Rimage Everest III Printer Review

The Rimage Everest III printer is the 3rd generation Everest printer released by Rimage (printer technology licensed from Alps in Japan). The Everest III is a thermal re-transfer printer that is 100% indelible, 100% UV protected and waterproof. Far superior to cheaper inkjet based disc printers that will smear and smudge unless expensive JVC watershield CD-r, DVD-r or BD-r discs are used in conjunction with the inkjet printer.

The main advantages over the previous Everest II printer is that the Everest III has slightly increased print speed, a nice sturdy handle of the front of the printer for easier maneuvering, and also an improved print dialog window that does not disappear when the ribbon runs out (sound funny, but this is a big help when trying to print the exact right number of discs). For the purpose of this review and testing we used an autoloader compatible Everest III. There are many for sale on Ebay or other auction sites that will only work if the discs are hand loaded, be careful!

The Everest III has been the printer of choice on a wide range of Rimage autoprinting systems and disc publishing models since 2005/2006. Some of the most popular being the AutoEverest III, 5100N, 5300N, 6100, 7100, 8100, 6100N, 7100N and the flagship model 8100N.

As far as the basic specification go, the Everest III prints the equivalent of 300 dots/inch using variable dot technology. The printers weights approximately 45 pounds without packaging and has the following dimensions: 9.7” Height x 9.5” Width x 22.3’ Depth. Print speed 60 seconds in “normal mode” and 78 seconds in “best mode.” Optimal operating room temp = 59-86 Fahrenheit (15-30 Centigrade).

Ribbon choices includes a 1000 print black ribbon, a 500 print color CMY ribbon (most popular), and a 375 CMY-W (white panel added) ribbon. We have been told that there are no working compatible ribbons available in the market place that work on the Everest III.

As far as testing went for us, we printed CD-r and DVD-r with the Everest III using the hand/manual load option as well as on a 300 disc Auto Everest robot and a Producer III PC connect 7100 full disc burning/printing system.

The Everest III that we used for testing had only 2400 printed discs on the printer according to the Win XP print driver. That is a very low number of discs, almost a brand new printer. We have seen similar printers with well over 200k prints. Over the course of two days we printed about 500 discs.

The EIII printer is a durable printer that has very durable on disc color or monochrome black print output. There is not a noticeable print quality improvement over Everest II printer. The normal mode 300dpi printing is pretty much magazine quality with eye catching color that really pops. We did not notice much of a difference testing the best mode other than a slower print speed which translates into fewer discs per hour.

It proved easy to setup on our Win XP PC in manual mode. Just a couple of minutes to load the printer driver and CD designer template software. Just like the Everest II, you can also easily print directly from Adobe PhotoShop or Illustrator which is preferable for manual mode or Autoprinter mode. Graphic design edits are easier for a semi-skilled Adobe tech.

We also tested the Everest III printer on a 300-disc Rimage AutoPrinter – known as the AutoEverest III. The performance was very solid. It was easy to set up with the robotic autoloader, and only required a simple movement of the switch on the back of the printer to setting #2. About 300 CDs were printed during this part of the testing and all the printed discs looked great, and identical.

Finally we tested the printer on a Rimage Producer 7100 with an external PC. It took about 5 minutes to uninstall an older printer driver and replace with the correct driver. We also had to switch the setting on the back of the printer to position #3. The 7100 also has a bin capacity of 300 discs, buts adds two integrated CD/DVD burners for full disc color print and burn capabilities. The EIII printer worked great while printing and duping another 200 DVDs.

Pros – The Everest III prints 300dpi

This is a durable printer that has amazing color constancy as the first disc looks identical to the last. It is a versatile printer that can be used on multiple Rimage loaders and duplicators. It has two print modes – Normal and Best (although we could not tell much difference in the output quality). The new handle on the front of the Everest III is a big plus when you have to move or re-position the printer. And the improved printer status window makes keeping track of the number of discs you have printed a breeze even when a ribbon change or two is required during your production run.

Cons – Rimage has begun to discontinue support

With all thermal re-transfer printers, you have to keep them clean and in a relatively dust free environment otherwise small vertical lines or dust streaks can occur on the printed discs. Sourcing spare parts can be confusing and frustrating at times, we can help you out with that if needed.

I hope you found what you were looking for in this review and maybe even learned a thing or two. Keep us in mind for any CD/DVD printer, duplicator or disc publishing needs you have in the future. We are the real deal and here to share our knowledge and high quality products with you!

Go to Everest III page

Go to reviews index