Not bad, not bad at all... and it looks good.
Pros:
Affordable. Easy, intuitive use. Different label types: fabric iron-on, outdoor metallic, plastic, economical paper.
Cons:
Blade doesn't cut the paper labels very well. Haven't tried it on the others.
The Bottom Line:
An affordable labelmaker for the home and small office, and the label refills are cheap and easy to find.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I spent an entire afternoon comparing this label maker with the cheaper Dymo models and the Casio. I ended up choosing this over the Casio label maker which was the same price. (Sorry I can't remember the product number for the Casio.)
Two things made me choose the Dymo:
1) The labels were cheaper. AUD$29.95 for an 8 metre Casio spool, vs. AUD$4.95 for a 4 metre Dymo paper spool. I think the Casio ones are all plastic, but the Dymo plastic spools are AUD$11.99 for 4 metres, so, still cheaper.
2) Dymo also makes iron-on fabric labels, tough metallic lables for outdoor use (eg. pot plants), as well as the usual plastic and paper.
I chose to spend the extra AUD$10.00 to get this one because I liked its width. It's nice and wide so your hands don't get so fatigued holding it up when you type. It also sits nicely on the desk and doesn't slide around.
I got this from K-Mart for AUD$59.95 and have only used the white paper labels. I managed to use it straightaway without having to read the instruction manual first.
At first I thought the cutter was stuffed because the cutter button kept jamming halfway and then finally spit out a half-chewed end which I had to tidy with scissors. Turns out you have to click the label spool in quite snugly and then the cutter button goes in nice and smooth. But now the cut paper edge now looked like I'd torn it off with a ruler. Better, but not ideal.
The plastic behind the paper was dead straight, so I think the problem lies with the paper itself (I hope it's just the paper, otherwise I'll be stuffed when I start on the fabric labels). Dymo needs to get better paper or fix the way the cutting blade works. Anyway, it's not a big deal, you just have to snip off the end to tidy, and I was doing that anyway to make them fit onto folders, center the text etc.
The buttons feel nice, if a little loose. Sometimes when you push the edge rather than the centre of the button, it doesn't register and you miss a character.
Other than that, I think I've made a good buy. It's a fantastic tool for the small home office. I'm now going through the typical labelling/filing frenzy, where everything gets labelled, including the dog!
22 May 2006
An update on this product. It's been a while and it's still going strong. I noticed the print was fading after a while, and thought the unit was getting old. However, it turns out it just needed new batteries. Labels started looking as good as new again!
