Label Makers Go High Tech With PC-Linked Models

When I was a kid my parents got me a Dymo label maker. You know the ones. They’re plastic hand-held devices with a wheel that lets you select a letter or number. Squeeze the trigger and the character is embossed to plastic tape that sticks to most surfaces.

I used that device my entire childhood to label books, radios and just about anything else that needed a label. But I didn’t stop there. When I set up my first office, I bought the professional version of the label maker to label file cabinets, office equipment and staplers. I even created small signs for the front office.

Dymo (https://www.dymo.com), which is now a division of Britain-based Esselte Limited, still makes those plastic embossing devices. But as you might expect, technology is having its impact on this type of product as well.

In 1998, Esselte acquired CoStar, a leading manufacturer of PC-based labeling devices. The company’s newest devices include improved PC-based label printers and a line of hand-held electronic printers.

I recently installed the Dymo LabelWriter Turbo to my PC and have been using it to label everything from file folders to mobile phones to envelopes. Just about anything that leaves my office now has a label on it so it can (hopefully) find its way back. The small desktop device connects easily to a PC or a Mac via the USB port, which is an improvement over the previous models that plugged into the serial port. USB, which is available on most new PCs and Macs, is not only faster than serial, but you can buy adapters that let you plug up to 127 devices to a single port.

The label printer comes with software that makes it easy to design complex or very simple labels. You can even print labels from a database in case you want to use them for mass mailings or create labels based on computerized inventory data. In addition to printing from the Dymo software, you can also print from within Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Goldmine and other PC and Mac software programs. You could, for example, print out labels for everyone in your computerized contact list so you can paste them on Rolodex cards.

The LabelWriter Turbo, as its name implies, is fast. It takes just about two seconds per label. It’s also capable of printing 1 1/2-by-2 1/4-inch-wide labels and index tabs. At about $259, it’s also expensive. The LabelWriter EL 60 prints the same size labels, but is a little bit slower. At $209.95, it’s also cheaper. The least expensive model is the EL 30. At $149, it prints only 1 1/2-inch labels and index tags.

The labels themselves come in rolls of 350 and wind up costing about five cents each. Whether that’s cheap or expensive depends on how you use them. I find it reasonable for occasional one-off labels for signage or office use, but too expensive to use for mass mailings. For that, you’re better off buying label stock that you insert directly into your laser or ink jet printer.

Dymo competes directly with Seiko Instruments (https://www.seikosmart.com), which offers a series of similar Smart Label Printers starting at $199.

Some models of both the Seiko and Dymo printers can also be used to print postage. Both Dymo and Seiko have teamed up with E-Stamp (https://www.estamp.com) to enable printers to create postage “stamps” that can be affixed to envelopes and labels.

The labels generated by both the Dymo and Seiko PC-based label printers are on thermal gummed paper. It’s the same technology as the flimsy old fax paper but not as ugly. Still, they’re not as attractive as the slicker labels that come from other types of labeling devices from Brother, Casio and also Dymo.

I recently tried out the Casio KL-8100 PC Label Printer, which is now available for $99 from Casio’s Web site (https://www.casio.com/productivity). Like the popular hand-held label printers from Brother, this one prints on a variety of coated adhesive label tape that can be affixed to just about anything that needs labeling in an office or a retail environment. Tape sizes range from 6 millimeters to 24 millimeters and the printer can handle from one to eight lines of text. Unlike the Dymo LabelWriter, it works with or without a computer. In fact, for one-off labels, I found it easier to use the Label Printer’s built-in keyboard than to use the installed software to create the labels on the PC. The software, of course, would be handy if you want to print from a database that’s already on the PC. The device has more built-in characters and fonts than you’d ever want.

Personally, I would pass on the more expensive PC-compatible label printer and get a basic one from Casio or Brother. Casio’s KL-750 EZ-Label Printer, available online for $49, is portable, gives you one or two lines of text and is very easy to set up and use. Brother makes an entire line of P-Touch label printers, also starting at about $49.