Post by Slinger on Feb 17, 2020 15:03:44 GMT
Not exactly hifi, but I thought it might interest a few people.
Do you remember those good old "Dymo" label makers? Twist the dial, press the trigger, twist the dial, press the trigger, rinse and repeat... It turns out that "personal label makers" have evolved, almost beyond recognition.
Long story short, I've got some stuff that I think needs marking up, or labelling, so off I metaphorically trot to Amazon to see what's available. I was rather surprised that the answer was "loads," and most of it from manufacturers whose names I recognised.
Obviously there are devices for offices and and industry, that's a given, but the variety of tech that was available for home use (although the way some of it's priced you'd need a damn big home) surprised me.
No more the clicky old Dymo machines, although they are still available should you feel particularly nostalgic, they're nearly all run on electrickery these days. Big hint, read the description carefully. Some of them take up to six, yes SIX, AAA batteries; the smaller ones, "only" four. They do not all have the option of a mains adaptor as an alternative source of power.
My basic parameters, after a bit of research were these... I wanted something I could power without resorting to batteries, a decent-ish case to protect it, and non-reliance on the manufacturers own consumables, and as many alternatives as it was possible to cram inside the printer.
I've ended up with one of these
I looked at loads of variations, and none fitted my needs precisely. I could buy a printer, then purchase a compatible mains adapter, then look for a case, and in every case (sorry, no pun intended) that worked out more expensive then the model I ended up buying. which came with everything I needed. Add to this the fact that tapes are widely available in a multitude of hues, and at reasonable prices I was hooked.
Let me regale you with some of the spec while you think back to the old hand-held click and twist days...
27 built-in label templates.
16 character LED display.
Print speed of 20mm/second.
Prints 3.5, 6, 9 and 12mm width labels.
A full QWERTY Keyboard
14 Fonts.
97 "frames".
A total of 617 symbols.
Centre, Left, or Right, justification.
Underlining.
Vertical printing.
The list goes on, as do I, I know.
All that plus a solid case and a 9v power supply for under forty quid. I bought 3 reels of compatible tape (It's a thermal transfer printer b.t.w.) - red print on clear tape - for £11.99 Coloured print on solid coloured tape is around £9.99 for three.
Hopefully someone finds this useful.
Do you remember those good old "Dymo" label makers? Twist the dial, press the trigger, twist the dial, press the trigger, rinse and repeat... It turns out that "personal label makers" have evolved, almost beyond recognition.
Long story short, I've got some stuff that I think needs marking up, or labelling, so off I metaphorically trot to Amazon to see what's available. I was rather surprised that the answer was "loads," and most of it from manufacturers whose names I recognised.
Obviously there are devices for offices and and industry, that's a given, but the variety of tech that was available for home use (although the way some of it's priced you'd need a damn big home) surprised me.
No more the clicky old Dymo machines, although they are still available should you feel particularly nostalgic, they're nearly all run on electrickery these days. Big hint, read the description carefully. Some of them take up to six, yes SIX, AAA batteries; the smaller ones, "only" four. They do not all have the option of a mains adaptor as an alternative source of power.
My basic parameters, after a bit of research were these... I wanted something I could power without resorting to batteries, a decent-ish case to protect it, and non-reliance on the manufacturers own consumables, and as many alternatives as it was possible to cram inside the printer.
I've ended up with one of these
I looked at loads of variations, and none fitted my needs precisely. I could buy a printer, then purchase a compatible mains adapter, then look for a case, and in every case (sorry, no pun intended) that worked out more expensive then the model I ended up buying. which came with everything I needed. Add to this the fact that tapes are widely available in a multitude of hues, and at reasonable prices I was hooked.
Let me regale you with some of the spec while you think back to the old hand-held click and twist days...
27 built-in label templates.
16 character LED display.
Print speed of 20mm/second.
Prints 3.5, 6, 9 and 12mm width labels.
A full QWERTY Keyboard
14 Fonts.
97 "frames".
A total of 617 symbols.
Centre, Left, or Right, justification.
Underlining.
Vertical printing.
The list goes on, as do I, I know.
All that plus a solid case and a 9v power supply for under forty quid. I bought 3 reels of compatible tape (It's a thermal transfer printer b.t.w.) - red print on clear tape - for £11.99 Coloured print on solid coloured tape is around £9.99 for three.
Hopefully someone finds this useful.
