[. . . ] What Thermal Printing Means to Your Bottom Line. . . The REAL Facts. Is it really true that inkjet printing is actually cheaper than thermal printing? [. . . ] But inks stay wet around the outside edge and on the inner hub due to surface finish characteristics of all discs. This leads to ink "smearing and smudging" caused by handling of un-dried discs. This will never happen with thermal prints. DRY TIME Instantly with No Mess Varies / can get very Messy INDELIBILITY Won't Scratch, Fade, Run or Smudge and is Water-proof Will Scratch, Fade, Run or Smudge and is NOT water-proof Printing Problems that occur. . . COST/SAVINGS It is difficult to forecast inkjet print-output since ribbon/ink output could vary from job to job. You might save initially on the cost of the printer, but incur more future costs with inefficient inkjet cartidge replacement. . . and related job `re-runs". Color shifting occurs when one of the three colors in a cartridge runs out. This causes overall color accuracy to `shift' in the middle of a run. With thermal printing, there is absolutely no color shifting. Dye-Sublimation Thermal Printing Fixed Costs Inkjet Printing Variable ­ Not so easy to Forecast COLOR SHIFT NO Color Shifts Color Shifting will occure Inkjet Printing can create visible horizontal lines (`bands') across the disc as ink runs out. Banding happens generally with larger jobs that are set up to run unattended. [. . . ] All trademarks and registered trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies. [. . . ]