You can buy a DVD duplicator/printer for under $2,500 from some manufacturers, or for about $10,000 from Rimage. So the obvious question I wanted to ask their product folks is why would I want to? Turns out they had some pretty good answers.

First, the units are all standalone systems with a processor and network capabilities so you don’t need to allocate a computer to run them. They’re sturdy appliances with shielded input trays that keep the dust off your blanks, which helps avoid print errors, and can produce both DVD-R and Blu-ray discs.

Second is Rimage DiscFlow for the Mac, a fully networkable Mac client for recording and printing DVDs and Blu-ray discs. I saw a demo, and the new software is gorgeous, and should ship in June. You manage each system with a browser based utility that lets you control all jobs from all sources, Windows and Mac.

SThird, the company also announced Everest 600, which brings 600 dpi thermal transfer printing to your recordable discs. Even close up, the quality matches the silk screening used on replicated discs, and it’s a clear step up from the previous 300 dpi maximum. Now, your customers will have to work hard to distinguish replicated discs from the recordable discs Rimage produces.

While beauty is only skin deep, protecting your recordable DVDs from piracy is beautiful through and through. Rimage’s Video Protect works by inserting bad data in unused portions of the recordable disc, which plays fine on set top and software players, but deliberately confuses most the DVD ripping software commonly used to copy discs.

The utility is far reaching, from protecting dailies or review copies of movies to keeping your wedding client from making an extra couple of free copies for the extended family. High value training discs are another sweet spot, and look for an interesting case study from Star Thrower Distribution Corp on the Rimage web site. If you’re a small shop, note that many Rimage-equipped service bureaus offer Video Protect, which can cost as little as $1.00 per disc.

Finally, Rimage has done a great job working with developers like Philips, Digital Rapids and Focus Enhancements to integrate burning and printing functionality into their third party products. For example, several Digital Rapids products can burn DVDs on Rimage recorders, while Philips adds forensic watermarking, another layer of protection.

Overall, if you’re looking for an inexpensive printing/burning solution, Rimage is probably not for you. However, Rimage’s recorders/printers offer industrial strength reliability, industry leading print quality, DRM and integration with third party programs that bring a boatload of value add.