Primera Bravo SE Disc Publisher (review)

Primera is a Minnesota-based company producing disc duplication and printing devices. The company manufactures a whole range of these units, from entry-level to high-end, and has recently released what it claims is the first Blu-Ray disc duplicator. This review concerns itself with one of the entry-level units, the Bravo Disc Publisher (suggested manufacturers price: US$ 1,495, although this unit can often be found for less). This particular device can duplicate CDs and DVDs (the new Bravo unit that also handles Blu-Ray discs costs about double the price), and is able to handle up to 20 discs at a time (see Figure 1).

Figure 1.

Primera Bravo SE Disc Publisher.

The Bravo connects to either a Windows or Macintosh computer through a USB cable (but must take its power through an external cable/adapter). The system requirements are not particularly onerous: Windows 2000 or XP, 700 MHz Pentium III/IV processor, 512 MB RAM, 10 GB hard drive space; Macintosh OS X version 10.2 or higher, G4 700 MHz (it will run on an Intel Mac as well), 256 MB RAM, 2 GB hard drive space (6 GB for producing DVDs). The one factor that requires care is the need to connect the Bravo to a USB 2.0 port on the computer (2.0 ports appearing identical to USB 1.0 ports, of course).

The unit is simple to unpack and set up. You need to make sure the unit is set on a stable, flat surface, all the packing adhesives removed (that prevent the robotic arm from moving unnecessarily, etc.), and the printer cartridge installed. The installation disc loads the necessary drivers and software to the computer. On a Macintosh (this review was carried out using an Intel iMac, Mac OS X 10.4), it is necessary to add the Bravo as a printer option using Printer Setup Utility. The software for managing operations—selecting what kind of disc format, loading the content, attaching image files for printing, and so on—is provided by CharisMac Engineering. The Discribe software presents options for burning data CDs, audio CDs, or copying a CD/DVD. What is not provided for the Mac platform is any software for creating the disc labels. Templates are provided, but you must possess graphics software such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator to prepare your labels. According to the company, a survey of Mac users indicated that the vast majority of them already use Adobe software for working with graphics. For users who need something more economical, Primera recommends Magic Mouse Discus Labeling (listed for US$ 45; Web www.magicmouse.com/) or Smile On My Mac DiscLabel (listed for US$ 32.95; Web www.smileonmymac.com/). If you have the Bravo connected to a Windows machine, Primera provides its own project management software, called PTPublisher. In addition, the company provides a version of SureThing Disc Labeler, a dedicated graphics program that enables the user to create disc labels using helpful templates.

The first step in producing a disc for duplication is to create the audio or media content and have it available on the computer hard drive. Then, the text and image(s) for the disc label need to be prepared and saved as a graphics file (the software supports any file type Apple Preview supports: JPEG, TIFF, PICT, PDF, GIF, BMP, etc.). The printer utility Page Setup enables the particular type of disc to be selected (there are choices beyond the standard CD/DVD, such as Business Card Disc, 80 mm CD, etc.). The printer driver is supposed to center the image and crop it to the shape of the CD. You should be able to create a graphics files using a custom page size of 120 mm square (4.72 in.) and center your...