switch labelling

[Simon Stroud]

>>> TZ like:

>>> Having just looked carefully at the TZ tape, there are in fact three

I have one of the cheapo P Touch 1000 machines and it's been great. Uses the TZ tapes and gives great print quality and extremely sticky labels.

Only one minor complaint - the machine has crafily had the print head positioned rather a long way inside so that you have to waste quite a long bit of tape after your label before cutting off. It's best to print all your current requirements in one go one after the other then feed a bit and cut off at the end. Hand separate with scissors. I bet someone at Brother got a big bonus for thinking up that scheme for increasing tape sales! The tapes are rather expensive but last a long time as long as the kids don't get their hands on the machine and start printing out frivolous labels to stick on each other.

Some of my faxourite uses:

- marking each of my increasing pile of LAN-connected gadgets with their IP address

- marking all the "plugtop" mains adaptors under my desk with their function so I can work out which ones to unplug

- marking all the gadget-ends of mains adaptors with their purpose to avoid any expensive blowing up incidents

- marking all the storage boxes in the garage

- etc etc

For the cable-marking purposes I make the label long enough to wrap round the cable and stick together the two sticky ends making a little "flag" with the text on both sides. The same method (but much longer) for labelling the kids' backpacks wrapped round the carrying handle bit.

Regards, Simon.

[Dave Liquorice]

On mine the default is to have at least 3/4" of blank tape either side of any printed item. Setting "feed" to "none" reduces this to the minimum, which to my eyes looks fine so the only bit you waste is the 3/4" that it insists on spewing out before each print run.

[Tim W]

Simon Stroud wibbled on Wednesday 18 November 2009 08:26

>>>>> TZ like:

>>>>> Having just looked carefully at the TZ tape, there are in fact three

Is the tape backing scored for easy peeling? I remember some old types of tape that were a PITA to peel the backing off.

Re cables - I know the flag method - used to use that at a previous place.

I'm interested in the super wide tapes (24mm IIRC) and doing the full wrap around "sleeve" method - that would be very neat on my mains and random ELV/comms cables.

I noticed that one of the industrial format machines isn't actually very expensive.

Silly about the cut position - they all seem to like doing that...

[Simon Stroud]

Thanks Dave - yep I have the "no feed" setting, so that minimises the waste between prints. But the cutter then chops off part way through the latest print. So I always have to do a bit of manual feed at the end.

Regards, Simon.

[Simon Stroud]

Yes the tape backing is scored lengthways along the middle so very easy to remove.

(At least it has been on all the laminated-type tapes I have tried.)

Regards, Simon.

[Dave Liquorice]

None of the tapes I've used have had that but then I haven't bought any tapes for years. Peeling the backing is tricky but not as bad as most double sided tapes as the label is reasonably stiff.

[Dave Liquorice]

I don't think mine does with feed set to none.

[John Rumm]

>>> TZ like:

>>> Having just looked carefully at the TZ tape, there are in fact three

New ones may be, the original ones (which I bought with the machine and am still using) were not - although you did get a plastic widget that you fed the label through and then pulled it sharply away - which sort of started it peeling for you.

You may find that since they are a bit stiff, they unwraped with time round such a small radius (given PVC is not that easy to stick to)

You can mitigate it a bit because it lets you change the default offsets.

[geoff]

In message , Simon Stroud writes

Keeps you off the streets, I suppose ...

[Tim W]

John Rumm wibbled on Wednesday 18 November 2009 18:23

They mention an extra flexible tape in the TZ range, for apparantly this type of application.

That's good :)