Epson Stylus Photo R260 review

I have used this machine quite extensively, and for an inexpensive on disco CD printer, I have to say I am quite pleased. The mechanism is quite clunky (plastic insert tray), and the process isn't streamlined for mass duplication, but for the cost, i really can't complain, when I can easily print high resolution (4800 dpi) CD's from home. I had a small side business doing audio mastering and duplication, and we used a Primera Bravo II printer, one with the robotic arm, that will automatically run 25 discs at a time. We had the print only machine, and used a duplication tower to burn that actual discs. Print quality is the same on this little Epson machine, though I do find that I get occasional tiny ink lines more often, but again - low price printer (the Primera unit i mentioned cost over $1000 dollars). Ink is an expensive factor to consider, and these are very specific ink cartridges, so getting them refilled isn't always easy. I did find a company that can refill these for me, but realistically, you can only get 3-4 refills per cartridge. The ink comes in 6 colors, and the machine won't run if they aren't full, another drawback. The firs time i had to buy ink for this unit, i paid about as much for the ink, as i did for the whole printer, but ink is expensive with any printer. Also, we had to experiment with a few brands of CD's, both for print surface and data reliability (I use Ri-data. The driver works relatively well, though if you have any errors feeding the discs in, or anything else, you will need to cancel the whole job, and restart the printer, it does not like to be thrown off it's regular routine. All in all, i think it is a great way to have professional looking CD's, it just takes some patience to use the device, and reading the instructions carefully.