When I started my current job a year and a half ago, I was given a Dymo LabelWriter 400 Turbo. At the time I thought it might be useful, but over time it became an indispensable and timesaving gadget in my job.

The Dymo LabelWriter 400 Turbo is a fairly small and sleek looking label printer which is connected to my laptop and sits in a corner of my desk. It has a power supply and connects to the laptop by USB cable. Set up was easy, I just inserted the installation CD into my laptop and was walked through every step.

Part of the installation process was to set up the Dymo Label Software on my desktop, which is where I enter the information for printing on the labels. Here I can store addresses that I use regularly, or enter information for a one-off label. You can choose how many labels you want to print, font and effects, add design effects to the label (not something I've ever done but it looks easy) and access the user guide. It can also print text directly from Microsoft Office programs.

I use the label writer several times a day, and it really does save me time. Writing an address on an envelope doesn't take long, but it adds up if you have a few items of mail to send out. Additionally, when I look up address information in the company directory or online, I can copy and paste it into the label software, instead of looking back and forth from my screen to the envelope I am writing on. This is brilliant if I have a pile of letters to send to other company employees - it is the work of a second to copy their address information into the label software.

I find the address book very useful, as there are several addresses which I post to regularly, some of them daily. All I have to do is click on the address in my list of saved addresses, then click print - done.

My primary use for the label writer is address labels, but it can of course be used for any kind of labels. I also use it for printing labels for files, which looks neater than handwriting.

Once you have your address information in the label software, whether from the saved addresses or entered there and then, there is a "print" button to click and the label is immediately sent to the printer, where it appears just a second later. The printer does whirr when printing but not very loudly.

Dymo LabelWriters use direct thermal technology, and so they don't need ink - the only supply you need are the labels. Unfortunately I find them rather difficult to change - perhaps I should consult the user guide next time. It's easy enough to remove the empty roll, and it seems easy to insert the new roll but it always take me a while to get it working.

A label printer may not be a very exciting gadget, but it's certainly one I would get annoyed without now. The Dymo LabelWriter 400 Turbo is an inconspicuous part of my desk, a timesaver and very easy to use.