R220 Bites the Dust

[Chuck Engels]

Well my Epson R220 finally has met its end, at least the print head has.
I tried everything possible to revive the print head but it is too far gone and will not print black or blue at all anymore.
Too bad because I really like that printer, it cost me all of $36 USD a few years ago, what a great deal it was.

So I started looking for a replacement, they are selling the R220 new on Amazon and eBay for nearly $400 USD, that's crazy !!

Well come to find out that my Canon printer, Pixma MP990, sold in Europe prints CDs and DVDs so I figured maybe mine could too.
There is plenty of info online about how to make it work, just need to buy a CD tray online at eBay for $22 USD, not a bad deal.
Then the printer will need to be reset so it thinks that it is in Europe instead of the USA, do you think I need to start talking to it with a British accent?

I have learned tons about Epson printers, how to clean the print heads and even how to remove the print head. I could buy a new print head for about $100 USD, more than I really want to spend but the problem is I just bought refillable ink cartridges and a supply of ink
So what to do, that is the question. I'm watching a R320 on eBay that might go for around $60 and it looks pretty good ....

[RJ Johnston]

I have a Canon printer and bought the appropriate CD adapter for that model off of Ebay. It works.

[Bobby]

Sorry Chuck. As a fellow 220 owner, I am concerned that mine will meet the same fate. But I didn't invest in an ink system as you did, just bought the cheapest cartridges I could find, good enough for DVD use.

Hope you find a path out of this dilemma.

[Chuck Engels]

Thanks RJ and Bobby, I'm leaning toward the Canon method. I really love the Pixma printer and the fact that it can also print CDs and DVDs is very tempting. It prints very high quality images, the colors are very good and it is the fastest scanner I have ever owned. Still, I like to have another printer available when printing DVDs so I can print other things, like case inserts. Will let you know how this turns out

[Greg mgm]

I have a Canon printer and bought the appropriate CD adapter for that model off of Ebay. It works.

Same here. Tray came from somewhere in England, and the seller had a link to "Cd LabelPrint" on his ad which I downloaded.
My ip4200 had a small plastic cover over the tray opening that had to be pried off with a screwdriver. Other than that, getting it to print on CD's/ DVD's was easy.

Anyone know why Canon doesn't sell them cd print ready out of the box?

[Chuck Engels]

They don't have the rights here in the USA, only overseas. The rights for the CD printing feature here in the USA are held by Epson and maybe HP. I can buy a try from someone in Denver, Co., already removed the little plastic cover and have downloaded all of the software. Also looking at a very nice R320 online that I might buy as well, still like to have two printers rather than just one

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

CD Label Print is OK for Canon but I prefer and now always use Acoustica CD Label Maker.

http://www.acoustica.com/cd-label-maker/index.htm

[Chuck Engels]

Thanks for that John, I will definitely check it out.
I always use Photoshop to design the DVD face, then used Epson Print CD to print.
Don't know anything about CD Label Print yet so that gives me a head start

[Peru]

CD Label Print is OK for Canon but I prefer and now always use Acoustica CD Label Maker.

http://www.acoustica.com/cd-label-maker/index.htm

I have an HP and use Acoustica, too.
Anther one of those programs like DVDAS - simple, inexpensive, and it works.

[Bobby]

I have used Corel Draw for years to create my labels but let the upgrades lapse and the version I have doesn't work on Win7 ( I will check out Accoustica, thanks!

[rusty]

I have a Canon Pixma MP640 and it came with the CD/DVD tray. It works beautifully, as does CD Label Print.

[Chuck Engels]

Great to know, thanks Rusty

[Chuck Engels]

I followed the instructions to convert the printer to allow CD printing and it worked great. I have ordered the CD Tray and it should be here in a few days. The Canon CD LabelPrint software is installed and working. I did have to install the printer driver again and choose Europe for the location, other than that everything is fine. This has not affected any of the other computers that are also connected to the same printer via the network and that is a real plus

I am still going to get a Epson R320, watching them on eBay for the right deal

[George Tyndall]

So what to do, that is the question. I'm watching a R320 on eBay that might go for around $60 and it looks pretty good ....

Chuck, I've used both the R220 and the R340 for CD printing, but they do not compare to the following for $129:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/616457-REG/Epson_C11CA45201_Artisan_50_Inkjet_Printer.html

Check out the 163 reviews to learn how wildly happy the owners of this printer are.

BTW, a set of six OEM cartridges will set you back $40 and give you some of the most beautiful if not breathtaking prints and CDs you've ever seen.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GENUINE-OEM-Epson-78-Inks-Artisan-50-R260-R280-R380-RX580-RX595-RX680-/110910709057?pt=US_Ink_Cartridges&hash=item19d2cb1d41

[Chuck Engels]

Thanks George, I've looked at the Artisan 50 but it has been priced at $150 so that B&H ad is the cheapest I've seen so far. I already have the refillable cartridges for the R220 and R320 so that wouldn't cost me anything. I always liked the CDs that the R220 printed and that's pretty much all I used it for. I'm sure the Artisan 50 would be an excellent printer, just not sure I want to spend that much right now along with needing to buy refillable cartridges or probably a CISS for that one.