Post #1685247

2026-04-19 10:09 UTC

Anybody have experience with label printers? The classic one of course is Dymo but I truly hate how they’ve gone all proprietary with their labels. The series 5 printers have rfid chips on the rolls(!) so zero chance of using 3rd party labels. I’m seeing there are thermal label printers as well, requiring no ink, which seems appealing, but also very nostalgic for me. Believe it or nor I had a thermal printer in the 1980s, for my Sinclair ZX81. So what I’m really asking I suppose is if there’s anyone who could recommend a label printer, or knows what to especially watch out for. Use-cases: address labels, name tags, labels on storage boxes, labelling various plugs and devices.

Replies (12)

@frojd@freeradical.zone 2026-04-19 10:23

@axbom No specific model recommendation but I've had a brother handheld printer that worked well. Their label spools were cheaper and had better propertied (UV resistant). At work we print shipping labels using Brother thermolabel printers, they work well too.

Open ##1685255
@quixoticgeek@social.v.st 2026-04-19 10:29

@axbom I have a Brady M210. I'm happy with it.

Open ##1685256
@mgleadow@mastodon.green 2026-04-19 10:42

@axbom mine are Brother, based on the fact that their printers are well rated. They are also second hand, so not current tech (there is a chance they have changed things) but I am happy with them

Open ##1685257
@apexys@mastodon.social 2026-04-19 10:48

@axbom From my experience, the Brother-QL series is cheap and does address labels pretty well, but the thermal print doesn't hold up well over time (for e.g. storage boxes)

Open ##1685258
@tompearce49@mastodon.scot 2026-04-19 10:56

@axbom - I have a Brother one which, like their printers, has always stood me in good stead. No complaints at all.

Open ##1685266
@felixthehat@kafeneio.social 2026-04-19 11:13

@axbom @CiaraNi https://kafeneio.social/@felixthehat/116356979604559053

Open ##1685267
@felixthehat@kafeneio.social 2026-04-19 11:13

@axbom @CiaraNi https://kafeneio.social/@felixthehat/116356993768132795

Open ##1685268
@jhaas@a2mi.social 2026-04-19 12:27

@axbom I have no modern recommendations, but would recommend against thermal print if you're looking for long-lived labels. They tended to blacken over time, especially if exposed to sunlight. (It's been 20 years, so perhaps they're better now...) Similarly from back in the day, the Brother P-touch was what was used among people I knew. It seems to still be made.

Open ##1685269
@hoco@sfba.social 2026-04-19 15:21

@axbom I like my brother printer. I only use third-party labels with it. It has work for a decade. I don't think they sell my model anymore (QL-570) but the rolls of labels are easily available and it still works perfectly.

Open ##1685271
@qwazix@bananachips.club 2026-04-19 15:40

@axbom I have a brother QL-800. It also has proprietary labels but no drm, it has just a pattern printed on the back. There is a hack that allows you to use any roll but there are lots of compatible rolls in the market at reasonable prices. There is a linux driver afaik but I prefer using it with brother-ql from pypi, which prints an image directly, without going through CUPS.

Open ##1685272
@erik@mastodon.infrageeks.social 2026-04-19 16:57

@axbom I’ve got a couple of Brother Ptouch label printers and they do the job nicely. The software is well, … functional but it does the job. I’ve got one which works over Wifi and can take different sizes of tape which is handy. Aftermarket labels work fine

Open ##1685273
@gustav@mastodonsweden.se 2026-04-20 04:33

@axbom we use Brother at the library I work at. Not cheap but they work very well. No issues with using third party labels (TZe compatible). There are pretty fun SDKs as well that you can do things with https://github.com/yeasir01/bpac-js

Open ##1685274