Label Makers

95 views
Skip to first unread message

Mac Doktor

unread,
Jun 7, 2022, 7:32:45 PM6/7/22
to neonixie-l
My collection of Nixie tubes, magic eyes and everything else you can name. has grown to the point where I need to get serious about storage. One aspect of this is labelling things. I'm tired of writing on boxes with a Sharpie.

I really like the capabilities of this Epson series:




I know there's cheaper stuff out there and the profit is in selling tape cartridges (à la printer ink) but this thing prints on heat-shrink tubing.

So what are you guys using?


Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"


“...the book said something astonishing, a very big thought. The stars, it said, were suns but very far away. The Sun was a star but close up.”—Carl Sagan, "The Backbone Of Night", Cosmos, 1980


Nicholas Stock

unread,
Jun 7, 2022, 8:13:33 PM6/7/22
to 'Greg P' via neonixie-l

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/795AB7A6-4296-4B7B-9980-B375454A617F%40gmail.com.

liam bartosiewicz

unread,
Jun 7, 2022, 11:26:15 PM6/7/22
to neoni...@googlegroups.com
I got one of the cheap Dymo embossing label makers, it works great, makes nice looking labels, and the refills cost next to nothing

On Jun 7, 2022, at 5:13 PM, Nicholas Stock <nick...@gmail.com> wrote:



Grahame

unread,
Jun 8, 2022, 3:38:04 AM6/8/22
to neoni...@googlegroups.com

Hi

I have a Brother PTE300VP - cost was £50 in the UK by waiting for an "offer" to appear. Here's a tear down of a label cartridge and short run through the capabilities by Big Clive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2SRePOg4VM

Grahame

Adrian Godwin

unread,
Jun 8, 2022, 4:49:18 AM6/8/22
to neoni...@googlegroups.com
I have used some of the Dymo products (not the old embossing type, though they're popular for their retro charm). They work well if you get the paper-based labels but the plastic labels are poor on all but plastic surfaces. If you fold them in half to mark a wire they unfold and unstick themselves, and the same can happen on cardboard boxes.

The latest versions also have DRM to force you to buy their refills. I think this has now been broken but not necessarily well  enough to buy compatible products - more to allow you to refill the cartridge.

I will try to get some paper labels for my older machine but if I replace it I will probably look at Brother and Casio.


Jeffry P

unread,
Jun 8, 2022, 7:21:46 AM6/8/22
to neonixie-l
During the past 20 years or so I've collected various types of inkjet label stock (sheets of blank labels). Most are leftovers from different projects or obtained at garage sales ( a great resource for ALL things labels), office store clearance, etc. I now have 'sticky paper'  in just about every size all the way up to full sheets. Sometimes I use the label printing software , but usually a simple text editor works fine to print using my inkjet. I had one of those fancy shrink tube printers once and it worked great! I used it to re-label the branches of artificial christmas tree limbs when I was working for a decorating firm.  Oh I also have a Dymo embosser for 2 different size labels, a P-touch, a Brady wire label printer, and a Brother label printer!

Jeffry

Yohan Park

unread,
Jun 8, 2022, 10:32:26 AM6/8/22
to neonixie-l
I'm using a Dymo 450 Duo
It's really 2 in 1 since the top printer can print paper address labels and the bottom printer prints laminated ribbon labels up to 24mm.
The nice thing is it's connected to my PC so I can print anything,  including graphics, on the laminated labels.

gregebert

unread,
Jun 8, 2022, 12:01:31 PM6/8/22
to neonixie-l
The only thing I hate about my Brother PTD-400 is that it wastes blank tape between prints. Definitely a conspiracy to make you buy more supplies from the manufacturer.

Fortunately there are several 3rd-party suppliers of good-quality/low-cost tape. Where possible, I manually insert blanks to make separate labels, print, then cut with scissors.

newxito

unread,
Jun 8, 2022, 2:55:54 PM6/8/22
to neonixie-l
 DRM for labels? This is crazy, imagine a nixie tube manufacturer putting DRM chips inside the tubes so they can only be used in their own clocks...

Mike Harrison

unread,
Jun 10, 2022, 4:09:22 AM6/10/22
to neoni...@googlegroups.com
I use 2 -
Brother P-Touch E300, as mentioned before, in the UK this is sometimes on offer at Screwfix or
Toostation. if you're doing a lot, there is a next model up that can link to PC/phone which might be
useful

Zebra TLP2844 thermal transfer, for address labels etc. These are sold under different brands ( e.g
mine is a Panduit TDB43M), and often available very cheap used on ebay ( £50 or less)

These do nice thermal-transfer onto paper or plastic labels, which are pretty durable. Lots of
generic labels and transfer rolls available for these

J Forbes

unread,
Jun 10, 2022, 10:31:17 AM6/10/22
to neonixie-l
I got one of these several years ago. I don't use it very often, I guess I"m not organized enough. But it does work. And I think you can still buy them, and the plastic tape.
label.jpg
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages