Figure 1: Brother P-Touch PTH110 (left) and Brother P-Touch QL500 (top) models with compatible label tapes and sample labels – paper type DK label made by the QL500, and TZE type label made by the blue handheld PTH110.
We have a good range of Brother Label Printers and Dymo Labelling Machines. These are thermal printers which means they use thermal paper and don’t require ink. They are relatively small mobile devices that you can use to quite quickly make professional and durable sticky labels. They’re affordable too.
Because there are soooooooo many label tapes, it can be a bit confusing working out which tapes work with each label printer. Call us if you have any issues figuring out which label tape or printer you need – we love to help!
Things to note are the maximum width the printer can take, and the type eg M tape, DK tape or TZE tape.
Two main types of thermal printed label
There are two categories of label: laminated, and paper. In the photo in Figure 1, you can see at the bottom an example of a paper label (rectangular, white with black printing) and a laminated (plasticky, long) label.
Laminated tapes: TZE and M
There are quite a few tapes compatible with each printer, but generally the Brother P-Touch tape printers and TZE laminated tapes are compatible. The M tapes are an earlier generation of laminated tape. Generally, the models that take the laminated tapes start with PT. It’s often not as easy as you would think to find the model number on the labelling machine. In Figure 1, the QL500 has the model number clearly shown on the front. However, to find the model of the blue PTH110 you have to remove the back cover and strain your eyes to read the model in fine print inside the back cover. It does show the tape info written on the outside though (TZE tape 3.5mm – 12mm).
Paper-type labels: DK
The DK labels are paper-type labels and are used with the Brother QL model label printers.
Label printer brands
Brother labelling machines and labels
Figure 3: Brother P-Touch Label Printer, Model PTH110 – affordable hand-held printer for laminated TZE tape labels
Figure 2: Using the pink hearts labelling tape (code TZEMPPH31) in our Brother P-Touch for the birthday girl.
We love using our Brother P-Touch durable label printer for labelling lunchboxes, drink bottles and food storage containers. The labels survive washing surprisingly well, even in the dishwasher, and they’re very easy to read and quick to make.
Check out the Brother site for more information on their range of label printers.
We have a huge range of genuine Brother labels for Brother label printers. There are plastic labels for general indoor use from plain to fancy (eg pink hearts as shown in Figure 2 – also silver lace!) in various sizes and colours, and labels for industrial use and outdoors. There is even a label tape for ironing onto fabric.
For the more popular label types we supply compatible labels which are lower cost but also of decent quality. We use compatible labels in our Brother label printer at home and are very happy with their performance and longevity. The compatible labels are very popular with our customers.
Portability: Batteries versus power adapter
The handheld, very budget-friendly PTH110 models of Brother Label Printer (see Figure 3 for example) run on batteries with the option of purchasing a power adapter separately. The other label printers plug into mains power like most appliances.
While the handheld portability of the PTH110 is useful, we do recommend purchasing the Brother P-Touch AD5000ES AC Adaptor as well – 6 x AAA batteries can be frustrating to find or re-charge when you just want to print some labels – we speak from experience when trying to make a demo label for our photo (Figure 1)!
This power adapter can be used for a few models of Brother label machine – these are listed in the product description on our site.
Industrial Brother printers for the laminated labels (such as this PTE300VP Industrial heatshrink model and the Electrician model) come with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack.
Battery Base for Brother QL810W and QL820NWB label printers
Check out the Brother PA-BU-001 Rechargeable Battery Base. It makes the Brother QL810W and QL820NWB paper label printers totally portable! Great for those out and about jobs when you need to label a lot of things (with PAPER labels) without ready access to a power socket.
Dymo labelling machines and labels
Figure 4: Dymo genuine durable labels, 12mm wide, white printing on red background, product code: 1978366. Three different colours are available on our site in these durable labels.
Besides Brother, we supply Dymo label machines and Dymo labels too, both genuine and compatible. These also are either paper-type or laminated plastic. The Dymo machines and labels have proven pretty popular with our customers.
The genuine Dymo labels come in a variety of interesting types, including fabric tape, and industrial strength indoor-outdoor water resistant “durable” tapes.
Old school labels you write on by hand…
In addition to all of the exciting label printers and label “cartridges” we supply, we do have a range of traditional sheet labels to print onto, or write on with a pen if you like! We have a large range of pens, too – check out our Pilot range as well as our Icon range.
We hope this helps you with your labelling endeavours, whether with machines or by hand…for home or office….or outdoors on a job.
