PROs:
A Stylish Way To Print --- The P-Touch 1090 offers many desirable options including a nice array of decorating styles and colors. You can even print your own clothing labels and iron them on - I will be doing this with all my aprons & chef hats. I liked the fact that the tape included when you purchase the P-Touch is indoor-outdoor laminated - so the labels are waterproof, this makes it perfect for kitchen projects.
Size Is Not A Problem --- This label maker is very ergonomic. I have small hands and didn't feel awkward when I was using it and was able to grasp it well. The P-Touch 1090 feels like it has some weight to it, but nothing that would tire out your hand or wrist. Everything is self contianed - no cords or extra materials to store.
Options Galore --- There are so many different options for tape colors - including gold on black , which makes using this label maker for entertaining projects ,so fun. The tape cartridge is easily added (remember the old typewriter word processers), just remove the back and position in the right shape.
I really liked the pictograph feature - it allows you to add different symbols to your text.
The button at the top acts as a lever to clip the labels you print - very easy & fast. Plus it's large enough for your children to use.
Cons:
Learning Curve Ahead --- Even with my geek savvy knowledge I had to fiddle around for awhile to grasp all the functions & combos - there isn't a preview function (unless you are doing text or using the "pictograph function", so you need to keep the design reference sheet very handy, otherwise you will make allot of labels you weren't quite "going" for.
A Tale of Too Many Tails --- I liked the cord label option allot, but unfortunately it is a design flaw - every time you print out a label, there will be a half inch unprinted tail protruding from your label. It isn't a big deal, but you end up cutting this everytime with scissors or an Exacto knife. And after printing your 100th label - multiply that by .5 and that equals allot of wasted tape.
Conclusion: If you are looking to get your feet wet with label making, without committing yourself to a pricey professional model, Brother's P-Touch 1090 is for you. This label maker offers a fun, ergonomic tool that has many options and can accommodate kids and adults. Just make sure you laminate the designs reference sheet, or keep it handy until you adjust to P-Touch 1090's learning curve.
Brother Family Labeler (PT1090BK)This little machine is amazing! I don't even know where to start. It's packed with features, it's fast, cheap and does everything as advertised. I bought it for my cabling projects and so far it has not let me down. It feels really comfortable in the hands, the keys are nice to the touch and the laminated labels are of great quality, also the sticker tape side of the label sticks really good, this is definitely a huge improvement over other labeling machines that I've used in the past.
I got this electronic labeler on sale for only $15 at Office Depot. It came with a roll of 16-ft black on white laminated labeling tape but it didn't come with batteries.
Pros:
The main features I like about the label printer is that is has the Deco Mode feature to print special designs for scrapbooking and birthday cards. Its display is very easy to read and the displayed icons are nice. It even has over 170 different symbols (a musical note symbol for my music downloads and a camera symbol for my photos) to pick from. I also like how there's 8 different frames to pick from too, so I can embellish my labels with stars, flowers, bubbles, etc. The date/time stamp thing with one keystroke comes in very handy, which is really convenient for installing batteries on smoke detectors for fire safety, and that's also good for indicating when was the last time I inflated the tires of my car to get a good gas mileage. I also don't even have to press a fn key to type numbers. It even prints very clearly (180 dots per inch). And finally, I can even preview to see how many inches of tape is used when the label's printed, but my Dymo doesn't have this feature.
Cons:
- However, the main thing is that although I set the margins to the narrowest setting (1/6 in on both sides), the printer still uses an additional inch on one end of the tape, so I do need a pair of scissors to trim off the one-inch leftover along the two black dots. This is the only reason I give the labeler 4 stars but having to trim off the leftover doesn't bother me. By the way, I'll give it 5 stars if the labeler doesn't use another inch of tape when I print a label.
- Also, the keyboard isn't in QWERTY (other people have complained about this), but I can still type efficiently using the alphabetical keyboard, so the non-QWERTY doesn't bother me either.
- Besides the leftover tape and the keyboard, when I want to insert a Pictograph symbol, such as a musical note or a telephone icon, the screen will just show something like A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, etc. instead of just the actual symbols printed on the reference card, so it's kind of awkward to me and that's another reason I give the labeler 4 stars. It'll be much better if Brother designs the screen with more vertical pixels to fit the actual symbols on the screen, so it'll make it a lot less awkward to me.
- The labeling tapes are also pretty expensive ($22 at Office Depot for a roll of 26.2 ft = 7.0 cents an inch), so I keep the margins and the widths of the letters and set to the narrowest, and I also verify and correct the spelling before I print. I won't regret the cost if I use the tape wisely and I use the narrow settings on my labeler. If I wanna label more things cheaply, I can label my things with pens and paper, so this is a good opportunity to practice my handwriting, especially in cursive because cursive is more natural and it's also a good and valuable skill for me to have.
- Finally, it will be better if Brother has the tapes available in more colors (up to 1/2 in wide), such as blue on white (curretly available in 3/4 in wide but not 1/2 in wide or narrower), green on white, lime green on black, magenta on white, purple on white, etc.
Tapes:
This labeler uses the TZ laminated labeling tapes, which they're more heat, cold, water, and abrasion resistant than the standard M tapes (not laminated). There's different colored tapes to pick from, but the labeler can accept tapes up to 1/2 inch wide.
Uses And Purposes:
I use it to backup my music I downloaded from iTunes and my photos of my vacations, family, and friends on my CD-Rs. I also label my file folders to organize my homework for my college classes. I also keep my things personalized, especially my water bottle because I expose it to water a lot and I don't want the water to ruin my name printed on the label. I even personalize my little sisters' school supplies to get them prepared for school. Finally, I even label the light switches around my parents' house.
Conclusion:
Overall, this item is very good for keeping my things well-organized, and I'm happy w/ it. So I recommend this device to my friends and family who wanna make their lives easier. But not really recommended for kids who need to practice their cursive handwriting, which is important in elementary and middle schools. - Labeler - Brother - P-touch - Label'
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