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Dymo Labelwriter 400 Turbo
by Deru
INTRODUCTION
I've been selling on eBay.co.uk for a few years now and have sold and posted hundreds of items. Throughout this time, I've been writing delivery addresses on the packages with marker pens and with bigger items, I print out a packing note, which I enclose in see-through envelopes, which I stick onto packages. The ... first method looks unprofessional and is more prone to mistakes. The latter cost more but both methods were time consuming.
Even though I'm not selling hundreds of items at a time (more like a couple every now and again) the time and effort I was putting into addressing packages added up and seemed rather tedious each time. There have also been many occasions where I've found the delivery address or addressee's name being long and difficult to spell, which made the task even more tedious, not to mention easy to misspell when writing it down. Eventually, I'd decided to make my eBay life just that bit easier by buying myself a DYMO LabelWriter 400 Turbo, ironically, bought through eBay for around £70. I'd known about the DYMO brand and their portable handheld label printers, as well as these little desktop label printers so knew they were good.
SETTING UP
Setting up was the same as any other printer with a USB connection. I installed the software on my PC, plugged the printer's power cable into the mains and then plugged the USB cable from the printer to my PC. Once the software was installed and my PC picked up the printer, it added a new printer icon for the DYMO to my printer list. Lastly, I loaded the roll of labels (included), which is quite easy to do and there's even a label on the inside of the printer with diagrams showing you how to load the labels properly.
USAGE
The DYMO Label software is very easy to use. Simply type or copy and paste what you want on the label and then press the Print button to shoot the label out of the printer. It's very quick to print and can shoot out a label in around a second. You can then tear it off of the printer, peel the label from the paper and stick it on whatever you want to label. Once installed, it's simply another Windows printer and I've even managed to print labels out of Microsoft Word, albeit, it requires a bit more page formatting.
The software does provide a lot more functions such as the ability to let you store addresses in the address book, format the font, generate barcodes, add graphics, different shaped text, etc. It can also let you import and export addresses, so if you had a lot of addresses listed in a spreadsheet, you would have the ability to print off all the addresses in bulk rather than have to copy and paste them in one by one.
I use the labels for addressing items for posting but I have also found other uses for the address labels. I have labelled boxes, computers, printers, drawers, folders, etc at work and at home and it has proved to be an excellent tool for helping me organise myself.
On top of being able to buy different sized labels, you are able to buy different shaped labels such as circular ones, which have a hole in the middle so that you can use them to label CDs. Images can be printed but complicated pictures don't look good when printed even if you can make out what they are. Basic shapes and pictures are okay though.
RUNNING COSTS
Unlike most printers, this label printer does not require any ink. The only consumable that I need to worry about procuring are labels. The labels do seem quite expensive.
For example, the 99012 address labels;
RRP: £18.88 but seem to cost around £15 for two rolls (260 labels per roll) plus postage, works out to around 3p per label if ignoring postage, which isn't too bad. However, shopping around can get you better prices and there's even bigger savings to be made if you buy the compatible labels in bulk, which can purchased on eBay. I've done so and the labels work without any problems or noticeable difference in quality. On eBay, I've found two rolls for £4.99 plus postage, which works out to around 1p per label if ignoring the postage.
SUMMARY
PROS
- Thermal, so no need for ink
- Convenient and saves time
- Makes addressing look more professional
- Quick and easy to use
- Compact
- Compatible labels can be sourced for cost savings
- Warranty extended to 3 years once you register the printer,
CONS
- Labels can be expensive (but you can buy compatibles)
VERDICT
Whether you're an eBay seller or work in an office, the DYMO LabelWriter 400 Turbo can save you time and make things look more professional. I think it's a brilliant piece of kit so I can highly recommend it. However, DYMO do a lot of other products. There's also a LabelWriter 400 (no Turbo), which I'm guessing is just slightly slower. They also have twin printers that print address labels and strip labels, as well as handheld label printers so there's plenty of choice.
Although the initial price of labels may scare you off, the running cost really isn't that bad as there's no ink to worry about and it does save you a lot of time in the long run as well as making everything that needs labelling look professional. Definitely well worth it for any eBay'er or any office that sends out post or just needs a lot of stuff labelled.
Oh, I registered my printer with DYMO which extends the warranty to 3 years.
Thanks for reading!
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Dymo Labelwriter 400
by davomrmac
The Dymo Labelwriter has been available in various models for a long time now. Many grumble at the limited use, plus the fact that you can use only Dymo labels with the device. Well, whilst this is true, you should really look at this device as a great time saving device, rather than money saving.
I picked up a Labelwriter 400 ... just recently. I had the next model up before, but sold it on for a very good price. Within a week of selling it, I wished I hadn't. Address and shipping labels vary in price and size, but the smaller address labels work out about 3p each. There is no ink or mess to worry about, as this is a thermal printer, so the printer makes the label react and reveal a fairly crisp 300dpi print. It is nice and fast and quiet in use.
So, imagine the scenario, perhaps like me you sell on ebay. I might only sell one thing a day, but on some days I have a dozen auctions ending. Instead of having to sit there writing out addresses, making sure I spell the awkward words correctly... I copy, paste into the Dymo application, then print. Attach the label and I am done. Probably 15 seconds, instead of one minute. So on a typical day that saves me ten minutes, or five hours a month. So in two months, I class this little printer as paid for.
Of course it is cheaper to write your addresses on packages and letters, but if you have loads to do, this is more accurate and a lot quicker.
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Dymo Labelmanager 150
by malibu_jenny
We squabble bitterly over the Dymo 150 Label Manager at work; there's only one between three floors of offices and it's guarded jealously by the facilities manager who now locks it in a drawer. However, I am in possession of this precious jewel today because our team paid for the most recent roll of tape.
It's a nice looking ... machine with a curvy navy blue exterior and silver trim, a red button to switch on and off and a scissor button to cut the tape as it curls out. Not only is it light enough to carry around labelling things, but the four little rubber feet prevent it from sliding around on the desk. Labelling stuff with this is a far cry from the 80's version where you had to literally force it to indent the letters and numbers on the tape; now you input your label on a qwerty keypad, choose your font, font size, underline, insert all the usual symbols.... On top of this it carries borders, pictures, smileys, arrows and a variety of less likely skull and crossbones icons. You then print your label (as many copies as you like) and it slides straight out to be cut off using the scissor button.
The labels have amazing sticking power and instead of breaking nails and teeth trying to pick the end, you simply bend the label vertically and slip the backing paper off in two little halves like an elastoplast.
You can even use the Enter key to make a label over two lines, although this will obviously shrink the writing to get the two lines onto the same width of tape. It gets even more advanced with extra features such as language. There are seven different print styles and you can produce horizontal or vertical labels. Although I rarely make vertical labels, this is useful for printing numbers for contents lists inside ring binders.
In terms of intuitive use, I'd rate this far higher than most mobile phones. The instruction book is long since lost, but I've never had to ask anyone how it works. Much like an old-skool Nokia, everything is where you expect it to be and adequate for the purpose. This is one of those great bits of kit where you fully accept the limitations and instead of getting frustrated, you're pleased with what it can do. If you wanted super fancy labels with colours and 400dpi graphics, you'd use the computer. If you want a quick and easy way of labelling a drawer or a folder, a little black and white sticky backed label fits the bill.
What's not so great about it? Well.... The amount of space it leaves at the beginning and end of each label is a bit of a waste of tape. Also, the rolls of tape (despite their high price) have occasionally been faulty. It should be a simple matter of loading it by taking out the old cartridge and just clicking the new one into place, but sometimes you get one where the carbon tape on the back comes out along with the label, or worse still gets screwed up inside the machine, jams it and has to be unblocked.
It wasn't cheap when it was initially purchased (probably why we only have one) but I've noticed that you can pick it up for less than £30 on eBay now, complete with case. Irritatingly, the initial outlay is not the last of the costs as it takes an excessive amount of batteries, needing five AA alongside a £4.00 roll of tape.
I've looked at the newer versions which followed this, but got the same feeling I get when using a scientific calculator for really basic sums. The features on these seemed overwhelmingly advanced and just too over the top for the purpose. Also, I don't like the shape, size and design of the more recent models, which are longer and bulkier to accommodate those extra features.
Things I've used our Dymo for:
Relabelling MyDog's collar when he moved house.
Labelling names onto waterproof jackets
Writing insults to stick on people
Putting my name onto books
Labelling drawers, files and other office stuff (supposedly the 'correct' use)
A whole lot of uneccessary stuff such as labelling the dymo itself with the the word "Dymo".
Really, the only limit is your imagination. However twisted that might be....
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