If you want to run off a disc or two, it’s not a problem. All you need is a computer with one or – preferably – two recordable drives. But what if you regularly run off tens or hundreds of copies of a project from a single disc? You could be spending hours shuffling discs back and forth in what really should be a mechanized operation.

That’s why there are products such as the Disc Makers Elite2. It’s a combination disc duplicator and label printer that automates the entire process. Weighing in at a hefty 57 pounds, the unit provides two front-removable Plextor 16x DVD/48x CD drives, a built-in 4800-dpi inkjet printer and a robotic arm to move the discs among the drives, printer and disc storage areas. It may look like a Rube Goldberg invention (or something out of a Wallace & Gromit movie), but it’s designed to provide a consistent and reliable platform for unassisted disc production. The Elite2 can handle as many as 10 DVDs (4.7 GB) or 24 CDs (700 MB) per hour, including label printing. It has an input capacity of 175 discs. Disc Makers can sell you printable CD-R and DVD-R discs at bulk prices, or you can use your favorite brand of recordable discs. The unit connects to your PC via a single USB 2.0 cable.

How well does it work? The accompanying manual will get you started, though it’s bare bones. It walks you through a typical batch process using the provided FlexWare software. Beyond that you’re on your own. For example, you can drop down to a manual mode, but there are no instructions on how to do that. Through trial and error, I learned the system will accept a source disc if placed manually in the upper drive, though it won’t accept a blank disc if placed manually in the lower drive.

The package includes a versatile and easy-to-use disc-labeling program: Discus LE from Magic Mouse Productions. It has an excellent assortment of color graphics, though many of the images are available only after upgrading to the full version for another $20. The integration between the Discus and FlexWare programs could be much better. You have to print your completed label to a file while in Discus, and then import the file while in FlexWare, in order to add it to the automated sequence.

I had no coaster discs or misprinted labels with any of my batch runs. The robotic arm can be a bit noisy, so you may want to place the unit in a far corner or another room. But it’s actually kind of fun to watch the arm pick up the disc, move it to and from a drive, move it to and from the printer and then deposit it onto a neat row. For jobs that involve just a few copies, stick with your desktop computer. For very long runs, use a disc-production facility. And for those in-between jobs, the Disc Makers Elite2 is a worthwhile solution that could free up hours of your time.