TDK LPCW-100 CD/DVD Label Printer
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| Posted by | Dennis |
| Posted on | 08/01/04 14:08 |
| Number of views | 16427 |
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Review: TDK LPCW-100 CD/DVD Label Printer Reviewer: Dennis Provided by: TDK Europe |
The TDK company has been around for many years and everyone will have heard of the company. TDK manufactures electronic components and recordable CD and DVD media. TDK also manufactures optical products such as CD-RW and DVD-RW recorders and since recently they have also added CD/DVD label printers to their product range. In November 2002 TDK launched their first model, the LPCW-50. Roughly one year later TDK announced the follow-up model of this CD/DVD label printer, the LPCW-100.
Compared to the previous model the TDK LPCW-100 printer has a higher print resolution (300dpi compared to 200dpi for the LPCW-50) and support for more colours (five colours compared to four colours for the LPCW-50). Today, thanks to TDK Europe, we'll take a look at the LPCW-100 CD/DVD label printer. According to the press release TDK Europe send out, the printer is incredibly easy to use and discs will be printed with dry ink which should prevent smudging. We'll of course test if this is indeed the case.
Test Machine:
Before we get started we should mention the specifications of the computer we're using for the tests. Our test computer has the following specifications and it's running the Dutch Windows XP Professional SP1 operating system:
Hardware:- Motherboard: GigaByte GA-7VAXP
- Processor: AMD AthlonXP 2100+ (1.74GHz)
- RAM: 512MB (PC2700)
- GFX: ASUS V8200 (GeForce 3 Ti200)
- Hard Disks: Maxtor 40GB + Western Digital 120GB (both 7200rpm)
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Posted by MP|3 on Thursday 08 January 2004 14:39
The printer looks quite nice! To bad there is not much room for texts and the colors can't be used at the same time. Very handy if you want to print a quick label on a cd though!!
Posted by Hemispasm on Thursday 08 January 2004 16:02
I thought it would require special CDs to print on .. or is that for inkjet printers that can also print on CDs?
Posted by G@M3FR3@K on Thursday 08 January 2004 16:07
You can print on any CD or DVD you want to but, as said in the review, it's best to use discs that have a smooth surface. Inkjet printers often (always?) need special discs which this TDK printer does not.
Posted by GristyMcFisty on Thursday 08 January 2004 17:43
Bit of a pointless product if you can't print the full colour images one might acquire from say...the front of a CD or DVD disc... 
I'll stick with printing on nice shiny CDDVD labels...much better quality...
I'll stick with printing on nice shiny CDDVD labels...much better quality...
Posted by Danny Kiwi on Sunday 11 January 2004 13:13
I think Glossy Labels done on my Inkjet look better..Using Sure thing and the likes, it makes it very easy to produce a startling label..If the thing was cheaper it would not be too bad for doing quickies
Posted by jaming on Friday 06 February 2004 16:46
How do I get one of these in America? Is anyone selling local or do I need to find one in the UK?
Posted by Drut on Friday 13 February 2004 22:46
Tandy in the UK are selling the TDK pcw 50 printer for £65.00
The only difference is you have to turn the disk yourself.
The only difference is you have to turn the disk yourself.
Posted by mea_culpa on Tuesday 17 February 2004 11:29
Drut, I think there may be a DPI difference between the LPCW-50 (which I've had for nearly eight months) and the LPCW-100
LPCW-50: 150 dpi
LPCW-100: 300dpi
Soz for being an ' armchair critic ', but the review examples were particularly unadventurous! if you threshold an image in Photoshop and-or tweak the levels a bit, this is perfect to drop into the printer software and works a treat. I'll be back to this review with a URL for samples from my LPCW-50.
Also, I feel this complements a good sleeve.. some people don't want full coverage of a DVD or CD with an inkjet, simplicity sometimes suits a situation.
I'm working on rewinding the cartridge, but TDK have made this difficult.. a pity, as a blank space the size of the print area is left on the ribbon in between every used part of the cartridge, which, when you think about it, is madness, I'm working on an idea.. this will hopefully double the capacity of the cartridges, lowering the CD print-ratio for this rather clever machine.
[edited by mea_culpa on 17.02.2004 11:38]
LPCW-50: 150 dpi
LPCW-100: 300dpi
Soz for being an ' armchair critic ', but the review examples were particularly unadventurous! if you threshold an image in Photoshop and-or tweak the levels a bit, this is perfect to drop into the printer software and works a treat. I'll be back to this review with a URL for samples from my LPCW-50.
Also, I feel this complements a good sleeve.. some people don't want full coverage of a DVD or CD with an inkjet, simplicity sometimes suits a situation.
I'm working on rewinding the cartridge, but TDK have made this difficult.. a pity, as a blank space the size of the print area is left on the ribbon in between every used part of the cartridge, which, when you think about it, is madness, I'm working on an idea.. this will hopefully double the capacity of the cartridges, lowering the CD print-ratio for this rather clever machine.
[edited by mea_culpa on 17.02.2004 11:38]
Posted by Lawrence Elliot on Friday 07 January 2005 16:50
Has anyone tried printing on a recorded DVD? Did it corrupt the data?
I have several recorded DVD's I would like to label but don't want to corrupt the data.
I have several recorded DVD's I would like to label but don't want to corrupt the data.
Posted by Saxtus on Wednesday 19 July 2006 10:48
If you print at the label side (that was meant for) there is no corruption at all.
Also you can print on HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray too!
In fact you can use it to print at any 120 mm disc that exists or it is going to exist at the future.
Also you can print on HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray too!
In fact you can use it to print at any 120 mm disc that exists or it is going to exist at the future.
Posted by Duncan Webberley (guest) on Saturday 03 March 2007 13:54
I've had a TDK LPCW-100 for over a year now. You can actually be quite adventurious with it. With practice (and with a few wasted discs and, yes, expensive print-ribbon areas at first) you can even do shaded pictures from photos or other designs if you lighten them - substantially - in "Photoshop" etc. and save as a bmp. or jpg. Also, you can overlay different colours, if you are in extravagant mood. Just change the ribbon - DON'T move the disc! Be careful and - Think Before You Print! May not be as flashy as Ink-Jet but can look at least as professional if done right and avoids disc-destabling stick-on paper labels...
Posted by adamo (guest) on Sunday 03 June 2007 14:32
HO CANCELLATO IL MIO PROGRAMMA DI CD/DVD PRINTER LABEL LPCW-50 GRAZIE ADAm
Posted by kayode (guest) on Sunday 10 February 2008 09:41
pls can it print on any cd or can i see the coulor to buy in anywhere
Posted by mike vargass (guest) on Sunday 30 March 2008 12:33
woud you like TDK TR-18BK-T BLANK IN
YOU SEND FOR ME? HOW MONY PAY?
THANKS.. Mike...
YOU SEND FOR ME? HOW MONY PAY?
THANKS.. Mike...
Posted by jozefs on Monday 31 March 2008 02:05
I have a Casio CW 50 I purchased at Fry's Electronics about a year ago for $49.95. It looks just like this printer, but prints at 200 DPI. The ribbon cassettes are $9.95 each. The review is correct in stating the high cost of printing disks and the waste of printing ribbon. And it can print on any smooth surface disk.
This message was edited at: 31-03-2008 02:11
This message was edited at: 31-03-2008 02:11
Posted by jozefs on Monday 31 March 2008 02:16
I have a Casio CW 50 I purchased at Fry's Electronics about a year ago for $49.95. It looks just like this printer, but prints at 200 DPI. The ribbon cassettes are $9.95 each. The review is correct in stating the high cost of printing disks and the waste of printing ribbon.
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