A: What you need is a disc with a smoother surface and will require less ink. You've probably heard me talk on and on about the ultra-smooth, ultra-white surface of Falcon Pro white inkjet printable discs. But, Falcon has created an even better disc called Smart White that uses 20% less ink than its regular white inkjet discs.
Falcon's Smart White discs were originally designed as a disc that could be used for both thermal and inkjet disc printing. To make this possible, Falcon applied a thicker print layer to the disc, which had the added effects of:
- allowing 20% more ink dispense volume to increase the color depth, offering the shortest drying time after inkjet printing, allowing high throughput times on duplication systems
- enabling true 1200 dpi printing by minimizing ink diffusion in each pixel in lateral directions
- securing a smooth surface finish for maximum color contrast
In other words, while creating a disc that could be used in both inkjet and thermal printers, Falcon created a print surface that outperformed its standard inkjet disc. As I said earlier, however, the original Falcon Pro white inkjet disk is pretty darn good, already.
Once again, I spoke to our friend Fred Perez, National Sales Director, for Falcon Technologies International, which makes Falcon Pro media. He sent us recommended Microboards PF3 and PF Pro printer settings for both the Falcon Pro inkjet white and Smart White discs:
- Microboards PF-3 Optimized Settings for Falcon White Inkjet
- Microboards PF-Pro Optimized Settings for Falcon White Inkjet
- Microboards PF-3 Optimized Settings for Falcon Smart White Inkjet
- Microboards PF-Pro Optimized Settings for Falcon Smart White Inkjet
So, to go back to your original question, you can reduce your ink consumption by switching your discs. In addition to saving money, you'll also produce discs that look better and dry faster.
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2 comments:
If the new Smart White disc "allows 20% more ink
dispense volume", how is this saving ink? The way this statement reads, it appears this disc consumes 20% more ink.
OK, the short answer is that the disc does both…it absorbs more ink AND you can save printing costs – it depends on what you want to do.
If you typically use your inkjet disc printer in "best" or "normal" mode and you switch to a SmartWhite disc, you can dial down your ink settings so you're using less ink (see the directions above). The Falcon Pro disc with the new settings should look the same as your old disc did with the old settings. Only now, you're using less ink.
According to Fred Perez, National Sales Director at Falcon Technologies International, this actually has to do with the smoothness of the disc and the brightness of the white disc coating. The more white a surface is, the more light it reflects, making the images look more vibrant. Smoother surfaces reflect light in a more uniform manner, so the different colors are hitting your eye at the same angle. I'm over-simplifying it a little, but that's the gist of how it works.
Here's a great article that explains the relationship of surface texture and brightness to color perception: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/reflection/specular/index.html. Make sure to check out the java tutorial at the top of the page.
If you use "photo" mode on your inkjet printer, teamed with the Falcon SmartWhite disc, your image will look sharper because it's absorbing more ink more quickly. The thicker print surface will soak up the little ink droplets faster, so they don't have time to spread out, ensuring the fine details of your disc art are crisp and clean.
Of course, the other benefit of SmartWhite is, if you do use both inkjet and thermal disc printers, you no longer have to buy two sets of discs. The Falcon Pro SmartWhite disc works in both printers, reducing the amount of inventory you have to keep on hand.
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