Brother QL-570 Thermal Label Printer

We did not need a label printer, but when I saw this for very cheap on buy.com I thought it would be convenient for our business.  So it's a luxury item for us.

I read the reviews and was a little nervous and some of the features it lacks.  But I'm very happy that I decided to try it anyways.

The label printing program is admittedly a little complex to figure out, and limited in it's capabilities.  However, once we did get a template created it was easy to use it.

The first thing that I like is that the labels can be printed either horizontal or vertical.  I choose to have nice thin labels with cute little pawprint images walking up the side.  This allows me to get the most labels from one roll of label paper.  The paper itself is one big long sticky sheet, and the machine cuts the labels as they come out - so the sizes are pretty flexible.

The machine prints labels very fast, and the labels are very easy to peel from their backing.  Preparing CDs to ship has become a much faster process for us with this machine.

I'm a little disappointed that I can't print directly from Firefox, IE, or other browsers.  In order to print an address from these apps, I have to copy it, open the label program, paste, and then click print. 

However, my absolute favorite feature is that I can print directly from Outlook.  I simply highight the address, and press the blue P logo on the Outlook menu bar.  I have it set up so that this will automatically print the label - no additional clicks required.  Fast, consistant, and easy.  You can alternatively set it up so that you confirm the print first, or open the address label for editing first. 

The font of the labels and the formatting are all customizable.   The label program can also be set to automatically resize the font for you based on the current address.