Primera Technology Inc. hopes its new CD/DVD duplicator and printer, Bravo Disc Publisher, will become a "must have" for businesses in the document industry. With the rising demand for materials produced on CDs and DVDs, the company might get its wish.
"Most people have a little laser printer at their desks, and that's what we're trying to encourage with Bravo," says Mark Strobel, Primera's vice president of sales and marketing. "It's not exactly the same comparison in price yet. But the point is, you don't need to network with a big, expensive piece of equipment anymore to get a quality copy."
For five years, the Plymouth, Minn.-based company has been designing high-end CD/DVD duplicators and printers, which usually are sold to service companies that copy and print for clients. Duplicators typically cost $3,000 to $12,000, while printers cost extra. (Starting cost for the Bravo is $1,995.)
Tapping the CD/DVD Market
Primera, known for its Composer line of optical disc duplicators and Signature line of ink jet optical printers, recently expanded its offerings by developing the Bravo. The machine, which has a built-in ink jet printer, produces 25 to 50 CDs or DVDs per job with resolutions of up to 2,400 d.p.i. in full color. It's available in two models: Bravo CD publisher, which burns at a speed of 48X (approximately one CD-RW every minute) and Bravo DVD publisher, which burns CD-RWs at 16X (approximately one every five minutes) and DVD-RWs at 4X (approximately one every 15 minutes).
Kevin Gabrik, vice president of Minneapolis-based Techware Distribution Inc., says many of his company's customers use CD/DVD duplicators such as this ComposerMAX from Primera Technology Inc., based in Plymouth, Minn. Duplicators allow Techware's customers to copy corporate catalogs and product manuals for distribution. Gabrik's clients also copy corporate recruitment videos and briefs on DVDs.
Courtesy of Primera Technology Inc., based in Plymouth, Minn.
Bravo's duplicator is compatible with computers that have Intel® Pentium III or equivalent processors, 256 megabytes of RAM, and Microsoft® Windows 2000 or XP operating systems. SureThing CD Labeler software and Vertias recording software are included. The duplicator also requires a FireWire PCI Adapter Card and Universal Serial Bus interface, which aren't included.
Camelo Bonilla, owner of Digital Plus Hawaii, Honolulu, uses Bravo and other stand-alone duplicators and printers in his business. The company offers digital imaging, graphic design, printing, CD/DVD conversion, editing and duplication. Unlike some manually fed, stand-alone duplicators that don't require PCs, he says, Bravo is fully automated. A mechanical arm transports discs to the printer, allowing them to burn and print without assistance. Bonilla says Bravo's disadvantage is short-lasting ink cartridges.
Most CD/DVD duplicating systems print from ink jet, thermal and silk screen printers. While ink jet printers only print on printable CDs, thermal and silk screening on most surfaces. Until recently, ink jet and thermal CD/DVD printers had specially designed cartridges or ribbons available only from the printers' manufacturers. Primera sells color ink and black monochrome cartridges for $42.95 that work only with Bravo. Also, Bravo is a self-contained system, so changing the printer to one that uses standard cartridges isn't an option.
More companies are broadening the range of cartridges that can be used with CD/DVD duplicators. Primera's chief rival, Microboards Technology LLC, Chanhassen, Minn., recently released Print Factory, a CD-R and DVD-R printer that uses standard Hewlett-Packard cartridges. Epson America Inc., based in Long Beach, Calif., sells a standard cartridge-compatible printer called EZ that prints on CDs and paper and is compatible with all duplicators.
Expanding the Technology's Use
A wide variety of firms use CD/DVD duplicators for multiple applications. "Systems with a fully automated process are what people want, and they are getting better and cheaper all the time," says Kevin Gabrik, vice president of Techware Distribution Inc., Minneapolis. "It seems like every few months, the burners on these systems get faster and the printers improve." Techware began as a data storage distributor to graphic and prepress companies, but like many others in the market, it started selling duplicators made by the three largest manufacturers: Microboards, Primera and Rimage Corp., Minneapolis.
Gabrik says many of his customers use duplicators to copy company catalogs and product manuals for distribution. "Instead of printing 1,000 or more 300-page product manuals, it's cheaper and takes up less space if you burn it on CD in a PDF file," he says. Techware also is accepting more requests for corporate recruitment videos and briefs on DVDs. Gabrik says his clients sometimes want Microsoft PowerPoint™ slides incorporated into DVD videos. He adds that all firms should buy duplicators from established companies with dependable technical support services.
