Does what it says on the box (Dymo Labelwriter 400)

Member Name: tallpete33

Product:	Dymo Labelwriter 400
Date:	06/11/09 (93 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast and economical, no ink cartidges needed

Disadvantages: Quite pricey, no colour printing, software not great

There is one thing I don't like about Christmas and that is writing Christmas cards and even worse, the addresses on envelopes. I thought I'd got around this by printing labels from Word but anyone who has done that knows it's not that easy, especially if you change label sizes. Despite specifying the correct size, unless you make the font very small, the addresses often run over the edges and you can spend hours manually adjusting and wasting whole sheets to get the job done. Grrrr ! I actually came across this reviewed in dooyoo (see - it wworks lol!) and thought this could be the answer to my prayers - luckily I was right.

In the box is:

The labeller itself
USB cable
Mains adapter
Software CD
Paperwork (inc quick start guide and warranty info)
Small roll of 99012 size labels (approx 8.8 cm x 3.6cm)

The labeller is quite a smart looking and self-contained unit, about 18cm x w12 cm x h14cm. There is just a single button to feed labels if necessary. Using the Quick Start guide, I loaded the labels then easily installed the software, connecting the Dymo via the USB when prompted. For the record I run Windows Vista SP2. The mains cable (with adapter) is over 2m long and the USB is about 1.5m so it should stretch across a nice big desk.

I opened the Dymo software itself but to be honest found it a bit clunky and dated then explored further. Reading the User Guide (pdf file) I found that it had actually installed a Word add-in so I opened my Word (2007 version) doc, selected a couple of labels and clicked "Print DYMO Labels". Voila, perfectly aligned and printed labels in one second! No waiting for a whole sheet to feed through and the serrated edge makes it nice and easy to tear the labels off too. As it uses thermal printing, you don't have to worry about ink smudges or cartridges running dry either.

This is a great little device, a foolproof way to print 1 or 100 labels in seconds. The software acts as a template designer as well as address book but if your data is already in Word (or Excel), it's easiest to work from there and you won't need to duplicate your data. You can format and align the text how you want in the Dymo software and then print the label from the Word Add-in but you do not need to make any changes at all if you don't want, the printer itself automatically detects the label size thanks to the markings on the underside so you're good to go on power-up. Talking of labels, you can pick them up much more cheaply on ebay if you hunt around. I bought some non-Dymo ones for around half the price and they are just as good.

Printing from this little beaut is a cinch. The only disadvantage is it only prints in black and you need to use the Dymo software to adjust the formatting but it's worth it for the stress (and paper) it will save me this Christmas and beyond :o)

Currently just under £70 delivered from amazon

Summary: Does what it says on the box