Wider tape label maker recommendations?

[T i m]

There was a discussion here recently re durable labels for outdoor / gardening use and I have a need for a reasonably robust labeling system (UV / adhesion) for something primarily for internal use.

I want to be able to mark up draws and storage units but I'd like it to be a bit bigger than the fairly narrow thermal tapes on my handheld Dymo 'LetraTag' (LT-100H) machines and tape not individual labels (and portable) than my Dymo label printer (450?) whilst being affordable (to buy and consumables) please?

After a quick Google it seems there are a few choices but I'd prefer some recommendation from those here that may have experienced some different solutions (maybe at work) and believe there is one solution that may stand out for some reason?

A wipeable / plasticised tape might be better than a straight paper finish and I'm not particularly interested in different colours of tape.

I don't need loads of fonts or graphics, just a VFM utility_level tool that does basic text reliably and where consumable are readily available please?

Cheers, T i m

[charles]

I have a Brother pTouch 7600 label machine for which I can get tape in various widths (6-24mm). Bettery operated so I take it to the job. I got it years ago at a Tool Fair, but you can get them at CPC (which is where I get my labelling tape. SWMBO has a simpler beast (which only takes one size of label) which she uses extensively in the garden.

[S Viemeister]

Another vote for the Brother with 24mm capacity.

[nightjar]

I've successfully used these waterproof, permanent, laser printer labels to mark products used outside for more than a decade:

[Theo]

+1. My pTouch 1090 was about a tenner on ebay, and there are 'compatible' tapes for about £3 each.

One thing to be aware of is that the used tape cartridges contain the used film which is a 'negative' of what you printed. So if you label anything sensitive (like say passwords on equipment) you should be sure to destroy the tape inside the cartridges.

It's also worth getting one with either a rechargeable battery or to take a set of NiMH cells, as they do tend to eat them quite a bit.

Theo

[John Rumm]

I use a Brother machine that takes TZ tapes. These are laminated tapes, and produce good clear durable labelling. Tapes go from 3.5mm wide to 36 mm wide - although not all machines can take all the tape widths. I have an old P-Touch 350 that will take 6 to 24mm tapes. Which covers pretty much any standard use case.

They also do a heat shrink tube tape.

Lots of machines available - with quite a few industry specific options (e.g. ones that can do network symbology, or electrical installation).

(you can get third party tapes as well now, which are cheaper)

[S Viemeister]

Mine takes AA batteries, but I purchased an adapter for it, so I can use it on mains power.

[Fredxx]

I have a Brother P-Touch 1230 PC that takes a 12mm tape. It works pretty well and Brother regularly maintain the software to drive it.

[T i m]

On Tue, 06 Apr 2021 15:37:41 +0100, charles [e-mail]>

wrote: <snip>

<snip>

<Googles> Ah, that looks a pretty powerful tool and might have been at the top end of my price range (new) at about £110 but looks to be obsolete, replaced by the PT-E550WVP at quite a bit more money. ;-(

It looks like 18mm machines may be the best VFM (new) with the PT-D400 around 50 quid on Amazon.

They don't seem to stock many of that type of model (battery powered) though.

Yeah, I've used my two Dymo LetraTag models (I was given Dads when he passed away) for all sorts of things (the plastic tapes can ping off the wrong surfaces though) but the tapes are only 12mm wide and on the biggest output size the characters are only about 5mm high. ;-(

I wanted something that was a bit bolder and 18mm could be big enough.

24mm capacity would be nice of course. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

Noted, thanks. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

Whilst it looks like that only takes 12mm wide tapes, how big can the biggest characters be please? My Dymo has 12mm tapes but the biggest chr seems to be only about 5mm high? ;-(

Ah, noted. We got one of the salesmen to replace the ink film roll for a thermal ink printer we had at work when we noticed it had run out and it's use was fairly closely monitored. I took it out and unrolled it and there ware signs of several sheets of party invites that had been printed and with his name on! ;-)

Yes, my Dymo's are a bit like that and whilst they will work on reasonable NiMh cells, seem more sprightly on good Alkaline's. Most of what I have in mind for it will be done at home so I shouldn't be short of power. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

<snip>

Whilst I have used lasers for labels, I'm not typically printing the sort of labels where printing a batch (or even one column) would really work, unless I've missed something (but thanks for the thought). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[alan_m]

Brother labelling systems - tape come in a variety of widths but dependant on the labelling machine model. The cheaper machines may only take 12mm width labels. Machines are often sold at large discounts compared to the "recommended" price shown on the brother web site.

See BigClive's video explanation of how the tape lamination works

[T i m]

Understood, thanks.

Thanks for that, I gave it a quick look and it's looks interesting so I'll watch it right though tomorrow. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[S Viemeister]

I bought my current Brother machine at Costco - I don't remember exactly how much it cost, just that it was ridiculously inexpensive. It didn't come with a mains lead, though (just batteries), so I got a lead from Amazon, which has saved a fortune in batteries.

[RJH]

I use something similar. Not tried outside but they certainly wipe clean etc. I did in fact order the wrong labels - inkjet instead of laser. But they work fine - some have been fixed for a few years now.

It is inconvenient - I'll print just one or two (cutting up with scissors if needed) and rely on my memory and the template to print on the remaining labels next time. The big advantage for me is that I have all the editing/colours/graphics I need on the computer - rather than stabbing into a handheld machine.

That said, if I did a lot of labels I would consider a proper machine. As it I only need to label once a year or so . . .

[T i m]

On Wed, 7 Apr 2021 09:26:55 -0000 (UTC), RJH [e-mail] wrote: <snip>

So they will take multiple passes though the fuser etc?

Oh sure, I have the same with the Dymo 450 label printer, it's just that it's not quite as convenient as sitting wherever where you are working (that could be in the study, down the garage or shed) and be able to mark stuff up easily.

No, that makes sense for you, just that I really need to get all my stuff in order and a decent label maker might help that. ;-)

The Dymo LetraTag is perfectly ok for the smaller things, just not really ideal (because of the 12mm wide tapes and 5mm high text) for marking up big storage boxes or draws. Things also need re-marking now again and so something that might peel off in one piece could be handy.

Cheers, T i m

[nightjar]

Those can be run through the printer multiple times. The only thing to be careful of is making sure that the end you feed in first has a full width of labels on it. Otherwise they can jam.

[T i m]

Ok, thanks.

Which is the sort of mistake I'm likely to make when:

1) In a hurry 2) Forgotten which way to put the paper in since last time.

;-(

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

And just have, and it was both interesting an informative.

From that I'm thinking that one of the PTE300VP's as Clive demonstrated, especially on a 50% off 'special' somewhere would be both good (the sort of things I might use such for), as it looks like it prints the text nearly the full width of the tape meaning an 18mm tape would provide ~15mm high characters and so 3 times larger than those from my Dymo using 12mm tapes.

Cheers, T i m