Creating labels for any application can be quite arduous if you are still using a word processor to create the labels and an ordinary printer to print them out. Now label printing has become extremely easy with the f state-of-the-art, label printers at affordable prices. Printing labels is now as easy as entering the data and pressing a few buttons on a label printer. Todays label printers are extra-smart. They are compatible with your PC or laptop when attached with t a USB cord, and they can intelligently organize the information on the label s, and print out as many copies as you want. There are desktop as well as portable printers that have a built-in keyboard for entering data and an LCD screen for viewing. They also come with relevant software for organizing, storing and formatting the data. They can convert any kind of data -- any size -- from Microsoft Word or Excel files into label format. Any format of data- bold, italicized, shadows or outlines can be printed onto label sheets of various dimensions. There are also label printers that can efficiently generate and print bar codes. Most label printers use thermal heat to print the ink on the paper. Hence, the quality may not be as good as that of an inkjet, but it is acceptable. A basic label printer can be bought for under $50. There are hundreds of models from big names like Avery, IBM, D-Link, Brother, Olympus, Rimage, Zebra, DYMO, Primera, Informatics and Seiko. Some printers are highly advanced with several features like bilingual support, contacts database to store frequently used data, customized print layouts, customized paragraph formatting and typeface, support for other media labels such as Palm PDAs, cassette tape, video tape and floppy disks, easy import of custom logos or graphics, word wrap and shrink-to-fit functions, automatic label loading and integration with other software tools. Color label printers are the latest and most popular versions. Colors include the basic black and white along with blue or red text. The label sheets are also available in pleasant colors of clear, green, white, fluorescent red or silver. Water-resistant sheets, fabric tapes, security labels and laminated materials can also be used. There are label printers that can print onto cassettes, CDs, DVDs, name badges and file folders. Some of these advanced label printers may cost $300 or more. The features, the print speed, the cost, the durability of the printer as well as the label image, print volume, label sizes and your requirements are some of the aspects to be considered when buying a label printer. |
