DVD Duplicator

[Chuck Engels]

A client of mine is going to need me to provide CD and DVD duplication of his videos which he will sell at conferences and on his web site.
So now I am in need of a duplicator, probably small to start with as I will only need to produce 20 - 50 copies at a time.
I need a good one but cannot spend lost of money on this until I am sure the return will be worthwhile.

If anyone has a used duplicator that they are willing to sell please let me know. Otherwise, any recommendations or suggestions are welcome as this is a new area for me. I usually provide 5 copies of a wedding video and that's it. I have been looking at the duplicators available at Dell. There are some nice prices on the 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3 duplicators, is anyone familiar with any of these?

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/prod ... u=A0483557
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/prod ... u=A1238899
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/prod ... u=A0483554
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/prod ... u=A1194710
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/prod ... u=A0511974

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

Sorry, Chuck, can't help but will be very interested in your conclusions.

[Chuck Engels]

Thanks John

[Maxine370]

not much experience either but you may want to check out http://www.discmakers.com/

[Chuck Engels]

Thanks Beth but I really want to do my own duplication until the quantities start getting to large for me to handle.

[Cinde]

Chuck, have you thought about looking on Craigs List?

[Chuck Engels]

Thanks Cinde but I don't think a used one would be a good idea in this case.
If anything happens I would like a warranty

[Maxine370]

Diskmakers sells lots of different duplicator machines as well.

[Chuck Engels]

Diskmakers sells lots of different duplicator machines as well.

Sorry Beth, I didn't even see the duplicators for sale - Thanks for the link

[lucian]

About three years ago we purchased two of the ProCon basic models. Ours were used for DVD/CD duplication and ran about $799 each. Our first dupe job ran three DVDs at about 150 copies each. Never a problem with them. They've worked first time every time. We use them as stand alone units and are using white face inkjet printable discs.

(ProCon unit - http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/4 ... riter.html).

Recommendation: These are the only DVD duplicators I've used.

[Chuck Engels]

Thanks for the info Lucian, really looking for something with Lightscribe and in the under $500 range. Things may change however, never know for sure. If I got a job for 1000 DVD or CDs tomorrow I would probably get something better.

If it hasn't been mentioned yet, Welcome to Muvipix

[lucian]

Our video shop is small. A couple of years ago our folks had to do some traveling to document new equipment and procedures. The programs put together were about 20 minutes each.

Since then our video production has fluctuated. Our dubbing requirements are separte from production requirements. All total they are probably averaging about 1200 dubs a year.

I'm planning on getting a unit sometime next year. If all goes well I'll be able to retire the end of March and draw a pension. Hopefully by then I'll be smart enough to create DVDs for my daughter who is doing wedding photography. It's that right now things are so busy and chaotic that I don't get the chance to do much at home.

So when I finally do - well there just may be the occasional question or XXX.

Take care. And thanks for the welcome.

[Briantho]

Hi Chuck,

I produce the sort of quantities you mention several times a year. I also have to produce much larger quantities every couple of years but then I contact a local company!

Anyway, to take care of my needs a few years ago I bought a few cheapish external burners (LG multidrives) and they are hooked up via a USB thingy to one of my machines, usually the desktop. I use the queue in Imgburn, load up the drives and let it get on with it. I even use that same machine for other light tasks simultaneously without anything negative happening

I see the advantages of going this way (rather than a dedicated duplicator) are:

- it's modular - you start off with a couple or three burners and expand as required.
- if anything goes wrong then it's just the one burner and not the whole duplicator that has to be fixed
- it's flexible - if you want to split the burners between machines for smaller tasks then you plug as required
- it's probably cheaper than a dedicated duplicator depending, of course, on what's available in your area.

FWIW that's what I do.

[Chuck Engels]

Thanks Brian, that is very similar to what Jack does in his business as well.
I have thought about going that way but decided I would like an option that can be stand alone as well.
Many of the duplicators have hard drives and can duplicate without being connected to a computer.
A 1 to 2 burner (that's 3 DVD drives total) costs under $400, not much difference if I purchased them all separately is it?

[Briantho]

...not much difference if I purchased them all separately is it?

Costs could be either way depending on what's available to you in your area. To me the other points I mentioned are equally important...