I would recommend buying one set of the third-party cartridges and trying them out before you stock up, unless there are folks who've tried them for printing CDs. I haven't, so can't comment on that. However, one of the other things we print are high-quality "photos" of artwork - and we were quite surprised at how much better they looked on "genuine Epson paper" - well worth the extra money for us once we did a test.

If all we did was print CDs, I'd probably try the less-expensive ink cartridges - but after our tests with the paper, I wouldn't buy a 4-year supply until I was sure I liked how they worked. :)

And I would make sure I have a safe place to put them while they dry (we insert them directly into the jewel case when they come out of the printer - harder for cats to walk on them there) - they aren't that wet, but they do recommend waiting 24 hours before playing them.

JudyB