Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Used in a Macintosh-oriented Small Office, April 3, 2006
I got this labeler for use in a small office, primarily for file folder and address labels. Text quality - at a mere 300 dpi - is hardly gorgeous, but adequate for labeling needs. Labels are smear-proof, and I have never had a problem with printed labels darkening from exposure to hot mailing equipment, copy machines, or the like.
The Twin Turbo is essentially two 400 Turbo units in one chassis. By including two printers in one unit, DYMO has more than doubled the utility of the printer for me. This unit replaces an older LabelWriter which saw little use due to the hassle of changing out (and thereby wasting) label rolls. The TT allows you to pick from the left or right printer roll from either the application or the print dialogue box, and it remembers which side you specified for a particular label size.
Although a true full-speed USB 2.0 device, the TT is plenty fast connected to a USB 1.1 interface. The cable is included. (Why can't all printers do that?!)
The Macintosh OS X (only - sorry, no Classic!) software is ported directly from the Windows version. Not surprisingly, it is therefore a little bit kludgy and inelegant, but usable with only a very modest learning curve. Users of prior versions of the Dymo software may, like me, miss some options like full justification, and find other commands, options, and preferences have gotten buried in obscure corners of the application. The included clip art library is lame, and setting up a good looking label takes some trial and error. Nevertheless, once you have configured your standard labels you'll never again have to hassle with sheet labels, and shooting out a single label or 100 at a time is almost one-click easy.
The drivers work flawlessly, and the installer automatically launches the Add a Printer utility. The Mac software appears to be PPC only right now; I advise checking the Dymo website if you want or need a Universal Binary version for an Intel-based Mac. By default, the application installs at root level and requires an administrator password to install.
The majority of the support documentation is included as a PDF launchable from within the DYMO Label application. Again, the manual is Windows-centric, but usable for the Mac version.
The biggest drawback is the unit lacks an On/Off switch, and does not automatically go into a sleep state like most modern printers. What this means for the user is the unit's two rather annoyingly bright blue LED ready lights are constantly lit. I find this distracting and had to place the machine out of my line of sight. At least the unit does play nicely with Mac 'deep sleep' mode on a G4 PowerMac. The power cord comes in two sections totaling a good 10' (with a smallish adapter brick in the middle) so at least you can place the unit practically anywhere.
Finally, I advise shopping around. I was able to find this unit for under $150 shipped, and that easily beat the cost of buying two of the DYMO (non-Turbo) 400s.
Pros:
* Included USB cable and long power cord
* Macintosh Driver works well
* Decent value for money, dual printers add utility
Cons:
* Lacks on/off switch
* Somewhat marginal print quality
* Application interface lacks polish, no Universal Binary support (yet)
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41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Label Printer. Fast and Sharp, October 9, 2005
I was skeptical about buying the Twin Turbo. We had to create about 1500 new file labels on a project. We also wanted to have 2 types of label formats available without having to change the label spool each time. Enter the Twin Turbo.
This is a great product. Fast, Clean and Sharp.
NOTE: 1 tip. Make sure that when you load the labels that you keep the spool of labels tight with no slack. Feed the labels into the printer very tightly. This will eliminate errors and line erros.
GREAT PRODUCT!!
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Flawless Performance, Almost Completely Satisfied, June 10, 2006
Have had the unit for a few weeks and have not found any flaws or experienced any problems. Setup and Installation was painless; integration with Microsoft Office applications automatic and trouble-free.
First, the printer itself is a thermal printer which means no ink or toner is ever needed. Printing can only be done in black but the Dymo product brochure lists options for custom-printed full-color labels including custom sizes.
The unit operates instantly and quietly (makes the same amount of noise as any other thermal printer I have ever used). The printer occupies about half the desk space as a small inkjet printer and is relatively attractive. Two blue LED lights are quite bright and may be slightly distracting.
The unit does NOT have a power on/off switch either on the machine itself or on the power transformer. The printer does come with it's own power transformer AND a USB cable. The connection ports for both are located on the underside and the base has molded cable outlets so the unit sits properly flat on a table or desk. Due to the lack of a power on/off switch and the bright blue LED lights, I keep my unit unplugged when not in use and makes me glad that my primary power strip/surge protector is mounted on the wall at desk level for easy access to the plug.
I have had no troubles with printing performance, label loading and feeding or with changing labels.
DYMO includes an information sheet/order form that lists 40 different label options that are compatible with all of their LabelWriter products. The smallest labels are half inch by half inch and the largest shipping labels are 3inches by 4 inches.
So far I have used up one roll of the big shipping labels and have tested out the internet postage labels and some of the smaller sizes. Labels for sticking directly to CD/DVD disks are available but I have not tested these yet. Labels for VHS tapes and audio cassette tapes are also available as well as small return address and file folder labels. The device can even print directly onto non-adhesive name badges.
So far I do not have any complaints with the software. The main label software integrates with Microsoft Office applications so I can print labels without having to open the Dymo software separately. For USA addresses, there is software to correct addresses and automatically add the USPS bar code to your labels. The software cannot correct non-USA addresses. My only complaint is that I want the city name to be all capital letters but that does not seem to be allowed thru the address fixer software.
I used to hand-write as many as 60 shipping labels per week, so my primary reason for purchasing this machine is to print shipping labels. I also plan to use it for internet postage soon. My third reason is to print retail price labels and the fourth is to print labels for CD/DVD disk, audio cassette tapes, and VHS Tapes. The wide assortment of stock labels makes doing all these tasks possible even tho it means keeping an inventory of several different types of labels and switching rolls of labels quite often. Now I no longer need to print labels on entire sheets of labels , tho I do expect to continue to do that using my ink jet printer when I have large jobs to do. Also, since I can print individual price tag-sized labels I no longer need to buy a hand-held retail price gun, so that is a good savings for me since price guns cost a lot of money when bought new.
I purchased Dymo LabelWriter Twin Turbo from Amazon.com for much less than the standard list price. I have also found a reputable online vendor who sells almost all of the label varieties for prices below what you pay direct from DYMO or from retail Office Supply stores. I also purchased a one year extended warranty from the NEW Corporation thru Amazon (same outfit that does service plans for many retailers like ToysRUs, Office Depot). The price of the service plan was US $18 so if I have trouble I can get them correctly quickly and without extra cost to me.
One last thing, Dymo does not seem to offer any small hand-held input devices, so this unit must always be connected to a PC.
I did not test this to see if it works over a network as a shared device and did not see any information about that in the printer documentation.
There may be other brands of labels that will work with this DYMO machine but I have not tried them. The DYMO machines seem to utilize a small slot in the label backing paper for proper alignment of the next label, so be sure that any other brand of thermal labels you try has a similar slot (like IBM punch card hole).
I like my LabelWriter Twin Turbo and have no regrets about buying it. If I had extra cash to throw around, I would purchase a second unit so I wouldn't have to switch between labels so often. I use my unit daily for many tasks and I always smile when using it.
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