Best Lightscribe Drive?

[EvilRage]

Can anyone recommend a good lightscribe drive? I read a review of the BenQ one in MaxPC and it seems alright, I don't plan on overburning or anything really, so the lack of that feature doesn't seem like a negative to me. However, quality-wise (and I guess now, image-quality wise too) what would be the best one to pick up?

 

[Chode Messiah]

hp makes one that is inexpensive on newegg(70+ last time I checked)

 

[Tostada]

The quality should be comparable on all of them. It really depends more on the software you're using. The problem is that burning the label in normal quality takes about 20 min and best quality takes about 30 min. It can be hard to justify paying more for a LightScribe drive when Epson makes a $90 printer that can print full-color photo-quality CDs/DVDs in 1 min.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16828103160
(it's $77 delivered direct from Epson for a refurb)

I really like LightScribe, and I don't care that it's black & white, but if it's going to take 30 min, I might as well Photoshop something nice looking and use inkjet printable discs.

The price of inkjet media is really good. Taiyo Yuden 16X DVD-R is 0.50 each, and the inkjet version is 0.65 each at Rima. I can't even find 8X LightScribe media under $1.25 each.

Anyway, I'd probably get the BenQ drive since it had a good review on CDRLabs:
http://cdrlabs.com/reviews/index.php?reviewid=262&page=Features

Of course, the DW1625's biggest feature is its LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling system. While an alternative to markers and stick on labels, it's still too early to say whether or not this new technology will take off. Two things that might prevent LightScribe from doing so are the long printing times and the lack of color. Fortunately, media allowing faster printing speeds is already in the works and, according to BenQ, the DW1625 should support it. Color LightScribe media is also being developed and is expected to hit the market some time next year.

I would wait until faster LightScribe media comes out, and also wait just to see if it catches on at all (otherwise the media will never be cheap).

 

[EvilRage]

Well, if i remember correctly, i have access to lightscribe media at about .50/disc.

On the inkjet variety of CD-Rs, how good is the quality of the print?