When we were contacted by Primera to review the Bravo II CD/DVD duplication system we were reticent at first since this doesn't exactly fit within the purview of audio/video products. The more we thought about it, however, the more we realized that a lot of our readers have marketing needs for distributing their products and service brochures. As a result we decided to give it a look and use some of our own internal materials as test fodder.

Setup

Setting up the machine was easy. It requires a PC or M ac host computer (we utilized a Pentium IV laptop) as well as an available USB 2.0 port. The system is a complete standalone duplication system that duplicates 25 optical discs from a master (or 50 discs using a special kiosk mode). But what really makes this a duplication system is the integrated inkjet printer that can print directly onto printable discs. As for media, the Bravo II handles CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, and DVD RA M discs.

We placed the unit near a power outlet and made sure it had plenty of ventilation. The laptop connected easily and the software installed without a hitch, including the printer drivers which were easily located by the Windows XP operating system.

How It Works

In a nutshell, the duplicator works by taking a source disc, copying it to the PC's hard drive and then sending that data along with a label image file to the Bravo II for duplication and printing. The system, once initiated, will run unassisted and create a total of 25-50 copied and printed discs. It does this through the use of a precision robotic disc transporter system and integrated 4800x1200 dpi inkjet printer. The robotic disc arm checks the recorder for a disc by attempting to pick it from the tray. Next, it picks a disc from the Input bin. After placing it in the Recorder tray, the disc is burned, ejected and dropped into the Printer tray about 3.5 minutes later. Once the disc is printed, it is picked up again by the robotic arm and deposited in the Output bin. What's nice is that while the aforementioned printing phase is occurring, the Bravo II is already loading a new disc into the Recorder tray to optimize the system's use of time.

The system uses LED optics to avoid making mistakes, such as putting discs on top of each other, attempting to pick from an empty bin or grabbing two discs at once (Primera calls this their AccuDisc Technology). The alignment system was something to watch and it really seemed to work flawlessly during our tests. USB 2.0 connectivity assures simple connectivity along with very fast transfer speeds for both data transfer and printing.

In addition to burning discs from a master, the Bravo II can perform batch copies, one-offs, and the software even allows users to drag and drop files to be burned and labeled by the system.

Software

The primary software is PrimoDVD 2.1 (made by Sonic) which handles disc copying, image copying, data backups, audio jobs and stream jobs (where multiple masters are interleaved in the Input bin). We primarily tested the Disc to Disc Copy function which utilized the entire duplication system.

Setting up and running a copy is simple:

1. Choose "Disc to Disc Copy" from the PrimoDVD starter window.
2. Select the source drive and recorder drive. The software uses blue and red directional arrows to indicate the selected source and destination drives. You'll also want to check the " M ake a temp image on the hard drive and copy from there..." button to ensure that a disc image is made form the master disc. This assures a much better success rate, especially on slower systems or computers that do not have faster optical drives.
3. Choose the number of copies and the recording speed
4. Select the print box and Browse to locate the on-disc SureThing image file. You can also click on the SureThing button to open up the application and design a custom disc label.
5. Click on the Record button to initiate the duplication process

Labels and Printing

The SureThing CD/DVD Labeler program (Primera Ed ition) is an application specially integrated into the Bravo II duplication software. There are plenty of supplied background elements and you can also add your own photos or clipart elements. Text is simple to add in any font available in the host PC and there are even several font effects that can be used to curve, wrap and otherwise warp the text on the label. Once a label is designed it can be saved and the PrimoDVD 2.1 application can then integrate the file into the duplication process.

You can use the SureThing CD/DVD Labeler program to print labels directly to disc without running a full duplication job. This is helpful for pre-populating labels on blank CD-Rs, or for when you are trying to get a jump on a job and want to preprint the labels prior to finalizing the data content. Printing is very fast, with each disc taking between 1-2 minutes depending upon the amount of ink needed on the label. Bidirectional printing is available to speed up the process though care must be taken to ensure the system is completely aligned.

Conclusions

We duplicated a total of 100 discs in 4 batches of 25 and found the system to be very easy to use. More importantly, it was reliable and very easy to trust. Once everything was configured I was able to leave and return only to start the next batch. Printing was clean and never pixilated or uneven. If your company makes CDs for marketing or product distribution, the Bravo II is a great time-saving tool. In terms of price, it should make money and quickly pay for itself in a short amount of time.

Primera Technology, Inc.
Two Carlson Parkway North
Plymouth , MN 55447-4446
Phone: 800-797-2772

Headquarted in Plymouth, Minnesota, Primera Technology, Inc. is the world's leading developer and manufacturer of CD/DVD duplication and printing equipment and is known for its popular Composer line of CD/DVD duplicators, Signature line of inkjet CD/DVD printers and best-selling Bravo II and BravoPro Disc Publishers.

Primera's mission is to produce technologically superior products that offer a high degree of customer satisfaction and value while conducting business affairs with unparalleled integrity, courtesy and professionalism.