This was a nice holiday surprise -- a technology device that worked right out of the box, and has lived up to its promise. Plus, it's a very cool design for a useful product.
The DYMO DiscPainter is a CD/DVD printer that prints on inkjet printable discs. It works quickly (in a few minutes), and has a compact design that's very quiet.
As a bonus, the DiscPainter is really fun to watch, because it prints while the disc is spinning. When you insert the disc it is pulled back under the main housing, and then the DiscPainter prints from the inside hub out to the outer edge, quietly advancing the disc under the cover so you can see it being painted.
The DiscPainter also is easy to use, because its software installs as a USB printer device under Windows (it also includes Mac software).You then can print from any application -- i.e., Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop or something simpler. DYMO provides disc templates, so you just set the page size to match before printing to the device. Or you can use the included Discus for DYMO software for designing disc labels.
The DiscPainter works with inkjet-printable discs, standard-size CDs and DVDs (120 mm), plus mini discs (80 mm). It prints the entire surface of "full-coverage" / hub-printable discs, printing to the inner edge of the center hole, as well as non hub-printable discs (with the larger unprintable inner plastic ring).
Use the printer properties dialog to set the print quality, print area on the disc, and the ink density (matte to glossy to colored discs).
The print time then ranges from 30 seconds in Fast / draft mode (fine for simple text labels) to a still-quick 3 minutes for Best quality and complex graphics designs.
DYMO recommends using inkjet-printable discs with a glossy surface -- the shiny surface looks better than a duller, softer matte surface. There also are a variety of water-resistant / "tough coat" discs available that will hold the print better with less-gentle handling.
The unit is only 4.3 x 10.6 x 5.7 inches, and weighs 2.65 pounds. Released in late 2007, it's available for around $279. It also uses a single, but custom, ink cartridge, rated for printing 100 discs at Normal quality, and is available online for around $40
See my High-Def / DVD Gallery for details and related products
Find the DYMO DiscPainter on Amazon.com