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Thread: Brother labeling machines or better ?

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    Brother labeling machines or better ?

    Something every electrician should have in his box of tricks.

    I have had a PT 65 in my box for as long as i can remember ...a robust piece of equipment...i havent taken good care of it ...however it has taken a beating and still going strong.

    i give it a 9/10 and the only reason it looses 1 point is because the labels (M tape ) fade it you leave them outside (not designed for outside)...i need to check with brother if they do a UV stable label for this machine.

    I also have (had) a PT 2480 in my box of tricks...specifically used for outdoors...control panels...cable marking etc...printing up to 24 mm ...a very useful tool...only one down side to this printer as i have recently learnt...no backup service....took it to brother because the code button (the most important button on the printer) stopped working...it seems a common fault on this model...the pc board below the keys packs up...i was hoping Brother would have offered a trade in or a cheaper price for an upgrade...not so lucky

    Time to upgrade...my thought were to get a PT E550 WVP ...works with the phone via wi fi ...auto cuts...has a rechargeable battery ...etc...etc... no more wasting short off cut pieces like the PT 2480 etc etc ...however blowing almost R 5000 on a hand held printer which might doesn't have replaceable parts...mmmm that is a lot of money to spend on a disposable printer.

    My question...anyone know of any good quality hand held printers which have a god backup service?

    I dont mind spending R 5 k on a printer...i just want to know i dont have to throw it away when it breaks.

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    In my vehicle I have a cheap Brother label printer. It was really cheap, so much so that I suspect they might sell the printer as a 'loss leader' because you're then tied into using their label refils which aren't cheap. It's probably about 8 years old, it's seen plenty of action and it still works fine but it's only good for general labels on panels or DB's. It's slow, it chows batteries and it's very limited with the types of labels it prints. It has a very annoying trait of leaving a blank margin either side of every label it prints, this usually needs to be manually trimmed off which is time consuming and I suspect this was intentional design to force it to unnecessarily consume more label tape.

    In my office I have a Brady label printer which will print heatshrink labels for cables and wire markers etc. Can't remember the model number of it but it has rechargable Li-ion batteries and it prints up to 50mm width. It also comes with an app that allows you to design the labels on your phone or PC and send them to the printer. It prints engraved plate type labels for switches and pilot lamps on panels which is a big bonus for us. I think the printer sells for about R10k but it consumes colour ribbons at around R800 each so it would probably be overkill for a domestic sparky
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    Quote Originally Posted by AndyD View Post
    In my vehicle I have a cheap Brother label printer. It was really cheap, so much so that I suspect they might sell the printer as a 'loss leader' because you're then tied into using their label refils which aren't cheap. It's probably about 8 years old, it's seen plenty of action and it still works fine but it's only good for general labels on panels or DB's. It's slow, it chows batteries and it's very limited with the types of labels it prints. It has a very annoying trait of leaving a blank margin either side of every label it prints, this usually needs to be manually trimmed off which is time consuming and I suspect this was intentional design to force it to unnecessarily consume more label tape.

    In my office I have a Brady label printer which will print heatshrink labels for cables and wire markers etc. Can't remember the model number of it but it has rechargable Li-ion batteries and it prints up to 50mm width. It also comes with an app that allows you to design the labels on your phone or PC and send them to the printer. It prints engraved plate type labels for switches and pilot lamps on panels which is a big bonus for us. I think the printer sells for about R10k but it consumes colour ribbons at around R800 each so it would probably be overkill for a domestic sparky
    I agree with the waste on brother labels (TZ) especially the PT 2480 if you print one lable at a time you waste huge amount of tape. ...the little one is not so bad (PT65) but the small ones labels dont last out in the sun and dont stick too well to panels especially if there is oil...for a domestic DB its fine.

    I have been looking at the new PT E550 WVP they go for around R3700 with a rechargeable battery ...also has the feature for patch panels and heat sleeve...something i ended up doing for the last factory i moved...this printer has a semi cut option and auto cut...which if i plan my labels right ...the wastage should be minimal...the other bonus is the brother machine there is no ribbon...it also has an app and wifi and a cable to connect to the laptop ...i think i am gona get one tomorrow.

    When we do panel work which requires engraved plates for the indicator lights and selector switch and other panel mounted stuff we get company up the road to do it...sometimes the panels require engraved plated on the slotted trunking cover... i dont design and build enough control panels or safety systems for machine anymore to warrant the cost of an engraving machine...what i have been doing a lot of lately is machine panel work...fitting timers ... proxy switches and conveyors to machines.

    For the domestic market...you can buy a book and just slap the labels...but even on a domestic job i like to install a single label ...normally black tape with white writing ...makes my jobs stand out ...like a trade mark.

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    I decided to go with the brother PT E550WVP ...i have only had it for 2 days and i can tell you it was a good investment...my life is just been made a whole lot easier.

    The quality is about the same as the 2480 ...it just doesnt have the rubber protective cover like the 2480.

    Two things stand out for me......

    The first thing to point out...the power cable and rechargeable battery ...gona save me a whole lot of money and hassle.

    The second thing...not having to cut the label every time you print...then it would pop up "cutting error" then you would have to try print again and cut the first bit off...so this is gona be a huge plus for me.

    The wifi ...a winner

    The cable label app ...man creating lables is so simple.

    Andy a plus for panel work or big network projects...if you do what i do ...setup the project on an xl spreadsheet with all the details...you can load the XL spread sheet to the PT 5.2 program and create all the labels by just using the headers.

    Something i will be using a lot ...shrink on label sleeves...i hear they are expensive ...but hey i it saves labour time (the most expensive part of any project) and looks really professional...it gets a thumbs up from me.

    i should have invested in one of these PT E550 wvp a long time ago.

    from a 3.5 mm - 24 mm tape ...you can do all the labels for the switches ...sockets ...isolators ...you name it

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    Now that i have spent the last 24 hours in my office learning everything there is to know about the PT E550 WVP ...the app...WiFi ...network and direct link...PT 5.2 editor...i have to say i am impressed and would highly recommend this product to anyone who works out in the field and requires a simple efficient durable label.

    One of the key function which i couldnt get right with the PT 2480 ...the port/block spacing...all the sparkies will know what i am talking about if you have every tried to print a solid 1 piece strip label when you have a mix of single phase...5/6 ka breakers of different widths...with the PT E550 W this is no longer an issue...you can us an advanced setting on the unit and print it from the unit on site at the same time

    There are other functions which are also going to save me time and make my life easier...the database function...i normally setup projects and do a full scope of work... circuit and cable identification and all my sketches in microsoft visio...i can now transfer the data from xl to the printer and simply print out the DB/control panel label...fit labels to the cable and face plates all from place...i am like a kid in a sweet shop excited to play with my new toy

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    While using the Brother is less pleasant than the Dymo, its labels did survive our dishwasher test, whereas the Dymo's all peeled off before the cycle was finished. So if you're going to be printing labels for circle stickers to slap on your water bottles and food storage containers, the Brother is a better choice.

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    I was fortunate to get a Brother E550 on Facebook Marketplace for under 3k. It was brand new. It's a fantastic bit of kit. Because I also do network cabling it's great for marking cables and switches. It's bulky to carry and not really for one handed work but the phone app is brilliant. It can store your commonly used labels so you just select and print. Tape is good quality.

    Mine came with 4 TZ tapes that cannot be used in this machine if anyone is interested.

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