Casio CW-100-IH CD Label Printer

I've owned this for about a year. It is reliable and trouble-free. I have gone months without printing a disc and it always comes right up and makes great prints. Things that could be better: Small porinting area won;t hold much information. One color--your choice--but just one. I always use black. Kludgy software interface looks like it was designed by a 6th grader. But it works and is self-explanatory. Good stuff: Images (like your logo) print cleanly. It's very fast. Ribbons are cheap--3 for $20. It could not be any simpler. Bottom line: For $89, I think you get more than what you pay for. Sure, the Dymo disk painter does a whole lot more--but it's $250 and the ink carts are $40 each. I recommend this for simple applications. I am a photographer and use this to label client DVDs. The results look professional. I can see where it would also be great for lots of other uses.

please pardon me, i have a question:
Does this thing work on a Mac?
(Macs don't really need drivers these days, so whether or not it's "mac supported" isn't necessarily an answer.)
also how is this different from the casio cw-50?

These printers work best on Sony, Fuji, Maxell or TDK blanks. They are a matte silver and the company name and logo doesnt interfere with the work I do. Other discs such as HP have a crazy design which cuts of some of the printing. Matte finsih silver is the key here. I buy 100 packs when they are on sale.

Casio CW-100-IH CD Label Printer works very well on PC, I have not been able to get it to work on MAC. It was worth the money. I would recommend this product.

This has worked great for me. I have only used it on about 6 - 8 disks over the past couple of weeks, but I have had no problem. I thought, from some of the reviews, that it might not work on some of my disks. It has worked on all the three types that I have, including Memorex dual-layer DVDs that have a pattern of little squares all over them. I have not experienced any of the problems that others have found.

This is really great product for persons who need to label cd/dvd. Not fancy but does an outstanding job of everyday needs. It produces both a top and bottom label with the full range of fonts. If you don't have a need for graphics this really is a great machine.

The Casio CW-100 is a Thermal Transfer printer. No, it does not print well on all surfaces. As a matter of fact, it performs best on "thermal laquer" surfaces. Amazon has the best price on this printer. Great prices on Taiyo Yuden disks (and a lot of info about the particulars of printing surfaces) can be found at supermediastore.com. It is not the fault of the printer that it does not print well on plain or inkjet surfaces. Inkjet may or may not print on plain surfaces, but prints best on--you guessed it--disks with inkjet printing surfaces. Have used this product for over a year. There are limitations on printing surface, but using a silver thermal laquer disk, even a font size of 6 is sharp and clear. If you are looking for a device for professional graphics, you may want to shell out for a low-end professional quality machine. This is not an industrial product, but outstanding for the home user. You may want to download Free and Easy Font Viewer which will show examples of all fonts on your system (keeps you from so much trial and error in choosing a label font). I do have a question, though--anyone out there know what is the difference in the CW-100 and the CW-100-IH? I have the CW-100, but cannot find any info on the IH version anywhere, even on the Casio site (where it is not listed among their products). Hope this helps.

I initially bought this to create professional-quality CDs for a startup business of mine. However, it cannot handle custom fonts or images/logos, so I scrapped that idea.

If you are looking to use this for a customer-facing business, forget it--it looks a little cheap. Move on, instead, to a professional CD printing service. It's the most cost-effective solution that I found, and the quality is far superior to anything you can do yourself on a shoestring budget. (Just search on google for "CD replication service".)

I instead used this to just label my kids' home movies on DVD. For this application, it is great. Nothing fancy, but the printing is crisp, and it looks much better than using an inkjet printer and slapping on a bulky label that is sure to peel off in a few months.

Also, note that thermal printing is intended only for discs with a very smooth surface, preferably bare. I learned the hard way by trying to use this printer on an inkjet-printable DVD (one that has a rougher surface to capture the ink). Turns out, the printer only left a light shadow of what I intended to print...it's a good way to waste $30 on some DVDs if you just have too much money laying around.

Don't listen to these whiners who complain about not finding CDs it will print on. It is a "thermal" printer and requires CDs that accept thermal printing (although I've found it prints reasonably well on non-thermal surfaces.) TDK, Memorex, HP, and others make these CDs. You just have to do your research and make sure you buy the right product, and you just can't use CDs with a lot of logos and writing on them. Just be reasonable.

I've had the printer for almost six months now and it does a great job.

I wanted something to give cd's we produce for our customers (in our computer repair business) a more professional look.
It produces text output very cleanly.
Graphics output isn't nearly as good, but I did not purchase this to do fancy graphics. If you want to do graphics get a lightscribe device.
Carefully following the directions, and making sure the ribbon cartridges had the proper tension, I've printed in black, green, red and blue without any problems.
The software interface is a little awkward, but is workable.
All-in-all I'm very happy with this purchase.

Do I need special cds for this casio or can i purchase any cd and it will work?

I work in a radio station. I archive dozens of CD's a day. I got this to make clean neat CD's, but I can't find a CD it will print to. I've tried about a dozen different types of disc w/ different surfaces, and the ink doesn't stick to anything. Plus, the layout options are shockingly limited, and any text of length has to be the smallest possible font.
If your choice is this or a sharpie, I'd go for the sharpie.

Printer performs well. Set-up was easy. Software gets the job done fine. A tad greedy on ribbon usage, but replacement ribbons are affordable. So much better than the old sharpie.

While this is the first CD printer I've ever used, it performs flawlessly, and creates a top notch printed lable that will rival that of nearly any I've seen....regardless of the price.

I was disappointed that you need special disks, but even after that, the printing is mediocre, just below standards that is should be. The software is not that user friendly, frankly might as well stick with the black magic markers, for the money spent, a true dissapointment.

I've printed over 1000 disks with th CW-100, no big problems except for some ribbon issues. However, Casio doesn't seem to have an interest in it working with Vista. Switching to lightscribe until I find a similar printer by a different company.

Any product that can enable a technologically challenged person like me to do work worthy of a techno geek has to be a great product. The Casio CW-100-IH CD Label Printer was easy to set-up and after a little bit of practice, I was able to begin printing on my CDs and DVDs. Following others recommendations, I purchased extra ink cartridges so that i won't be caught in a lurch. Casio's lable printer is worlds better than using a magic marker and easier than going the route of the separate label packages you use in your regular printer.

If you realize that this is pretty much a simple text labeler, you'll be pretty happy with this unit. I've used it for quick black-only labeling of silver surface thermal labeling DVD's with just simple text so far. The text prints in two 0.75" x 2.5" blocks and is sharp and easy to read. I have not tried graphics or color (you have to change cartridges to change colors). I usually burn three to five dvd's of one title at a time. It only takes me a few minutes to type in changes to any one of the label files that I've previously created and print the new label file to the DVD's that I'm going to burn. I appear to be able to print 36 DVD's before I have to change cartridges (six weeks of use). I bought two three-packs of cartridges with the printer, so it will be a while before I run out (I figure I'll have to label 150 or so to get below $1.00 per disc factoring in the cost of the printer itself). There are times when it would be nice to use a ink-jet printer for fancy pictures on my DVD's, but then I'd have to spend a lot more time than I care to in setup and prep. So far, all of my friends and family have been impressed with the simple but clear to read labels I've made.

I like this printer. There a few minor quarks, but it's fast and the prints come out good. The one thing to watch for is making sure the ink tape cartridge stays tight. If it's lose it will start making bad prints. It takes less than minute to pull the cartridge out, tighten it and start printing again.

I am also using this with the Mac OSX OS. Though the device says it will only work with PC and mentions something about the CASIO CW Utility for use on a Mac, but no where on the Casio site could I find the mentioned Utility. After some searching I cam e accross this:

[...]

This allows the CW-100 to work fine on a Mac. Though I have never seen the PC software that comes with printer, I have read that this mac version does not have all of the text formating options. This is enough to get around, since you can make a JPG version of your label, put that in the print area and print away. The JPG can be what ever image/text you want. Resolution is great too. I print at 300dpi.

All in all, I found this to be a great purchase. I make music and do not have the money to send out to have my CDs done. This print has more than paid for itself by allowing me to make professional looking cds and very little cost. Great the DIYer.

Much better than the old Sharpie, but the Casio CW-100 suffers from poor (non-intuitive) software and ribbon refills that cannot be found except online. It would be great if my local Office Depot or OfficeMax carried the ribbons, but nope--nada. Even the people at Staples that I have been to while traveling look at me like I'm insane. Otherwise, the quality of the printing on the CD-ROM is good, and the software gives you lots of choices with regard to layout and typefaces. However, the way the software orients the disk to write above or below the spindle hole is confusing and most people will give up in frustration.

when my cw-100 arrived i had problems getting it to print. turned out it was defective. i sent it back and the (new) replacement is excellent for what i need, which is, simply, to print data on dvd's and cd's. it's quick and, compared to printers, cheaper. do yourself a favor and buy the ribbons bulk. that way they'll only end up costing about $7 each (there are vendors on ebay that sell in bulk). i've found that i can get over 45 top-only prints on dvd's and cd's (3 lines at the 2 point size). and, you don't have to get special printer-compatible disks, which will also save money. all in all, a great machine for under $125 (bought it via ebay)...

This Casio isn't as full featured as the big boys, for sure. But for down and dirty text only labeling on my DVD's it works great! Let's face it, most of the time you are burning only a couple of discs and need the most basic of labels on the them. Why waste 1000's on a more complex automated 4 color thermal when it's not necessary? Why waste hours and over time 100's of dollars or more on inkjet?

This Casio is great for the smaller jobs that require something clean in presentation. Bye Bye Stickie Labels!

The printer works well, but first impressions are everything. An imortant message was taped to the top of the printer with a warning message advising that; before using the printer for the first time:
1. Remove the tape holding the front cover and disc tray in place.
2. Remove packing material from inside the printer.

What was missing from the message was "USING THE FOLLOWING STEPS".

The steps needed to accomplish the above were included in small type. The printer must be powered up and connected to the computer before the packing material can be removed. If one forces the printer open then the printer gets a terrible review.

Using the software was worse than trying to remove the packing material. Need I say more...

IN MY OPINION:
Well, I was reluctant to buy this after reading all of the Reviews, but I have to tell you that I've not had any problems. I have marked about 30 DVDs and CDs total, and have not experienced the tape unwinding on the spool or any other problems.

Each of my DVDs or CDs is marked with two lines across the top and two lines across the bottom of the disc. For me, just having information that doesn't spin off like a paper label, or doesn't smear as easily as an inkjet printer is a plus. That's the nice aspect of thermal printing - it's pretty permanent. All I'm after is professional looking markings in different fonts that enhance the disk. I have a ton of fonts on my computer, so I always try to find a font that not only gives me the information I need, but "dresses" up the disc in a way that might related to the Title.

I did think about other labelers that also double as label makers, but I remembered my Prime Rule: when a device is billed as having many uses and functions, it usually does all of them at a lower level than a device dedicated to one function.

When I bought mine, there was a $[...] Rebate from Casio, so I really feel I have received a fine deal. Also, I wanted to tell you that I just ran out of ink in my first cartridge. I counted about 30 discs that I marked with four lines each, and the fonts were pretty large in size. So, I would consider the ink use as reasonable. Finally, it's easy to change a cartridge, so changing colors is simple. This unit would be complete if only the other colors were readily available without having to change cartridges.
FOLLOW-UP AND WARNING: I would deduct one 1-1/2 stars for the following: I purchased a 3-pack of ribbons with my printer. The second ribbon was dry due to it probably being old stock, so I tried the third ribbon, and it was dry , also.
I contacted J&R Music World and they said it was not their problem. I contacted Casio, and they said it was not THEIR problem. Several calls to Casio brought the comments "Sometimes ribbons dry out and are gummy", but we have no policy to replace directly from Casio". I called J&R and they said, it's Casio's problem.
Isn't that great - two people made money and it's nobody's problem. Here comes Amazon to the rescue with a partial refund from its A-Z guarantee. Shame on J&R and Casio. I still lost money.

I've been doing adhesive disk lables for a long time and thought it would be a great idea to print directly on the CD/DVD's. The first one I got delivered, broke on the first try to print: The print head got stuck and would not retract anymore, I had to force the disk out of the printer via the emerg. push "hole" - of course it was damaged and unusable.
J&R Music was very nice, promt and curteous about the return and replacement!
The replacement works but the software right out SUCKS !!
TOTALLY NOT userfriendly. F.i.: The crummy little workspace, which doesn't even show full lines in the workspace area is ridiculous. The tiny full disk image doesn't help at all.
Positioning text on the disk is weird and cumbersome. Fine print is unreadable. I haven't AND WANT try to import graphics, I am sure they would look "crummy" and again sizing and positioning sucks.
Now that I got it and paid for it, I will continue using it, but only for plain, simple looking jobs. For serious good lookng lables (IN COLOR) I will go back to printing on adhesive paper lables.
Although not very expensive, I am disappointed and in my opinion it's not worth the money...
P.K.H.

I've been looking for a thermal CD/DVD printer for months. There are a couple out there, but they cost big bucks, more than I wanted to spend. I'm so glad I found this Casio! It prints amazing quality in thermal (not inkjet) ink so it doesn't smear or get damaged by moisture easily. It suprised me how fast it prints also. This is a great printer for small print jobs!!

I've owned this device for about six months. Out of the box I had it up and running in just a few minutes, no compatability or driver or device location problems, running Win XP, and I'm not any kind of genius with computers. The printing looks very, very nice with the unbranded Taiyo Yudins I prefer. I also like that it can work positioned either horizontally or vertically. So, basically, the CW-100 works as promised and I'm happy with it.

Minus a star, however, because (1) the software interface is not as logical and easy to use as it should be when it comes to selecting font size and laying out your text (2) given that this is a single function device, it's not a great value at the presently prevailing street prices.

I needed a cheaper alternative to getting cds thermal printed through cd duplication houses (they can charge up to $300 per 100 cds). After reviewing the Primera Signature Z1 and TEAC P-11, I came across the Casio, which seemed to have a bit more going for it. From what I've read, it prints at a higher resolution and the thermal "sticks" better to the cd. So based on that, I purchased mine through Amazon and received it yesterday.
Hooking it up was very simple and I was printing cds within 5 minutes of taking it out of the box. Text looks very sharp and clean. Even very small 6-8 point font looked sharp and clear. I rubbed my fingers over it several times to see if it would smudge or come loose, but it was secure and did not smear. I didn't try to scratch at it, so I can't comment on how durable it is to scratching.
Also, another thing I really like about it is that it prints the top and bottom sections of the cd very quickly. It's much faster than an inkject printer. This is a definite bonus if you are printing off a large number of cds at once as long as you don't mind that it can't do as much detail or as many colors as an inkjet printer.
Overall, I'd highly recommend this to anyone who wants a cheap, professional solution for printing cds that look professionally made (or even those of you who are tired of those cheap labels that easily become delaminated).
As a side note: If you're looking for a printer that will do high res graphics or many colors at once on a disc, this is not the printer for you.

I bought this item from another vendor, and had the same problem as another individual did earlier. Every time the device printed, the tape cassette, which is somewhat like an audiocassette or VHS tape, did not spool properly. So, after printing there's a mess of tape outside the cartridge. One can manually wind the cassette, but this gets old quickly. I called Casio and they felt this was a malfunctioning unit. They offered repair or possibly replacement, but encouraged me to call the original vendor. Although I set this up just outside the vendors 30 day return window, they honored the 30 day policy and offered to refund or replace. I chose the replacement, because from what few letters I did see, the quality was nice, and worthy of a second chance. If you buy this, make sure you follow the guidelines for setting up the device, and I'd also recommend not waiting 30 days to test the unit! Also, use CD's or DVD's that are printable with thermal transfer printers, as this is: this unit won't work, or at least didn't work for me, with media designed for inkjet printers.

The CD Label printer makes neat and clear labels on CD's, as needed by me. I suspect that it will also do graphics to some degree but have not tried it yet.

I've had this label printer for several months and it has worked great for me. It's fast, easy, and looks great. I only use Sony or Panasonic DVD-R's or DVD+R's and CD's. It actually looks much better on these media than the printable media. I think it takes me about 20 seconds or so to make a label, if that long, and it's just very practical. I would recommend black ink if you are doing this professionally.

Just a quick review to say that I am happy with its performance. It works as described and it is easy to figure out. Only draw back was that it can only print one color at a time, where I thought I could do multiple colors at once.

Recieved it today...had to try it...unpacked and installed ok...printed first line ok..then i had to take out ink ribbon and rewind it every time for each line..ribbon seems to stick to disk..very unhappy

I'm in a band, so it's really nice to have an inexpensive way of printing CD labels. And I think it looks more professional than paper adhesive labels, because you're printing directly on the disc. How easily the ink scratches off depends on your printing surface; use CDs with a nice matte finish and the ink will adhere well. I was not disappointed with the print quality; 300dpi is reasonable for this device. The ability to use True Type fonts and to preview the image is also nice. And while it has simple wizards for novices, I wasn't disappointed with the advanced layout features, such as front-to-back ordering and position locking. You could even do color graphics if you split an image into RGB separations and rotated the color ink ribbons. And it's great that the disc turns automatically to print on both sides. Overall, I think this is a great solution when you consider the costs of various CD printing options.