This is a good printer for someone looking to customize their labels with designs, upside down/right side up, reverse color and other fancy tricks. For business purposes, I'd recommend a printer that takes larger interchangable tapes and less gimmicks. Maximum tape size is 1/2" so dual line print is very small. Keyboard is very tiny, will be limited to two finger typing only. Has two fonts (Bohemia and Helsenki) but can alter with three sizes, three widths and nine stypes (bold, vertical, underline, shadow, hearts or stars, etc.) Emphasizes Deco Mode which does very fancy printing but wouldn't be used in a standard business setting. Nice compact size so can be carried around easily. AC power supply is an optional accessory ($19) so may want to factor that into purchase, otherwise uses six AAA batteries. Brother PT1290 Home and Office Labeler
I got this as a gift for my parents - they will probably not use all the fancy features like the graphics you can add with this laber. It comes with one cartridge so you may want to add a few more.
My likes about the p-touch system:
1 - labels last a long time but not forever
2 - colors are available and easy to switch out
3 - conservative on the batteries
4 - compact and nice form factor like a typewriter but smaller - I have 2 other smaller P-touch labelers that go in my trucks for labeling cables and wires - very handy at times.
5 - added fancy graphics features on this model - my small ptouch system is only good for perhaps drawing a box around text, these get pretty fancy
6 - new label design has a split down the middle making removal of the new backing easier - prior labels were troublesome to remove the backing.
I bought this for my dad who turned 75. If he can use it, I think most any age person can get more organized. We find unusual uses for the labels it prints - some are used not only to identify property but also to hold on the battery door on a flimsy product. Others are used to annotate a spreadsheet of medications with a new one before giving it to a new doctor. The uses just keep showing up for the product!
I bought mine during the fast and furious sale which closed out in 5 seconds - as did the next model up with a usb interface. The graphicss are minimal on this but add a nice touch to someone who is beginning scrapping or wants a simple, easy to use low cost label. For serious graphics you will want the pc version. For my dad, this will do fine.
I labeled some outdoor stuff that faded out after a while (3 years) so do note that p-touch labels expire with sunlight.
Lastly, the features are well made such that the cover can be removed fast and replaced without any lost screws or broken snaps. This has always been a brother p-touch feature that I appreciate from my truck labelers which get the tape color changed frequently - it's matter of opening the door and replacing the cartridge - no fancy stuff and can be done one handed. Without that design feature you could easily have a product that breaks far too soon. My 2 other p-touch labelers that are 7 years old and have been dropped off ladders at worksites - still run fine. Its a quality product that will serve many purposes for a long life, which is why dad got one. UPDATE - 1 year later his is still on the first set of batteries and running strong!
This is a great little label maker. It has some great options including adding fun symbols and shapes like hearts, stars and different fonts to your labels. I've used it to label glass containers in our pantry for baking items and love the neat and easy to read look of it. Very user friendly and easy way to keep things organized. Of course like all label makers I've used, it seems to use up more tape than I'd like but this one offers a great solution by giving you the "narrow margin" option. This avoids the extra inch margin on either end of your label. Great! I find myself looking for things to label just so I can use this labeler.
The extra space at the front of the label is definitely an issue for me. If you set margins to "Narrow" there is minimal space after the text but you still have 1" at the front so the text is not centered. The best way to save tape it to put it on "Chain Print" and print multiple labels at a time. Nonetheless, you still have to use a scissors to trim all the labels and that is a pain.
This labeler seems to print pretty decent labels. My main beef is that it insists on using up at least one inch of blank tape at the beginning of every label, even when using the "narrow" margin setting and the smallest font and font width. (The end margin does get smaller on this "narrow" setting, but you'll need to cut the excess at the beginning with scissors if you want the label centered). I find this incredibly wasteful and infuriating. Is Brother just trying to sell more of this pricey tape?
Some other minor issues: some things that should be doable with one button press take many (like clearing a line); and some settings need to be repeatedly set every time instead of becoming the default once you set them. Also the font's can get a little blocky looking when using certain sizes or the narrow or wide widths. (I've returned this labeler already so i can't remember the specifics on the last 2 points).'
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