Customer Reviews

Brother PT1290 Home and Office Labeler

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I got this as a gift for my parents - they will probably not use all the fancy features like the graphics you can add with this laber. It comes with one cartridge so you may want to add a few more.

My likes about the p-touch system:

1 - labels last a long time but not forever
2 - colors are available and easy to switch out
3 - conservative on the batteries
4 - compact and nice form factor like a typewriter but smaller - I have 2 other smaller P-touch labelers that go in my trucks for labeling cables and wires - very handy at times.
5 - added fancy graphics features on this model - my small ptouch system is only good for perhaps drawing a box around text, these get pretty fancy
6 - new label design has a split down the middle making removal of the new backing easier - prior labels were troublesome to remove the backing.

I bought this for my dad who turned 75. If he can use it, I think most any age person can get more organized. We find unusual uses for the labels it prints - some are used not only to identify property but also to hold on the battery door on a flimsy product. Others are used to annotate a spreadsheet of medications with a new one before giving it to a new doctor. The uses just keep showing up for the product!

I bought mine during the fast and furious sale which closed out in 5 seconds - as did the next model up with a usb interface. The graphicss are minimal on this but add a nice touch to someone who is beginning scrapping or wants a simple, easy to use low cost label. For serious graphics you will want the pc version. For my dad, this will do fine.

I labeled some outdoor stuff that faded out after a while (3 years) so do note that p-touch labels expire with sunlight.

Lastly, the features are well made such that the cover can be removed fast and replaced without any lost screws or broken snaps. This has always been a brother p-touch feature that I appreciate from my truck labelers which get the tape color changed frequently - it's matter of opening the door and replacing the cartridge - no fancy stuff and can be done one handed. Without that design feature you could easily have a product that breaks far too soon. My 2 other p-touch labelers that are 7 years old and have been dropped off ladders at worksites - still run fine. Its a quality product that will serve many purposes for a long life, which is why dad got one. UPDATE - 1 year later his is still on the first set of batteries and running strong!

This is a good printer for someone looking to customize their labels with designs, upside down/right side up, reverse color and other fancy tricks. For business purposes, I'd recommend a printer that takes larger interchangable tapes and less gimmicks. Maximum tape size is 1/2" so dual line print is very small. Keyboard is very tiny, will be limited to two finger typing only. Has two fonts (Bohemia and Helsenki) but can alter with three sizes, three widths and nine stypes (bold, vertical, underline, shadow, hearts or stars, etc.) Emphasizes Deco Mode which does very fancy printing but wouldn't be used in a standard business setting. Nice compact size so can be carried around easily. AC power supply is an optional accessory ($19) so may want to factor that into purchase, otherwise uses six AAA batteries.

This is a great little label maker. It has some great options including adding fun symbols and shapes like hearts, stars and different fonts to your labels. I've used it to label glass containers in our pantry for baking items and love the neat and easy to read look of it. Very user friendly and easy way to keep things organized. Of course like all label makers I've used, it seems to use up more tape than I'd like but this one offers a great solution by giving you the "narrow margin" option. This avoids the extra inch margin on either end of your label. Great! I find myself looking for things to label just so I can use this labeler.

The extra space at the front of the label is definitely an issue for me. If you set margins to "Narrow" there is minimal space after the text but you still have 1" at the front so the text is not centered. The best way to save tape it to put it on "Chain Print" and print multiple labels at a time. Nonetheless, you still have to use a scissors to trim all the labels and that is a pain.

Before purchasing this product, you should be aware that it is designed for laminated tape and ONLY works on laminated tape. The machine itself costs 50% more on Amazon at the time I write this than the non-laminate model, and more importantly the laminate tape costs twice as much as the non-laminate tape. The laminate tape also can't be written on. Moreover, because of concerns about the laminating print head, it is designed to waste an inch of the expensive tape each time you cut the tape. Since the tape costs $12 for the 26-foot tape on Amazon (and a Brother tech support told me it's $15-20 purchased locally, yes, you read that right, almost as much as the machine), that's fifty cents a foot, or about a nickle per inch. So that extra inch costs you a nickle each time, and each label costs you from 15 cents to 30 cents depending on how long it is. (My very first label, which says simply "Test", is almost 3 inches long and therefore costs almost 15 cents, with all settings on default.) I may return it, despite the cumbersome process for returning things online, because I don't have any need for weather-proof labels and am not willing to pay several dollars extra a year for them. Now, if you are willing to always print several labels at a time, and cut the labels apart yourself with scissors, you can avoid this inch wastage by using the continuous mode. Or if you want a blank inch on either side of your label all the time, which is the default, then arguably it isn't wasted. For me this isn't worth the dime that 2 inches of blank space is costing me plus I didn't want it anyway because it may unnecessarily make the label too long to fit on a file folder without cutting it with scissors myself, which is exactly the sort of manual thing that label makers are supposed to get rid of.

The second thing you should be aware of is that while the machine is quite powerful, it is not very easy to use. I am not saying the product is badly designed, it's just that it has enough stuff crammed into it that I think will confuse many people (it confuses me slightly, and I have a Ph.D. in a technical field). The design could be a lot worse, but my guess is that for most people the extra options will simply confuse things.

So for those of you who just want to label file folders quickly and cheaply, like me, I'd consider Brother Personal Labeler Machine, White (PT90). Also, it seems the laminate tape models like this one also use 6 batteries, whereas the non-laminate like the one I link to above use only 4.

This labeler seems to print pretty decent labels. My main beef is that it insists on using up at least one inch of blank tape at the beginning of every label, even when using the "narrow" margin setting and the smallest font and font width. (The end margin does get smaller on this "narrow" setting, but you'll need to cut the excess at the beginning with scissors if you want the label centered). I find this incredibly wasteful and infuriating. Is Brother just trying to sell more of this pricey tape?

Some other minor issues: some things that should be doable with one button press take many (like clearing a line); and some settings need to be repeatedly set every time instead of becoming the default once you set them. Also the font's can get a little blocky looking when using certain sizes or the narrow or wide widths. (I've returned this labeler already so i can't remember the specifics on the last 2 points).

I thought I could pick it up and start making labels, but I learned I need to read the instructions several times. There was a learning curve for me. But, once I got it set up the way I want it, it is very easy to use. It does save the last label you made. That has to be erased with the backspace before making a new label.

I want to use a left-over power adapter from another device. It took a while, but I finally found the requirements: 9 VDC, 1.6 Amp, center point negative.

I had trouble peeling the backing from the new label until I noticed the backing is slitted lengthwise. Gently fold the new label lengthwise toward the side with the writing. The slit in the backing will open a little. Peel off the two halves.

I want to get some white on black tape to use for restoring letters on some computer keyboards.

I have been labeling different things. (I put the stock number for my shaver cutters onto my shaver.) It is handier than the raised Dymo labels and follows contours better.

I was desperate for a labeler, and purchased this at my local OfficeMax. It's a great labeler, looks great on my desk, functions great (without reading the manual!) but after just a couple days use, I needed to replace the batteries. If you get this labeler, get an AC adapter as well. Only other down-side is that cartridges are pricey.

June 2010 Update: Purchased this in April - I don't do a lot of labeling, but have replaced label cartridges twice and batteries 3x. Still think it's a good labeler but invest in the plug-in charger and plan to go through cartridges fairly frequently.

I originally bought this product as a gift for my father, but he actually gave it to me thinking I had greater use for it.

When I actually started using this device is when I got into the details of the whole product. The product is designed with ease of use in mind. It has a simple interface (with a QWERTY keyboard that works like a QWERTY keyboard). Being simple it also has various options in font and styles which makes the label unique. The label width is fixed but you can make upto 2 lines of texts in that width.

To think of any negatives about this product - Firstly it doesn't come with a power adapter. Although my use is not so intensive, I can imagine changing batteries frequently an annoying problem for intensive users.

I have used the product for over 3 months now. I still have the original tape roll inside it which came with the product. I notice that once the label is printed the lamination layer on top of it is slightly shifted and not directly over the label. I am not sure if this could be a problem with the labelmaker or the tape. Also, when it prints out the labels, it makes a squeaky noise like old rollers running which it did not make earlier (The noise started coming with the shift of lamination layer; a possible connection?)

Apart from this I haven't figured out any problems with the product. I cannot say much about comparison to other similar products as I haven't ever used a label maker before.

I've set the margins as small as possible & it still wastes as much tape as it uses. It seems someone would be clever enough to design it without so much waste...although Brother does make less money that way. Just started using so can't comment on durability yet.