I remember when CD writers were like this, about 25%-33% you tried to burn were coasters because your machine couldn't keep the write buffer full, so you had this delicate balancing act of setting it to burn and OH GOD DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING and hope for the best. They still blew my mind with how handy they were, and now CD/DVD burners are so dirt cheap and reliable that it's hard to imagine the days when they were so sensitive. I figure in a few years, 3D printers will get similarly more reliable and mainstream, and continue to fall in price, until people are churning out all sorts of widgets without giving it much thought or worry.
I have a TDK 4x4x8 cd burner that still to this day had not burnt a coaster. I had a Memorex 2x2x4 and a LiteOn DVD burner that was as you described....but I found if you buy good burners what you say is not a problem. When I replaced the aforementioned LiteOn I got a Plextor for ~$100 and have had no problems.
Living on Earth may be expensive, but it includes an annual free trip around the Sun.