we had that problem with the epson and my wife went online to the printer trouble shooting page and tried everything- the thing that worked, believe it or not, was upplugging the usb cable and plugging it back in... what do you know, it worked! hope it does the trick for you too.

Some people spray their CDs with lacquer to set the ink. Others use ink that is more permanent if your printer has a more permanent ink available use it. We have a Primera Signature Pro and the ink is pretty smudge proof once it has dried but can be smudged right off the printer.

There are very thin sheets of plastic available on line that will cover a CD completely (except for the center hole) but the add to the cost of making CDs and are not cheap.

Hope this helps!

Thomas W. Bethel wrote: Some people spray their CDs with lacquer to set the ink. Others use ink that is more permanent if your printer has a more permanent ink available use it. We have a Primera Signature Pro and the ink is pretty smudge proof once it has dried but can be smudged right off the printer.

There are very thin sheets of plastic available on line that will cover a CD completely (except for the center hole) but the add to the cost of making CDs and are not cheap.

Hope this helps!

Hey buddy! What kind of lacquer and where can I buy it? Also what kinds of thin sheets do you buy and where? What do you recommend me do to get the best results?

You need to be very carefull about spraying CDs. Many sprays contain solvents that will degrade the plastic on the CD. Sometimes this can take many weeks, but after a long time the plastic will almost crumble.

The best I've found is DEFT gloss lacquer.

You need to be VERY CAREFUL about getting overspray on the backside of the disk. It takes only a tiny spot in the data area to cause trouble.

I have decideded NOT to spray disks. Controlling dust is a real problem. The only sprays I've found that are good on disks are VERY stinky and even if I spray in the garage I would run my family out of the house with the fumes. It also takes too much time. I run batches of 10-100 disks at a time and doing more than 10 would be a major time hawg.

I use only TAIYO printable blanks. I have printed many hundreds of CDs with my R300 and have not had any troubles with smudging unless the disk gets wet.

I don't know how much playing around you've done with media types on that printer. When printing Taiyo CDs I have found that the COLORLIFE paper setting does the best job. Just make sure you have A4 Manual for the size and you can choose any of the media types for printing CD blanks.

zemlin wrote: You need to be very carefull about spraying CDs. Many sprays contain solvents that will degrade the plastic on the CD. Sometimes this can take many weeks, but after a long time the plastic will almost crumble.

The best I've found is DEFT gloss lacquer.

You need to be VERY CAREFUL about getting overspray on the backside of the disk. It takes only a tiny spot in the data area to cause trouble.

I have decideded NOT to spray disks. Controlling dust is a real problem. The only sprays I've found that are good on disks are VERY stinky and even if I spray in the garage I would run my family out of the house with the fumes. It also takes too much time. I run batches of 10-100 disks at a time and doing more than 10 would be a major time hawg.

I use only TAIYO printable blanks. I have printed many hundreds of CDs with my R300 and have not had any troubles with smudging unless the disk gets wet.

I don't know how much playing around you've done with media types on that printer. When printing Taiyo CDs I have found that the COLORLIFE paper setting does the best job. Just make sure you have A4 Manual for the size and you can choose any of the media types for printing CD blanks.

hey budz thanks for getting into detail for me, however I need a disk that does not smudge. I mean. I want to print cd's that look like like ones you get in a record shop clear because a lot of people have their cd's lieing around and something spills on them or even on a hot day it smudges. And I would like to fix that so my cd's do not smudge. I am using Dysan discs now for inkjet printing and they are hub CD. so prints directly to the centre and also use Imation hub cd's, but the Imation discs are extremely exspensive. I try to use the white discs now because they are not glossy so probably harder to smudge. I never really printed on discs for awhile now because I wanted to get all the info I could so I wouldn't screw up any discs again.

Also I had a problem were if I use the Epson manufacture inks it runs out really quickly. I printed a nozzle check pattern and I found it wasn't that the patterns were not coming out great so I cleaned the inks and still problem I tried to clean again about 4-5 times and now my ink is gone like 20% lower. I tried refills and same thing. Cleaning the ink sucks it up. I don't know why? my other older printer didn't have this problem.

I rarely have a nozzle that misfires, but when it happens I find I have MUCH better luck if I just pull out the tanks and fire canned air into the holder and on the contacts. I put things back together and 9 times out of 10 it works 100%.

Quicker and a lot cheaper than a cleaning cycle.

zemlin wrote: I rarely have a nozzle that misfires, but when it happens I find I have MUCH better luck if I just pull out the tanks and fire canned air into the holder and on the contacts. I put things back together and 9 times out of 10 it works 100%.

Quicker and a lot cheaper than a cleaning cycle.

what you mean is take out the cartridges and spray the canned air into the holders? AMAZING!!!! I hope it works.

cleaning cycle just sucks my ink. I need my ink. I don't want to have to refill every few days. i want to keep my ink for at least a few months.

so what is the best way to stop it from smudging?

I use TAIYO YUDEN injet blanks. I have not had any trouble with smudging, unless I get water on the CD. I handle them carefully, but once they've cured for a few days I don't worry much about them.

When the printing is fresh I will put the disks in the jewel case printed side down to protect it and give it time to cure.

The Taiyo blanks are a matte finish.

mjatas wrote: so what is the best way to stop it from smudging?

Laminate it. You can get a disc laminator for the low low price of around $2G's. Or get a thermal printer; thermal doesn't smudge.
Or if you want to get that retail CD look, you could spend a few $10G's on a screen printer.

Otherwise, Taiyo Yuden CDs are very good. But your inkjet prints shall be smudgeable forevermore.

At the moment I don't have that kind of money, but any other suggestions for laminating, cheaper or other ways to stop the smudges?

stop drooling on your CDs.

ha ha ha. what happened was I took a shower and my hands were still a little wet so I put my hand on the cd from the edges but a drop of water went on the cd from my wet hair and i tried to wipe it off and it smudged. So i want to know because i had times when my other cd's from HMV had water on them and I just rumb it with a towel and they where okay. why does it smuge anyways and I need an answer on how to stop it from smuging?

That's a limitation of the inkjet process.
It's either going to take time (spraying lacquer), money, or both to solve it and the options have been outlined pretty well above.

zemlin wrote: That's a limitation of the inkjet process.
It's either going to take time (spraying lacquer), money, or both to solve it and the options have been outlined pretty well above.

So the only thing that would be cheapest is the spray huh? Where could I get the DEFT spray that doesn't destroy my CD and best for inkjet prints? I could do a few outside. I don't need to do a lot anyways so quantity at the moment is not an issue.

zemlin wrote: I use TAIYO YUDEN injet blanks. I have not had any trouble with smudging, unless I get water on the CD. I handle them carefully, but once they've cured for a few days I don't worry much about them.

When the printing is fresh I will put the disks in the jewel case printed side down to protect it and give it time to cure.

The Taiyo blanks are a matte finish.

What about those clear labels they have. I can just put a clear label over the face of the CD and it would work??? Where can I buy those Taiyo Yuden discs?? Can I buy them in Canada?

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=taiyo+inkjet&btnG=Search+Froogle&scoring=p

The only clear labels I've found have been too pricey for me to consider using. Never tried them. I did mess around a little with laminating film, but it did not lay perfectly on the disk and trimming was a PITA.

DEFT is a wood finish. Any place that sells a good variety of paint and varnish will likely have DEFT spray.

mjatas wrote: [quote=zemlin]I use TAIYO YUDEN inkjet blanks. I have not had any trouble with smudging, unless I get water on the CD. I handle them carefully, but once they've cured for a few days I don't worry much about them.

When the printing is fresh I will put the disks in the jewel case printed side down to protect it and give it time to cure.

The Taiyo blanks are a matte finish.

What about those clear labels they have. I can just put a clear label over the face of the CD and it would work??? Where can I buy those Taiyo Yuden discs?? Can I buy them in Canada?

We have tried to use clear labels over the disk but they do not work as well as you might think. They don't go down over the inked surface uniformly and you can get small air bubbles with the clear labels applied over an inked surface. Also the clear labels have a tendency to lift off in high heat and humidity and when they do the take part of the inked surface with them. Not a good solution. The very thin clear labels that some are recommending are better but anytime you put something over a label it will change the way the label looks and may come off in someone's CD player, especially the slot loading variety so popular in cars these days.

I personally think that others have tried to give you some very good suggestions and you seem not to want to listen to them and are trying to find some type of "cheap" fix that will do what you want. Please believe me we have tried a lot of different ideas and if you want pro looking labels then you have to do it in a pro way. Either spay the surface with lacquer or use heat transfer or go for screen printing and spend the money to do it.

zemlin wrote: http://froogle.goog…

The only clear labels I've found have been too pricey for me to consider using. Never tried them. I did mess around a little with laminating film, but it did not lay perfectly on the disk and trimming was a PITA.

DEFT is a wood finish. Any place that sells a good variety of paint and varnish will likely have DEFT spray.

Hey Zemlin thanks for the link I will definetly try the CD discs and see how good they are. I will also ask maybe Home depot or Rona if they have the DEFT spray and see how good it will be. I will try. What DEFT spay paint should I buy though. Is it called clear or see-through? Oh 1 other question is are the white discs better to use then the silver ones? I believe that the white discs are matte so they might not rub off as much and the silver are glossy so maybe more rubbing? Is there a difference. The reason I want to stress on the rubbing because I hate when customers buy my cd and it smudges, but then again at the momement I can not afford those big money spenders. :cry:

DEFT is a clear lacquer - you will have options of gloss, perhaps satin or semi-gloss - maybe others. I have only messed with the gloss. I would expect Home Depot to have it. Not familiar with Rona.

Both the silver and white TAIYO disks are matte finish. I have not noticed a difference in durability. Some graphics look better on white - some look better on silver. I keep both types of blanks on hand. I use more silver than white.

zemlin wrote: DEFT is a clear lacquer - you will have options of gloss, perhaps satin or semi-gloss - maybe others. I have only messed with the gloss. I would expect Home Depot to have it. Not familiar with Rona.

Both the silver and white TAIYO disks are matte finish. I have not noticed a difference in durability. Some graphics look better on white - some look better on silver. I keep both types of blanks on hand. I use more silver than white.

Thanks for the info Zemlin you have been very helpful.
Rona is a huge store like Home Depot but it's proudly Canadian. We too have Home Depot here.

Use Krylon Acrylic Crystal Clear spray available at most arts and crafts stores.

They also make it with UV protection.

It dries fast and you can use it on plastic. I suggest practicing on some junk CD's to see if you like it.

roguescout wrote: Use Krylon Acrylic Crystal Clear spray available at most arts and crafts stores.

They also make it with UV protection.

It dries fast and you can use it on plastic. I suggest practicing on some junk CD's to see if you like it.

okay I am going to buy both sprays and see which one I like best. Now here in Canada Michaels (huge art store) has a spray called:
Krylon Acrylic tripple thick clear spray. (used for plastic)

That is the only spray they have there (at the moment - a lot of their sprays are sold out) and that is the only store here I can think of that carries wide range or art stuff.

Is that the spray? The tripple?

I am outa luck Home Depot here does not carry DEFT spray. :x

I tested the Krylon "glaze" - it was one of the first that I tried. Initially it looked great, but after a number of weeks the plastic on the CD was badly crazed and cracked easily near the hub. The printable surface on the CD seemed to protect the plastic from the spray over most of the disk surface.

I experimented with 6 or 7 different clear sprays. If you want to do your own testing, I would let the disks sit for a minimum of 2 months before making your final call. The degradation of the plastic can take a long time to show up.

zemlin wrote: I tested the Krylon "glaze" - it was one of the first that I tried. Initially it looked great, but after a number of weeks the plastic on the CD was badly crazed and cracked easily near the hub. The printable surface on the CD seemed to protect the plastic from the spray over most of the disk surface.

I experimented with 6 or 7 different clear sprays. If you want to do your own testing, I would let the disks sit for a minimum of 2 months before making your final call. The degradation of the plastic can take a long time to show up.

Zemlin I trust you man. I will buy the DEFT spray, but just want to know other places I can buy it. We have Home Hardware and Rona building stores here so maybe those can help. Maybe even Canadian Tire could be a good place for that.

Maybe I can search on their site?
http://www.rona.ca
http://www.homehardware.ca
http://

let me check

0 searches on Canadian Tire site
0 searches on Rona site
and I have to call Home Hardware cause their site is too confusing.

I searched for deft or even DEFT in capital letters and still no matches.
I am not having much luck, maybe I should buy it online somewhere?

http://
http://
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=deft+wood+finish&btnG=Search+Froogle
google.ca doesn't have a froogle.

zemlin wrote: http://www.deftfini…
http://
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=deft+wood+finish&btnG=Search+Froogle
google.ca doesn't have a froogle.

I can buy DEFT products at Lee Valley here??? YEA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I AM GOING THERE TOMMOROW!!!!! THANKS FOR TEH SITES!!!

I have a lee valley so close to me.

just one last thing. The DEFT I wanna buy is called "Clear Wood Finish"?

Cause that's what it says beside Lee Valley Tools (Canada)
http://

mjatas wrote: just one last thing. The DEFT I wanna buy is called "Clear Wood Finish"?

8-)

zemlin wrote: [quote=mjatas]just one last thing. The DEFT I wanna buy is called "Clear Wood Finish"?

8-)

you have a very proffessional looking website! A+
Great job!

Thank you.

zemlin wrote: [quote=mjatas]just one last thing. The DEFT I wanna buy is called "Clear Wood Finish"?

8-)

sorry some other questions Zemlin. I went into Lee Valley to buy the DEFT gloss and semi-gloss Clear Wood Finish and let me ask you.

1) first, from how far away is the can supposed to be (from the CD) when I spray the CD? Do I put the cd on a cardboard and spray the CD just on the cardboard outside?

2) how many coats do I apply to the CD, just 1 or 2? or maybe even 3 and if so, how far apart in min each coating. 30 min apart. The drying time is 30 min. for each coating?

3) do I apply the spray for the hub centre too or will it affect the hub centre and will it also work for non-hub cd's? What happens if I use a non-hub cd-r and I get some spray in the centre?

4) I bought both the gloss and semi-gloss, in your opinion which is better to use? Could I try both and see which I like better?

5) How long (if you have tried) does the CD's last with DEFT on or will it crack like the others? Will it last for at least 10-20 years? What do you think?

Thanks Zemlin! Thaks for all the help!

I don't think I can do any more spoon feeding here.
Just do it and learn what works best for you.

I've had a DEFT coated disk around for about a year and it still looks fine. That's about all I can promise.

hey, what's wrong with spoon feeding??? :lol:
I am like a baby. Mommy give me more!!!!! :lol:

But thanks anyways for the help I will try the rest man!

Here are some sites that might give you some insight on what you are trying to do.

http://www.cddvdking.com/browseproducts/Verity-Systems-Art-Coater-Automatic-Lacquer-System.html

http://

http://www.cd-genie.com/dup-print/which-ref.htm

http://www.cd-writer.com/CD-Printer.html

http://www.shopsonymusic.ca/cc_aboutcds.asp

You should probably do the spraying out of doors or vent them out of doors as the fumes can be bad for your health and they are also inflammable which is not something you want to deal with in your house.

Most times when lacquer is applied the disk is spinning, They use a special lacquer and it is cured with a UV light source. Again if you are going to use UV light source you want to wear special goggles that will protect your eyes or have the disk in its own enclosure.

A very light coat is all that is needed and I would not put on additional coats as you could wrinkle the finish.

They make a machine that is basically a spray can held over a spinning disk and the spray is triggered by a remote source working a solenoid for a specific time period. You could probably rig up something like this for yourself.

Lacquer dries almost instantly as it is and one problem you will have will be the nozzle on the spray can becoming clogged with repeated use. There will be over spray and after a time it will have to be removed from your setup. I am not sure how far into this you want to go but there is a lot of info on the web - Just type in Lacquer Coating CD and you will get lots of hits.

Best of luck!

thanks buddy for the info.