Everest Autoprinter

Everest™ Changes Everything

Consider a CD surface printer that can:

• Create an image with the color intensity, graphics, and durability of silk-screened or offset printed discs

• Produce a surface print that is durable, UV stable, and permanent

• Produce photographic images better than those seen in most magazines

• Print stunning monochrome text, graphics, and grayscale images

• Do all this on-demand, with none of the set-up required for silk-screen and offset printed discs

• Be integrated into several powerful, on-demand CD-R/DVD-R production solutions

• Do all the above in just-in-time production and mass customization applications

In response to the significant need for an on-demand printer that addresses the above issues, Rimage has partnered with Alps Electric Co., Ltd. to develop the first on-demand, photo-realistic CD-R/DVD-R printer.

The creative applications of Everest™ are limitless.  It can be used in markets previously not receptive to on-demand printing, because now you can produce effects similar to those created with silk-screen or offset processes and just as lasting.  Everest™ is the first on-demand printer that can print a label from one edge of the disc to another, the first on-demand printer that can print on the hub of a disc, and the first on-demand printer that can print white ink.  Thanks to Everest™, designers are no longer limited by the printing technology, only by their imagination.

Until now, CD label designers were constrained by the available printing technology, with only four printing options available to them—silk-screen, offset, inkjet, and thermal.  While these four methods all have their advantages, they also have their drawbacks.

Silk-screen and offset printing produce indelible labels with strong color, but these processes are most suitable for production runs of 1000 or more discs.   Because of the set-up involved, they are not suitable for just-in-time and mass customization applications.  To address this limitation in pre-Everest™ systems, Rimage developed Perfect Print™, which combines silk-screen or offset with thermal printing.  Thermal printers personalize a disc by allowing text, serial numbers, or other elements to be printed on the surface of a previously silk-screened or offset printed disc.  This solution, while a good compromise, necessitates maintaining an inventory of pre-printed discs and diminishes some of the flexibility for printing custom labels.

Inkjet and thermal are two approaches to printing CD-R on-demand.   Inkjet printing produces realistic images, but not as vibrant as silk-screen or as permanent.  The other method, thermal printing, produces color custom labels that are highly durable and resistant to damage, but its color printing capability has limitations that preclude its use when a label has complex color graphic content.  Applications requiring corporate identity, a compelling marketing message, and other visually powerful effects demand CD-R labels that match the print quality of silk-screened or offset printed discs.

A Revolutionary Printing Process

Rimage, the industry leader in CD-R/DVD-R publishing, knows the issues involved with printing on CD media.  Alps, our partner in the Everest™ development, has been in electronics since 1976.  They entered the personal printer market in the mid-’90s, introducing MicroDry™ variable dot technology to produce sharp color graphics.  Rimage and Alps combined their strengths to address the need for better graphics, better color, and better monochrome when printing on-demand to CDs and in the process created a revolutionary fifth method of printing to disc—thermal re-transfer.

Thermal re-transfer refers to a method of disc surface printing where the entire label image is first transferred to a plastic transfer ribbon, one color at a time.  The finished image is then re-transferred to the disc.  This gives more control over the outcome because CD surfaces are unpredictable, varying from disc to disc and manufacturer to manufacturer.  The re-transfer process allows label designers to do things previously unattainable with on-demand printing, such as edge to edge printing and printing on the hub of the disc.   The effect is a label to rival one produced by silk-screen or offset methods, yet can be printed on-demand.

Everest™ employs an innovative variable dot technology, where the dots composing an image vary in size, resulting in sharper images with greater detail.   In addition, the MicroDry™ ink is actually a thermal resin that contains pigment.  This dry technology produces a dot with a fine edge.  Consequently, dots per inch, or DPI, does not accurately reflect the print resolution.  A better measure is lines per inch (LPI), and that is where Everest™ shines.  Silk-screen typically produces 85-120 LPI, and magazines are generally offset printed at 150 LPI.   Everest™ prints labels at 160 LPI—color or monochrome printing that is better than silk-screen!

The pigmented ink is UV protected, ensuring vibrant colors throughout the life of a disc.  And because the ink is not water based, there are no issues with the label smearing.  It also won’t scratch off—you’ll ruin the disc before you can scratch the label.  This enables CD-R to now be used for commercial distribution because Everest™ printed discs can withstand the rigors of day-to-day consumer handling.

Bold Color, Crisp Graphics

The color model that Everest™ uses is CMY (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow) with black represented as a composite of the three.   A CMY-White ribbon is also available; the white panel is for use as an undercoat. Everest™ is the only on-demand printer able to print white to a CD.  This white undercoat can be applied to the entire disc, or just a portion, allowing for some creative results.  For example, a designer can apply white to a silver-surfaced disc in order to reproduce the whites of a model’s eyes, yet reverse-print the text, so that it appears silver.

For monochrome printing, replace the color ribbon with a black ribbon.  While the durability of the ink makes it attractive for pure text applications, the variable dot technology allows for monochrome graphics that are as compelling as color.  The technology gives a depth to the images not achievable with other printing methods.

What does all this mean to the graphic designer?  Creativity.   Control.  Riveting results.

Software Makes It Happen

The software that comes with Everest™ was developed to assist the designer.  The printer drivers provide strong color management, which gives the designer control for accurate color reproduction—an important consideration when printing company logos or trademarks or when using pre-existing designs.  There are two drivers: one to support Windows® 2000 and the other to support Macintosh®, although at this time OS X is not supported.  The Macintosh driver is available for the Autoprinter, while the Windows 2000 driver supports the Autoprinter and production systems.

CD-Designer label editing software is also included with Everest™.   This software allows the designer to import graphics and text.  Features include serialization, bar codes, and data merging capabilities.  However, you don’t need to be limited to the tools provided because the printer works well with such industry-standard software as Adobe® Illustrator®, Adobe® Photoshop®, Macromedia® FreeHand®, QuarkExpress®, and CorelDRAW®.  Graphic designers can compose labels using the software that they are familiar with.

For this quality of print result, the speed with which a label is printed is impressive. In a production setting, the Everest™ disc-printing time is just 78 seconds—printing to the transfer ribbon and re-transferring from ribbon to disc.  In low demand applications such as kiosks, the print time can be reduced to as little as 23 seconds, because the image is printed to the transfer ribbon while the disc is being created.

Everest™ is available in a variety of configurations.  For batch printing, there is the AutoPrinter, an automatically loading printer that connects via USB connection to a PC or Macintosh.  For true on-demand CD-R/DVD-R production there are the Autostar II, Protégé II, or Amigo II members of the Producer II product family.

A New Era In On-Demand Printing

Everest™ is a revolutionary departure from traditional disc printing technology.  There is no cumbersome set-up involved, and there are no screens or plates to store.  The fine resolution of the variable dots bests most magazines.  MicroDry™ produces an indelible label that contains crisp graphics, in monochrome as well as color.  The thermal re-transfer process results in the only on-demand printer to print edge to edge and on the hub, covering the entire surface of the disc.  This, along with Mac support, is an important concern for graphic designers.

Everest™ offers freedom to create interesting designs, the flexibility of on-demand printing, and control over the outcome.  The industry clamored for an on-demand printer that could produce disc labels to match the best qualities of silk-screen and offset printing methods.  It’s here now, with Everest™.

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