Sights and Sounds of Multimedia
By George Harding
Dymo LabelWriter 400 Turbo …
Want a label for a package or envelope? How about one for a file folder? Or, do you need a bunch of name tags? If you write CDs or DVDs, you need a label, right? And then, there are diskette labels, box labels, video tape labels, and on and on!
Here is a versatile label printer that can be used in many situations, even postage for mail and packages.
The Dymo LabelWriter 400 Turbo is designed to print small labels for envelopes and packages. The labels are always 3.5 long, but can be up to 3.2 high. The standard height is 1.25.
The printing quality of the thermal printer is 300 dpi, which looks quite nice. If you are printing a mailing or shipping label with an address and zip code, you will also get the USPS bar code, which sometimes helps to more quickly route your mail piece.
Printing is controlled by the Dymo software, which comes with the unit. The software not only causes the label to print, but gives you many ways to store your data, be it name/address information, CD contents, or other data. You can call it up and use it easily. You can even use info from a database to print labels for mailing, name tags, etc.
The label can have more on it than a title, name and address, contents, etc. You can add a graphic, text of your choice, horizontal or vertical lines for spacing, bar code, time and date reference and more. If you are using larger labels, these extra elements give you the opportunity to enhance your label.
Setting up the printer is very easy. The Quick Start Guide gives you a checklist of package contents, a visual description of the printer parts and instructs you, as usual, to install the software before hooking up the printer. Incidentally, the software works on either a PC or a MAC.
Once the software is installed, you connect the power cord to the printer and to an outlet. The unit comes with a standard USB cable, one end of which connects to any USB port you have available, and to the printer. Once connected, a luminous blue light is visible on the front of the printer.
The next step is to print a label. Inserting the roll of label stock is easy. There is a large spool with a removable end, on which the label roll is placed. The Quick Start Guide shows you how to place it. You feed the end of the strip of labels into the feed slot. When you do so, the printer automatically feeds the strip just up to the first label. There is no need for you to manually adjust the feed!
Now, use the software to enter the label info and click on Print and your label prints and feeds. Now comes the hard part – tearing off the label, peeling off the backing and pasting it on your mailer (just kidding, it’s easy!).
One thing that sets this device apart from other similar printers is that you can print postage onto special stamp rolls. This is approved by USPS and allows you to print postage of any amount right at your desktop! To do so requires four things: a roll of stamp labels, the software to do the printing (which is free) and an account with Endicia, a firm that contracts with USPS to set up and maintain the account, and, lastly, an amount of postage.
As you print stamps, the stamp software keeps track of how much postage your account has left. You can buy more postage whenever you need to. The software is set up to print postage by ounces for first class, but you can also print postage for Priority Mail, Postcard and International Air Letter. What I like about this is that there is no charge for the postage account with Endicia and, of course, no continuing charge for the Dymo printer.
The label stock comes in just about any type you might need. The standard is black printing on a white label, but other colors on white are available, too. Black on red, blue, green, grey and gold, and white on black tapes are ones you might also need from time to time. If that isn’t enough, you can also get clear or fabric tape! The number of labels on a roll varies from 130 to 250, depending on type. Most of these tape rolls are $18 direct from Dymo. They will also create custom labels for you, if you need that.
This is really a nice unit, with everything carefully thought out, so that the user need not work hard to get just about any kind of label needed. The list price of the unit is about $140 from Dymo, although I found the same unit at Amazon.com for $120. Comes with a two year warranty.
Dymo LabelWriter Turbo 400 global.dymo.com
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