Customer Reviews

Brother PT-2710 Desktop Labeling System

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Brother PT-2700 Desktop Labeler produces professional-looking labels. It can be linked up with a computer so you're able to design your label on the computer and send it to the labeler for printing via a USB cable.

A quick word about the PT-2710 (this model) vs. the PT-2700 -- the only difference between the PT 2710 and the PT-2700 is that the PT-2710 (this model) comes with a plastic case for holding the power cable and other accessories; the PT-2700 does not.

Pros
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- Keyboard
The keyboard has a QWERTY layout. Although it is not a full-sized keyboard, you can type on it almost as comfortably as you do on a regular keyboard. There's enough room between the keys so you can place your fingers in the "home position" (i.e. the asdf jkl; keys). The keys are rubberized, so they make absolutely no noise when you're typing.

- Backlight
The backlight is very bright, which makes it very easy to read what's on the screen.

- Professional Printing
The text produced on the tape is sharp and professional-looking.

- Print Preview
Some reviewers say the print preview looks nothing like the actual label being printed - and I must agree - the low resolution LCD screen can only go so far in rendering the print preview. However, I personally found the preview very helpful because it does in fact provide an accurately scaled representation of the label so you have pretty good idea how big the text is relative to the label, how much margin is around the text, etc.

- Computer Hookup
You can have many more fonts or designs to choose from if you elect to design your label on your computer with the software provided. You can embellish your text by incorporating text framing or a fill Pattern. It is also capable of producing a variety of bar codes formats. To print, simply link up the label to your computer with a USB cable. Another advantage to designing your label with the computer is that the software provides a highly detailed and accurate preview of a label to be printed.

- Many types of labels to choose from
The labels come in 9/64", 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 3/4", and 1" sizes. You can also choose from white, colored (a variety of colors), clear, and matte labels. You can fit up to 7 lines on the 1" label. Select the right kind of label for your needs -- the labeler can be used to label jars, cannisters, bottles, boxes, binders, folders, envelops (e.g. address labels), storage drawers, electrical cables/wires, switches, etc. The labels can be used both indoors and outdoors because they are designed to withstand weathering.

- "crack and peel" Tape
Brother's ""crack and peel" tape makes it very easy to remove the liner to expose the adhesive surface.

Cons
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- Stiff Keys
The keys on the keyboard are a little stiff, so you have to push down a little harder than you do on a regular keyboard.

- Waste of Tape
By default, the labeler snips off about an inch tape before printing a label. You can adjust the settings and bring it down to about 1/2 inch but there's no way to disable this "feature." According to Brother, the length of leader tape that's been out of the cartridge for long periods have a tendency to curl up and thus has to be snipped off before printing begins. But if I'm printing say 10 labels, I need only to snip off the leader tape in front of my first label -- not so with the labeler, it wastes tape by snipping off the leader tape before _each_ of the 10 labels.

- No File Names
You can't use filenames to save your work on the labeler. The files can only be saved as numbers (01 - 99).

- Expensive Tape Cartridges
Some of the tapes the labeler uses are: TZ251, TZ231, and TZ131, for 1" Black on White Tape, 1/2" Black on White Tape, and 1/2" Black on Clear Tape, respectively. If you check out their prices, you can see that while they're not prohibitively expensive, they're definitely not cheap!


Conclusion
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The bottom line is the Brother PT-2700 is one of the best Desktop Labelers, and it does a fine job of producing professional looking labels. The computer connectivity is useful for giving you a wide selection of fonts and symbols. In addition, there are different colors, sizes, and types of label cartridges to choose from to suit your labelling needs. My only real gripe is the cost of the label cartridges and the wasting of tape -- apart from that, I really don't have anything significant to complain about it. If you need a labeler for a wide variety of labeling projects, I would definitely recommend this one.

This is a labeler. There's not much to say, haha. It works pretty well--there aren't many limitations. It prints all Brother TZ tapes from 9/64" to 1." I order all of my tapes from ECOM Office Supplies (http://www.ecomofficesupplies.com/ProductInfo~productid~BRT-PT2710.html). ECOM is the cheapest I found after an extensive search. They provide decent service, too, including a Rolodex card with my shipment.

It has a few different display modes for the screen. It maintains a particular mode even after being turned off then on. Since I have it hooked up to my computer, I always leave it on the time & date. It does have an automatic shutoff function, whether plugged in or on batteries.

Last, something to note is that it does have printer margins just like a regular printer. This will not print borderless labels.

I've had this same model Brother label maker for the past couple of years at work. I use it to label one-of-a-kind electronics we use in a university lab. Depending on how creative you are you can make some very nice looking projects. If and when we make more of the same, I simply call up the saved labels for that project and print them again. Always wanted one for home but couldn't justify the price. Then I noticed the before Christmas price of $59.99 with free shipping WOW! New, not refurbished. As someone else stated, the software is a bit clunky, but once you get accustomed to it it's alright.

I was pleasantly surprised with this unit. The whole package, from the case to the power adapter, is professional and well-built. The case is a hard-shell unit that looks like it could take a few drops without damage. The inside of the case, however, has no padding, so although the case would be fine I would be skeptical of the labeller inside surviving.

The labeller itself is also very solid, and has a terrific feel to the keys when typing--actually it surprised me how nice it was. I have not bothered to hook it up to my PC yet, but I like the option.

Now to some of the cons, or "get real" aspects of the labeller. Just like buying a laserjet printer, in which the goal is really to sell you ink, be aware that all of these labellers are designed to sell you label tapes--which cost a LOT! I checked around carefully before buying this unit and found a great deal on eBay for some 2-paks of the label tapes I like, but you need to factor this in to your total cost of ownership. The standard tapes are about 26 feet for around 14 - 16 bucks, so if each label if about 2 inches, figure 6 labels per foot. That puts you at about 156 labels per tape. Of course, your labels may be shorter or longer, but think about this in advance before purchase.

Also, I find no way to prevent the unit from printing out a leader of 1/2" before printing a label! The unit literally prints out 1/2" of blank tape, cuts it off, and then proceeds to print the label with about 1" wasted label (blank) around the letters. That means every 24 labels, you just lost a whole FOOT of your tape!!! So someone smarter than me can figure all that into my analysis above, but you get the picture, it's wasting tape. You can set it to print continuously without wasting the 1/2" for each label, but then be prepared to cut the tape with a pair of scissors. At least this is what it looks like to me at this point. Clearly, they LOVE to sell you more label tape! Why in the world would the unit print out 1/2" before each label, CUT it off (leaving you with a little present of 1/2" of blank tape that is useless), and then print your label, also with 1/2" before and after the letters...Sigh, it's a capitalist world out there folks. If there's a setting I'm missing, please, other owners let me know.

Another little con is that at larger font sizes, the letters are not perfectly smooth. You can see little chunky blocks. If you are used to nice, crisp and perfect curves and sharp edges from laser printers, you will be disappointed at larger font sizes to see the letters are a tad blocky or "pixelated" as they say. However, at smaller font sizes this is really not a problem, and being a graphic designer/computer guy I just probably notice it more than most. Also, I recently bought and returned another labeller from another company and it suffered from the same issue at larger font sizes, so you will probably not get any better resolution out of these kinds of labellers. Just a thought to factor in your decision.

Because of these two cons I gave the unit 4 stars instead of 5.

Other than the above caveats, I am very happy with my purchase and I believe this is probably the cadillac of labellers. It's solid, feels terrific to type on, and produces great looking labels at smaller fonts sizes. I'm pleased with my decision.

I use a Mac to print plant marker labels. You do have to download software/drivers for OS X as one reviewer mentioned. With the software you can format templates and have an Excel database of info that you can link to the template, view and print. I use different fonts and print up to 4 lines of info, each line can have a different size font. People have complained about the wasted leader. I only use the printer connected to my Mac and can set options to chain multiple labels (which means only the first label has the added, wasted leader) and enable auto cut. In this mode the label isn't 'cut' until the next label is printed which is a little annoying. But, you save a lot of tape when you print multiple labels. The labels last outside in full sun, hot weather, rain, and 30 degrees below zero!

I really needed a labeler for our business and, as always, read all the reviews posted here at Amazon before making a selection. I could not be happier with my choice. The labeler we had before seldom cut the label and the backing to the label was nearly impossible to remove.

There are two ways to create your labels. You can either use the program that loads onto your computer to create the labels or you can take the labeler on the go and create them on the machine. I have only created my labels on my computer so far and it was a piece of cake. I especially like being able to save each label design because we use the same ones repeatedly.

I understand people complained about what I will call the "lead tape" that comes out ahead of each individual label, and it is almost one inch. That is true, but if you are printing several of the same labels at one time it gives you the lead on the first one only. I personally do not care about the lead because everything else about the unit is flawless.

We purchased the labeler that came with a hard carrying case because in our business that was essential. If my husband has to take it to a jobsite I'll feel better knowing it is protected in his van full of tools!

I don't have a lot of time or patience when it comes to creating labels and this gadget, to me, is worth every penny. And the labels themselves have a backing that is very easy to remove. We also like the fact that you can order so many different varieties of labels. We found a great selection at <...>.

If something were to ever happen to this labeler I would order another just like it!

I'm co-owner of an audiovisual design and integration company. We have to deal with lots of wires on a daily basis. Connecting this labelmaker to a computer allows us to make custom labels for all the wires in a snap. By itself, it's a good labelmaker but nothing special and for a quick one-off label, the built-in keyboard works fine. Adding the computer makes it a perfect tool. We always have a computer on the jobsite for programming, accessing spec sheets and firmware updates so this just becomes an extension of our work area. The beauty is that by using the computer, this labelmaker gains all the flexibility of a printer with a basic word processor behind it. You can also save your various labels for use in other jobs. It supports most of the fonts installed on you computer, including technical symbols and other specialty fonts. I've tried several of these and the render very well on the labels. Works flawlessly with a Mac or PC. Initial setup took about 15 minutes and you'll need to have internet access when you do because there are software downloads you'll need to get so all the programs are up to date. If you use Brother's special wire labeling tapes, these labels do not fall off like others. The secret is the tape must completely wrap the wire. On larger wires, just run off some extra blank tape and use it as an extender. As long as it touches all the way around, the labels will not fall off. Also, the plasticizers don't cause the gooey mess you get with other labels over time. The case it comes in is nice as well. There is a built-in storage for about five label cassettes as well as the power supply and printer cable. Everything goes back in the case without a lot of fooling around. We carry 1/2" White on Clear and Black on Clear and Black on White tapes for device identification labels. Works great for putting the IP and MAC addresses on equipment. We also use it to put Crestron ID numbers on them as well. Very handy when you have a rack of several identical devices to identify. We even made some large print labels for Seniors to make their devices easier for them to use. In a nutshell, this is the labelmaker we've been looking for. Makes professional labels, uses a computer for simple, quick operation and the labels don't fall off over time. All in all, a very good investment.

My quest for calibration stickers that I could create in a format that I needed led me to this product, by accident; I was previously using sticky label paper with table graphics, printed out on a desktop printer, leaving me with a LOT of cutting and snipping with scissors. When we discovered that this unit can print simple graphics, we decided to give it a shot. Lo and behold, it makes IDEAL calibration stickers, complete with tables and excellent adhesive, just the way we wanted. We even imported our company logo. Sweet!

The fifth star falls off the rating purely because of the transparent thinking of the printer manufacturer; yes, we know you make almost all the revenue on replacement cartridges and next to nothing on the machine itself, but you could at least come up with a better explanation as to why the labeler cuts off one inch of blank tape before starting the print job. According to the company, it does this because the tape "may" curl from being exposed outside the cartridge while sitting. OK, fine, but is an entire inch necessary? What about leaving less tape outside the cartridge while idle to begin with? If they feel that these ideas are completely unreasonable due to circumstances that we could never understand, they could at least give us a way of turning it off - I'm willing to deal with the terrible, life-altering consequences of curled tape. The thing that really chaps my hide about this scenario is that my cal stickers are actually smaller in dimension than the blank piece that this machine bucks off every time. So...if I have the gall to print one label, it costs me 2.5 label's worth of tape. I could conceivably print multiple labels in a chain, but each is individual in nature; they bear the current date. And now I have to use scissors again.

All in all, a very good labeler. I just don't like being gouged for tape so blatantly.

This label maker is outstanding. I have an older model and cannot believe the number of additional features available on the Brother PT-2710. Be able to print symbols and more than two lines on a label (1" size) really expands the possibilities. As a matter of fact-almost everything in the my electronic world has been labeled. Great Product.

Works great. It does have a very long margin at both the beginning and at the end of the label. I have not tried the battery yet.