Summary: Better than a marker pen
Comment: A friend heard I was planning to purchase a printer for labeling DVDs and CDs, so he gave me his Casio DC-75 to try out. Actually, the exact words were, "If you can make use of this, you can have it." I gave it back after about a week in case he could find someone else who wanted it.
In all fairness, the CW-75 is a nice little thermal printer. It's a great alternative to using a marker pen or sticky label on a disk. But, I'm giving it only 3 stars because although I think it does very well at printing text, other printers that cost less offer more features and user options.
The CW-75's lettering is excellent as long as the disk has a perfectly smooth surface. If the disk surface has any sort of texture, you'll get breaks in the lettering. The printer has a variety of built-in templates, fonts, and standard symbols. It can print in colors, as long as it's one solid color at a time. (This printer uses a ribbon cartridge, so if, for example, you want to change from black to red, you have to take out the black ribbon and insert a red ribbon.) You don't need a computer to use the printer, but using it with a computer (PC only, not Mac) gives you more flexibility.
Altho the CW-75 keyboard looks extremely complicated, after using it a bit -- along with reading the relatively small manual -- I'd say a person doesn't need to be technically oriented to be printing out sharp looking disks in a short time. Sharp text, that is. If you're hoping to print a full color picture, the CW-75 won't do it for you.
For less (as of Nov. 1, '04) than the price of the CW-75, there's the Epson Stylus Photo R200. It not only prints text and up to full photo quality on letter and legal size paper, it can also print directly on CD/DVDs that have an inkjet-printable surface. With the included software -- or software available from other sources -- you can print full color photos, text, graphics and whatever else you want anywhere on a disk. Compare that to the CW-75 which pretty much limits you to printing text and simple line art in one color, unless you want to play around swapping color print ribbon cartridges.
That's why I gave the CW-75 back to my friend and purchased an Epson R200 here at Amazon.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Poor results
Comment: I was hoping for a neat and simple way to print titles on my CD-R and DVD collections. I found neither with the Casio Disc Printer.
I tried a total of 15 CD-R's before returning the item because I could only get accurate printing on 6 of the discs. I was trying media from Maxell,Sony, Memorex and while the printer would work on some brands once it would fail the next time.
Also the printing area is very small. I believe it is only 1/2" high on the top and bottom. It is very difficult to get much information on the disc except fot the Title and Artist.
For now I have gone back to labeling by hand, but if anyone can tell me of a better solution I would love to try it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good Printer. Highly Recommended
Comment: The printer does what it is designed to do - Print text and simple graphic labels on 2 rectangular areas (top and bottom) of a CD or DVD.
The print quality is good provided that you use the right kind of CD/DVD. As most of the reviewers have pointed out, you must use media with smooth shiny areas for the label. The CD does not have to be totally blank. It just needs to have enough smooth surface for your label to print on it. Disk with matted surface is not going to work. I use the SONY CD-R and the TDK DVD+R with good results. Both of them have manufacture's logo on the surface but they also have plenty of smooth blank areas for top and bottom labels.
The easiest way to explore the printer's features is to use the Disc Printer software (download the latest version from Casio's website). One of the things that the software allows you to do is to import a Windows Media Playlist (.asx) file. Once the file is imported, the software can automatically creates labels for all the song titles in your playlist. I have tried that feature and it works great.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very Pleased, This Product Works Great!
Comment: This product works great! I read some of the negative statements and was a little reluctant to purchase it...but when I came across it at BJ's for $89 (after rebate) I figured I'd give it a try. Some of the negatives I've read was that you could only print on top and bottom of the cd or dvd...NOT TRUE!! Use your heads people. If you wish to print on the left or right middle of the cd (eg: a compact disc logo) simply import the graphic you want to use...rotate it so that after it prints the logo will be upright when the disc is turned to the left or right....then simply print on the top and bottom of the disc keeping the logo to the left or right depending on which side you want it. It's very easy to do. The templates and print options included in the software gives you almost unlimited options...you just need to use your head. After searching the net i was able to find cartriges in bundles of ten for $58. (5.80 a cartridge) @20 CDs per cartridge the cost is a mere 29 cents per cd or dvd. Not bad considering the professional results. You can also mix colors (not on the same line) if you're patient enough to print one line, change cartridge, then print another line. The unit needs a fairly smooth surface for best results...and quite frankly..the bare silver cd's look the best, even though it print on Memorex DVDs that are not completly smooth and have the memorex logo on them. Don't condem a product because you fail to follow directions. The Casio CW-75 does what it advertises and does it well...if you shop around it's cost effective..and if you have some patience and foresight you can get this to print almost any label you want on any part of the disc. Great Job Casio.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not Quite What I Expected
Comment: I recently received a Casio CW-75 as a gift (after dropping a hint that I'd seen one in a store).
The picture on the box shows a CD-R coming out of the printer, and even though no manufacturer's name or logo is visible, the markings on the CD-R bear a striking resemblance to the markings on the Sony CD-Rs that I had sitting on my desk. I immediately tried printing onto a few of the Sony CD-Rs, and the results were terrible.
After consulting the troubleshooting section of the manual, I tried adjusting the print density to its maximum setting. The results were better, but still unacceptable. Finally, I tried the test CD that came with the printer, and got much better results. The test CD had an absolutely smooth surface, whereas the Sony CD-R had a subtle texture to it.
The printer documentation mentioned a website address for information about the type of media recommended for use with the printer, but when I visited the website, I was greeted with a "sorry, now under construction" message. No help there.
I ended up buying some inexpensive Imix CD-Rs at a local office supply store. They have a perfectly smooth surface, and I've just printed a batch of 30 CD-Rs with very good results; only one disc came out less than perfect.
I also found it interesting that batteries ARE included with this printer, but NOT an AC adapter. The included batteries haven't died yet (after 30 good discs and about 10 test discs, each with 2 passes of printing on each), but I don't know how much life is left in them.
Incidentally, why does this thing run on batteries, anyway? Does Casio think people are going to be printing discs while they're out jogging or something? Before you get any ideas, let me point out that moving the printer while it's printing gives poor results. For best results, put this printer on a flat, stable surface and don't bump into it while it's in use.
The ribbon ran out after about 20 discs or so, which (as someone mentioned in another review) translates to about 50 cents per disc for labeling. In this case, that's more than DOUBLE the cost of the discs themselves, but the results really do look quite professional with the right combination of media and gentle care.
Using this printer as a standalone device was a little awkward, but the included software installed itself without a hitch, and it makes it MUCH easier to see what you're doing when laying out a label. I'd strongly recommend using the computer connection unless you have a very good reason not to do so.
Only time will tell if this labeling mechanism has any long-term adverse side effects. I was using paper labels for a long time before I discovered that after many months, they apparently shrink just a bit, which warps the CD-R into a slight bowl shape, and causes readability problems. I'm thinking that this Casio device is a much better idea than paper labels, if only for that reason.