Topic: TSKB: CD/DVD labels on Epson Artisan 725 using OpenOffice (or LibreOffice) Draw

[rjp]

I was playing around with the CD Print program that Epson supplied with the printer, and found that it had an irksome limitation: namely, text blocks can be only one format. No font changes, no size changes, no switching between normal and italic/bold/underline, nothing.

I thought it would be interesting to see if I could do something in a drawing application and just print it directly, bypassing CD Print and its limitations. As it turns out, you can do so, but it's a bit tricky; it's easy to end up with an offset image. That's the advantage of the Epson software; it's easier to use, in spite of its limits.

Here's how to do it in OpenOffice/LibreOffice Draw. It might work with other Artisan series printers, but I only have a 725 to work with here. Note that I'm assuming familiarity with how Draw works. The paper format/margin settings should at least theoretically work with other applications as well (e.g. Photoshop).

• Set your measurement units to millimeters (Tools->Options->Draw->General)
• Bring up the page format settings (Format->Page)
• Page size: A4
• Left margin: 17.0 mm
• Right margin: 77.0 mm
• Top margin: 9.0 mm
• Bottom margin: 100.0 mm (will actually become 99.99 mm)

This will give you a 116 mm square to work with. Drop a 116 mm circle into this to provide a guide for item placement, and drop a white, centered 43 mm circle  to provide your inner bound (it's handy to have the Alignment toolbar activated to aid centering). I just draw random circles, right-click them, and use the Position and Size option to get the dimensions right, then use the Alignment toolbar to center them. The 116 mm circle could be filled with a color or gradient if you desire; otherwise, you could remove it after completing your design. Leave the white 43 mm circle in place (be sure to bring it to the front!)  to insure ink doesn't go where it shouldn't. Avoid placing non-white objects, or portions thereof, out of bounds.

Once the design is completed, bring up the Print dialog, and click the Properties button. Click the Shortcuts tab, scroll it down, and choose CD/DVD Printing from the list of options. You can select other options as desired; once finished, click OK. You are then ready to print your disk label.