means the disc slips a bit as it spins throwing off the alignment - sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. I had to toss quite a few CDs until I started taping them in place!
Overall, it works for basic labeling or personal use but forget about using it for professional purposes or anything important.
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Bryan Walls said 12:59PM on 6-29-2008
I agree, the multipage format with a survey popup in the middle is likely to drop TUAW from my "top two" list of Blog reads.
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Tobsterius said 8:26PM on 6-29-2008
Couldn't agree with you more. The best quality prints I got from this thing is with the dymo-supplied graphics... which are downright ugly.
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Richard Dalziel-Sharpe said 5:23AM on 7-01-2008
I have had a Canon Pixma ip4300 for several years now and it does a great job of printing CD & DVD labels.
I use Disc Cover 2 which is included with Toast 9 for designing the labels. It has really high quality printing, a wide range of templates or I can use any graphic I have on my Mac for the label.
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