Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Brother P-touch Label Maker Model: PT-D210 Amazon price: $39.99 I’ve used label makers for years. I couldn’t live without one in my desk. The two leading competitors are Brother and Casio. I prefer Brother mostly because the backing paper is split and is easy to remove. Trying to peel the backing off a Casio label is a time-consuming exercise in frustration. The Brother PT-D210 unit is a little over a pound in weight and measures about 6 by 6 inches and is 2-1/2 inches tall. At $39,99, it’s priced well. It requires six AA batteries which are not included. A T-Power AC adapter is only $10.99 from Amazon, so depending on your usage, it may well pay for itself in batteries alone. Be aware that Brother’s TZe printing tapes are where you’ll spend money. Each tape is about 26 feet long so if your average label is 4 inches, you’ll get about 75 labels per cartridge. The cartridges vary in price because this label maker can use four different widths of tape - 0.13” (3.5mm), 0.23” (6mm), 0.35” (9mm), and 0.47” (12mm). In addition to these widths, Brother offers colors, clear and transparent tape, and even metallics. They also make specialty tapes using iron-on fabric, extra-strength adhesive varieties, and flexible tapes for wrapping around wire and cables. When you purchase tape cartridges, look for packages containing more than one cartridge. They are usually priced better. Currently, Amazon has a two-pack of 1/2” black on white tape for $18.98 ($9.49 each). If you get 75 labels per cartridge, that’s only about 13 cents per label. The PT-D210 unit has built-in software that allows you to print borders, symbols, emojis, patterns, and many other decorative effects. You can choose from fourteen fonts and can stylize each in many ways - bold, italic, outline, shadow, etc. I use labels for clean readability so rarely have a use for these fancy styles. If you are a crafter or have a need for decorative labels, you’ll find a huge variety here. This Brother P-touch works well and produces tidy labels for organizing your home and office. Highly recommended.