Reviewing The Most Popular Label Printers
by Ashley Lassiter
Having a personal label printer can save you the hassle of standing in line at the post office as well as save you money on postage. For a small business, saving both time and money are crucial, especially in the early stages. We took a look at some of the top label printers on the market so that you can pick the right one to keep your shipping operations running.
The Dymo Label Printer is often recommended to online sellers. This printer is compatible with ecommerce favorites such as eBay, Amazon, PayPal, and Etsy. The Dymo is also compatible with other 3rd party postage vendors. No setup or technical know-how is required, which is great for people who are just starting to ship orders. Other benefits for the Dymo include three second printing and its compact, space saving size. However, the Dymo requires index holes and a MAC driver. Index holes tell the printer where one label stops and the next begins. Without index holes, the labels cannot feed into the printer correctly. MAC drivers are essential for MAC users who want to use the “command P” option to print from their Macbook to the Dymo. Because the Dymo requires extra steps to print proper labels, it’s a good starter printer for new businesses but will often be replaced as businesses scale.
The Brother is arguably a step up from the Dymo. PC Mag calls it “a seriously impressive label printer”. The Brother is faster, prints a larger variety of label types and also prints stamps. The software is easy to set up and includes features such as an address book for mail merging and Microsoft Word commands. The sophisticated software has a downside, however, for users who choose The Brother for single label printing. Since it takes awhile to get used to the Brother’s complex software, it’s not ideal for businesses who need to ship packages immediately.
That brings us to the The Zebra, the favorite and preferred label printer here at EasyPost. Not only is The Zebra user-friendly, it also offers multi-page printing, never jams (in our experience) and like other thermal printers, requires no ink! Setup time compared to other label printers makes this a clear winner. The Zebra can be ready to go as in under a minute; the ZPL driver is pre-installed which allows you to print labels immediately after plugging it in. The Zebra uses its own language, known as ZPL, which is interpreted directly to the printer. This convenient feature means developers don’t have to worry about porting files or installing new drivers each time the printer is changed.
Here at EasyPost, we’re pretty strong advocates of the Zebra because of its short set-up time, ease of use, and overall reliability. Whichever label printer you decide on, remember that you’re purchasing one to keep your shipping operations running more smoothly and efficiently.