Esselte LabelWriter 400 Turbo Printer

The Dymo LabelWriter 400 Turbo is an incredibly fast and efficient label printer for your Windows PC. It is the perfect solution for anyone who has to print a lot of mailing labels. It's also very easy to use and the replacement labels are relatively inexpensive. On top of that, you never have to buy new ink for it.

This is a label printer that connects to your PC by USB and comes with its own software for printing labels. You can also use Microsoft Office products, like if you were running a mail merge to generate address labels. It also comes with a one roll of labels and another roll of postage type labels for people who want to print their own postage.

To load the labels, you simply flip open the cover and pull out the spool which holds the label roll in place. One you put the roll onto the spool, just drop it back in there and feed in the first label. This printer will then align the label and pretty much take care of itself. Each label is printed and ejected at just the right place where you can tear it off thanks to a serrated metal edge that is underneath the label ejection area. I was very impressed by how easy this thing was to use. Dymo even prints label roll reloading instructions inside the bottom of the printer, so you never have to remember how to reload them.

This printer can print up to 55 labels a minute, and it does so at 300 dpi quality. Just printing a single label takes literally less than one second, and the quality is excellent. This printer utilizes thermal printing, as opposed to inkjets, so you don't have to worry so much about smearing the ink while tearing off the labels. It also means you don't have to buy any replacement ink or toner for it - ever.

The physical appearance of this little printer is very attractive and modern. It sort of resembles the bubble-like early iMac computers, or maybe a VW Bug with the wheels and fenders removed. It takes up a little more desk space than a large coffee mug, so you can easily fit in even a tight space. With the lid, you will need a few extra inches of clearance overhead for when you need to refill the label roll.

Replacement labels aren't too expensive. A lot of times with printers like this you get nailed in the long run on buying replacement labels, but such is not the case here. On Amazon.com, you can buy a roll of 260 large labels for $17.73, or get the basic address labels in a 500 quantity roll for $8.99. An Avery brand pack of the same size labels that you would feed into a regular printer costs $10.59 for 750 of them, so the cost difference is minimal. Besides, it is much easier to print using the Dymo than it is with your regular printer.

I am very impressed with the Dymo LabelWriter 400 Turbo and think it combines looks and functionality in one nice little package. If you have the need for this kind of printer, I highly recommend you invest in one, rather than fumble around with shoving sheets of labels into your laser or inkjet printer.