Help: Direct-to-Disc Printing

On some printer models, you can print directly on CDs and DVDs that are coated with an inkjet-printable surface. DiscLabel supports many popular printers with this functionality.

To print, you must be in DiscLabel Print mode and have added your direct-to-disc printer to your Media list. (See "Selecting Print Media")

If your printer model isn't listed, then you can try a close match. For Canon printers, look at the letter on the CD tray and select Canon CD Tray <LETTER> Page Setup as the media type. For Epson printers the most commonly used media type is "Epson R-Series".

There are "Full Coverage" and regular versions of these media types. Choose between these according to whether the spindle area on your blank disc is printable or not.

1. Choose your printer from the Media list.
2. Choose File > Page Setup. Select your printer settings:
   • Epson: Select your printer under Format for, and then select a paper size of A4, A4 CD/DVD, or A4 manual feed.
   • Canon: Select your printer under Format for, and then select the paper size for your CD tray.
   • HP: Select your printer under Format for, and then select a
     paper size for CD/DVD.
3. Drag the design you want to print from the column on the left onto the label preview on the right, if it does not already appear.
4. Specify the printable area of your CD or DVD.
   Below the Media menu you will see Printable Diameter and Hole Diameter. The printable area of such CDs and DVDs varies among manufacturers. Without the adjustment, DiscLabel might miss printing all the way to the edge, leaving an unprinted white circle around your design. Alternatively, DiscLabel could end up printing ink on the plastic portion of the CD, which is messy, and has to be wiped off.
   To match the printable area CD you are printing to:
   • Printable Diameter: Measure the diameter, the greatest distance edge to edge, of the coated, printable area of the disc, and enter it into the Printable Diameter field.
   • Hole Diameter is the diameter of the unprintable interior portion of the disc. Measure the interior unprintable region as wide as it goes, and enter this number into the Hole Diameter field.
5. Click Print.

Print Settings

To print direct-to-disc, your printer will need additional settings. Some or all of these may apply:

Epson

• In the Print dialog, under the Copies and Pages pop-up menu select Print Settings, and there set the Media Type to CD/DVD before printing.
• Some models (R800, R300) require creation of a Manual Feed Printer Driver Variant, and you must print using that printer selection, or the printer will report that the wrong tray is loaded when you print.
• Some newer printer drivers (eg. R1800) also require changing a page setup option that defaults to Standard just above Media Type in Print Settings. That too needs to be set to CD/DVD, or you will see the error: paper source not set correctly.
• In the Paper feed panel, instead of selecting Print to CD, try selecting Manual Feed.
  Note: If the CD/DVD media choices are lined through in the Print Settings part of the print dialog it means that the printer driver does not match the machine architecture you are running on, e.g. you have an Intel-based computer but only a Power PC printer driver. You could set the DiscLabel application to run in Rosetta (From the Finder, select the DiscLabel application, choose File > Get Info and check "Open using Rosetta") to get printing to work in this case, but it would be better to install a new printer driver that is a Universal binary.

Canon

• In the Page Setup dialog, select your printer under Format for, and then select the paper size for your CD tray.
• In the Print dialog, under the Copies and Pages pop-up menu select Quality & Media, and there set the Media Type to Printable CD (recommended) before printing.