P-Touch. Brother PT1280 Label Maker Review

The PT1280 Label Maker by Brother is a portable, hand-held device that makes it possible for anyone on a small budget to label household items, folders, files, and/or just about anything they want. Brother P-Touch label makers have been around for over a decade. At one time, they were larger and didn't do nearly as much or perform as well as models like the PT-1280.  The PT-1280 uses a small, familiar-looking Qwerty keyboard. It runs on 6 AAA batteries and features a 15-Character LCD Display. Other features include 5 framing options, 2-line printing, auto formats, 3 type-sizes and three-keys dedicated for saving and printing your favorite labels. The PT-1280 can be found for under $30 on eBay. For an additional cost, you can buy an AC Adapter for it.

The PT-1280 produces labels using a common, reliable printing method known as thermal heat-transfer. The key to thermal-heat printing is actually in the tapes. The Brother PT1280 prints on four different size TZ tapes: 9/64", 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2". Type size is automatically selected based on the size tape and is not adjustable. This is not much of a drawback for a label maker for under $30.00. The one thing that I do find annoying with the PT-1280 and other Brother P-Touch printers is the way they produce a 1/2" lead before and after the label, which unnecessarily wastes tape and forces me to trim them before applying them to objects. All-in-all, the Brother P-Touch PT-1280 does a decent job. Labels print relatively fast and it is a breeze to use the first time. The strength in P-Touch printers are the laminated labels which can be found at any office supply store or eBay and come in a variety of colors:
Black-on-white, black-on-clear, black-on-red, black-on-yellow, black-on-green, black-on-blue, black-on-orange, white-on-black, white-on-clear, white-on-blue, red-on-white, blue-on-white and Colorado Buffaloes gold-on-black. You can literally choose just about any color you scheme you want to match the theme of the merchandise your are labeling. Labels can be purchased on eBay, Costco or any office supply store. a 26' long roll of tape sells for $9 to $12.00.

Why do I need a P-Touch Label Maker?

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