Customer Reviews

Primera Signature Z1 CD/DVD Label Printer

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Trying to put a paper label on a CD is not only a hassle, but if you don't get it right, the label can jam up your CD mechanism.

Currently there are two types of CD/DVD printers, thermal and ink jet. Thermal has at least three advantages over ink jet. First off, thermal printers are less expensive than ink jets. Add to that is the fact that you don't need to use expensive "printable" CD's, thermal printers work great on the cheapest blank CDR's. Finally, thermal print is more durable, it doesn't rub off as easily as ink jet print.

I chose this one over the Casio CW100 because the Primera prints on all 4 quadrants, whereas the Casio only prints along the top and bottom of the CD, not the sides.

The Primera label design software is easy to use. I did notice that it's not exactly WYSIWYG, the printed text appears smaller on the actual CD than you would expect from the design screen. Printed text was smooth and gives your CDs a professional look.

I was disappointed with the "graphics" feature. Don't expect too much, with only a single color and 200 dpi you will need to simplify your graphics. Think back to the rudimentary graphics on your 1980's IBM-PC monochrome monitor, that's about what you get.

Another downside is, print quality is very poor on brand name CDR's with company logo's etched onto the surface. The CDR print surface must be smooth, like that found on generic no-name CDR's.

Overall I am happy with my printer, it does exactly what I hoped it would do.

Overall I have been very pleased with the Primera Z1. It is quick and simple to use. I've been pleased with the results.

Unlike another reviewer, I have not found the slight jaggedness in text a problem and didn't even notice it at all until after I read his review -- I had to look closely to notice it. I have not tried to print graphics so I can't comment on that. I found the Primera Z1 extremely easy to set up: just connect it to my USB port, install the software (which was a snap), and follow the instructions to install the printer cartridge. I was up and running very quickly. It is true there is no printer cartridge indicator of how much is left, but then few printers I've used (and I've used many) provide that information which is why I always keep a spare cartridge. So this isn't a problem for me.

I've been using the Primera Z1 to label DVD discs and have used TDK DVD-R discs which have a silver satin finish and the TDK name, type of disc, size, etc. imprinted. (I had a supply of these prior to my purchase of the Primera Z1 and wanted to use them up before getting the plain discs which are recommended.) You can line up the disc in the printer and enter the text in the software so it won't overwrite any disc imprint (hint: if using imprinted discs, make sure the disc is in the printer so that the imprinted text runs horizontally).

I've used a variety of fonts with this in sizes from 12 points (anything smaller would be hard to read) up to 36 points and have been very happy with the results. I've only used a black cartridge. This sure beats hand writing titles in indelible ink or trying to use labels (which made one DVD I recorded of camcord film I had unreadable on my player).

The Primera Z1 is not going to give you the type of very high quality output you find on pre-recorded DVD or music CD discs. But if your needs, as mine were, are simple -- printing text directly onto DVDs or CDs -- it is great. As mentioned above, you can print in whatever font you have on your computer in whatever size (just highlight the text and then select the font from the pull-down menu, then select the size). You can mix it up, i.e. I had 3 different titles and printed each in a different font and size. You can have text centered, flush right or flush left, and justified. Also you can bold, italicize, or underline text. It will even do square bullets or numbering.

I probably should mention that I'm running this on Windows XP home edition.

Primera Signature Z1 CD/DVD label printer was what I was looking for...inexpensive thermal disc printer for printing on regular discs. Primary use would be for labelling client's discs in a simple, clear manner.

I could not find any users reviews on this product as of late Sept. 2004. Ordered the Z1 from Amazon in early Oct 2004. Software installed easily on Windows 2000(J) PC and hookup was a breeze. Design software is fairly intuitive, allowing you to place text or images on north, east, south, west quadrants of your disc.

Print quality is fair...I was expecting better for claimed 200 dpi resolution. Larger, serif, italized fonts are jaggy. Smaller, non-serif fonts are a little better. I imported logos in bmp and tif format. Logos had about the same jagginess as text, so maybe it's 200 dpi limit. One quirk...image aspect ratio changed on import. Software (Ver 1.2) allows aspect ratio adjustment, but requires patience as it is a little buggy. Print time is quick, tho spent much more time designing. No inidications for ribbon life remaining.

I used regular, unbranded silver top discs with no problems. Branded discs didn't work well as thermal print did not adhere over disc design (ie TDK logo). Printed discs have not smudged or bleed.

Compared to ink jet printed discs that I have had printed, Z1 printed discs are good but different. Ink jet allowed photo real images and text was sharper. Smudges can be an issue tho. Ink jet printing is more expensive in general.

Overall, the Z1 is easy to use and inexpensive. I'm able to print simple, clean discs. Print quality is fair, but acceptable. I'm able to print discs without using a Sharpie. Would I buy it again..probably.

I have made about 200 CDs with the Signature Z1. The results are exactly as promised. Yes, you can see the pixels at 200 dpi, but you have to look hard. I already have "my money back" vs. commercial CD duplication.

There is no problem with ink adherance to CD blanks designed for thermal printing. With good blanks the spoilage rate is less than 5%, and that's being picky. It even prints cheaper blanks with only slight rub-off problems.

The Signature Z1 is nominally a monocolor printer but I have made CDs in which the logo field is red and the other three fields are black. It requires two passes through the printer.

My only complaint: the hub-gripper does not always want to release the CD. I found a painless workaround: drop a blank CD over the printed CD to push the pins back, then lift them both off together. At last, a use for the transparent CDs that are found at the top and bottom of each spindle!

Based on the mixed reviews (and the inexpensive price), I bought this for my church hoping that it would turn out like the 5-star reviewers' printers. Good thing for return policies. I printed about 6 CDs on it -- only one looked good. The rest would be missing a letter here or there or there would be a smear or the text would be all over the place. I have included a picture of the CD that convinced me that it wasn't just a cartridge issue, as well as a picture of the unit.

The printer is a nice size, very compact, but I will be trying the Casio CW-100 now.

This product initially worked great. After a few months, it required cleaning, which unfortunately, the unit is not designed properly for. After a year, it just produced extremely dirty (smudged) labels, of which no cleaning could fix. Two friends bought the same unit, and each had problems after a few months. Not a quality product. I'm sorry that I bought/recommended this product.

I will send you a rock or a hairbrush or something else that won't print on discs either.

I am on my second printer. The first one stopped working after 3 labels so I sent it back. This one has worked for several months now, however won't print on the botom part of the disc unless you hold the carriage down, so I hardly ever use it.

Cue the disappointed trumpet noise... wah-wah.

I replaced a Casio CD-100 CD printer with this one because I wanted more than just the two print area Casio provides - Big mistake! At first the printer worked great and I was happy. I should have realized something was wrong the first time I took a printed CD out of the printer and the spindle came out with the CD?! Snapped it back in and everthing seemed OK. When I got to the end of the ribbon, instead of telling me to change the cartridge it kept going, made some unusual noises but continued printing. The only way I knew the ribbon needed changing was nothing was being printed on the CD., I changed the cartridge. The end of ribbon foil that the printer should have sensed but didn't. Ever since then printing was un-even, some areas faded out completely. Changing ribbons didn't help. Worse, the print areas no longer lined up neatly! Primera was no help, apparently unwilling to exchange the printer, so I gave up. I'll either go back to Casio or use LightScribe.

I've printed about a dozen discs w/ the Z1, so I feel qualified to give a mini review. First, let me say that this little disc printer does a great job given its price. Anyone complaining that the text rubs off must not be doing something right, because you really, really have to rub it w/ your finger to get it to smudge. And this is even right after printing.

Some notes about the package:

1. Print quality is excellent unless you print really small font stuff or complicated graphics. The way it rotates the disc to print in all 4 areas works flawlessly.

2. There is not a hard on/off switch, so if you don't want it coming on each time you turn on your computer, you'll need to unplug either the power or the USB. No big deal.

3. The printing software is easy to understand, but a little klunky. e.g. if you want to make the entire window bigger to see what you're doing, you click the "Zoom In" button, but each click barely makes a difference. Also, the software requires the .NET framework be installed. Now, it's beyond me why ANY printer would need that installed, but alas, it does. The bad news is that the installation of .NET on a single-user Windows XP machine will result in you having to click your name to login upon bootup whereas before it would just go all the way to the desktop when you turned your computer on. The good news it that you can delete the guest account that gets created, and the disc printing program still works fine.

4. I have several types of discs that I've tried out w/ the printer, and the ones that are matte finish are definitely worse than the slick super-shiny kind. The matte finish discs result in text that is not really black. The edges look a little fuzzy, and the fill isn't solid. Now, with the other style discs, slick, super-shiny discs (shiny silver on the writing surface, and a smooth, slick clear layer on top), the printing is much, much better. It borders on professional looking text. (The text itself, not what the printer is capable of in total)

5. The ability to save disc designs is great and works flawlessly. Most everything else about the printing application is easy to understand.

Overall, I am very pleased with the Z1. It serves my needs perfectly. And compared to the cheaper Casio printer, this one seems to have a lower per-disc cost based on the replacement cartridges.

The good: The Primera Z1 delivers excellent and reliable printing directly onto the surface of a standard CD or DVD. It works much better with text printing than any graphics printing. The thermal nature of the printer prevents any "rub-off" or smudging even immediately after printing. It does work best with unlabeled CDs (although it will print over any other markings or engravings on the CD). The ink cartridge lasts a very long time (I have printed over 200+ CDs on my first cartridge). The software is easy to use (but a bit limited).

On the downside: The Primera only prints in one color. To get any other colors, you need to buy and replace the standard black cartridge. It is also pretty slow (it takes about 45-60 seconds to print a CD with pretty basic labels). It is also expensive for a one-dimensional CD printer.

Overall: This is a quality product for those who only want to print text labels in one color onto CDs.