Best printer for labels.

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biglongdarren

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My printer has packed up and i am thinking of buying a new one, and one that i can use to print my own labels with uploaded photos and all, i know very little about them so any info would be great thanks,
i see a cannon all in one ink jet printer for £40, would this do the job???http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9114320.htm


cheers Darren
 
A lot more expensive, but I'd recommend a laser printer. Better quality printing and waterproof results.
 
hi Darren
look on ebay for all in one printers with Wi-Fi not working, from a company not private buyer, as a lot of returns with Wi-Fi not working from supplied disc have been returned, and go on line with cable to the computer and printer and download Wi-Fi software, they will work then no one has told the company's of this so a lot on the market from Argos Tesco's etc.
 
two main sorts of domestic printers - inkjet and laser.

generally...

Laser printers are the less problematic. If inkjet printers are not used regularly, the ink dries up in the print head and you can waste a lot of ink running cleaning cycles.

Laser printers cost more initially, and the cartridges cost more individually, but they last for far longer. You get far fewer blockages with laser printers, they don't suffer from being idle for months as the toner is dry and doesn't clog like inkjets do.

Beware of printers (of either type) that have chips in the cartridges that prevent you from using non-original manufacturer replacements.

For higher volumes lasers tend to be more cost effective, and lasers are less troublesome for low volumes.
Inkjets tend tend to have very cheap hardware (often sold at price or at a loss) and the manufacturers make their profit from higher ink costs, they're popular for their low initial price, but running costs are dearer.
 
Darren, this has been done to death a few times recently!

A laser will give you damp-proof (non-smudge) labels, lower overall running costs, and faster repeat printing but not the ultimate photo quality of an inkjet (text and graphics otherwise usually better). It will however cost a bit more to buy. And the consumables essentially come in bigger packs.

One of the advantages of this http://www.ebuyer.com/433141-dell-c1760nw-wireless-colour-laser-printer-210-41094 is that you can get cheap 'compatible' cartridges of toner (lasers use powder, not ink, so it doesn't dry up when you don't use it for a while.
Same people sell the same thing via Amazon for £10 more. Where you can see reviews, links to consumables, AND the more expensive version with a scanner incorporated, (should you want that).
 
We've just ordered a Dell c1765nw in order to print our labels.
When it turns up and is in use I'll come back with feedback.

Our existing Epson inkjet produces lousy print for our label design and Epson don't support the scanner function with Win 8.

Tim.
 
i can buy a second hand Brother DCP-7010 All in one Mono Laser Flatbed Printer,Copier and Colour Scanner in perfect working order for £40.
should do me fine.

Darren
 
Brother sounds OK.

You can also get transparent labels so any design with black ink will look well against the honey in the jar.

The only inkjet type I would consider buying is one that prints using pigment ink as dye based inks have no waterproofing.
 
Hi ABM. Great post but can you get transparent labels for it too and can you use only 62mm width or smaller as well
 
Don't use a laser myself but I would think you can get something close to that size in clear labels.
 
My printer has packed up and i am thinking of buying a new one, and one that i can use to print my own labels with uploaded photos and all, i know very little about them so any info would be great thanks,
i see a cannon all in one ink jet printer for £40, would this do the job???http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9114320.htm


cheers Darren

As you may know I sell stuff on ebay which I have printed and have tried many printers.
The one you show is similar to one that I use..except mine uses 5 inks..Two blacks..One is pigment and not ink. Less fading.
Dont bother with ebay...PCWorld and Argos often sell printers cheaper the ebay.

If you get one from PCW tou have about three weeks to take it back just because you dont lke it...........full refund or trade a different model.
Duplex (double sided) printin is a gimmick..waste of time, only works on PDF files and even then its quicker to turn the paper manually.
Inkjet printing does smudge but normally only if it gets wet or damp...Leave it to dry for a while....

You can save a bit of money by re-filling your cartridges or using a CISS (ebay)
Worth a try using pigment instead of ink.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CANON-540-541-ink-CISS-ink-supply-system-refillable-ink-cartridge-MG-3150-3250-/171457702514?pt=UK_CamerasPhoto_Printing_PrinterInkCatridges_JN&hash=item27ebacea72 Probably cheaper ones if you look
 
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Beware of printers (of either type) that have chips in the cartridges that prevent you from using non-original manufacturer replacements.

Never has a non original that didnt work....Chips in the replacemnt ones duplicate the original ones.. You may sometimes get the message "not recognised" but just ignore it.

There is also the "parts in your printer are worn and may need replacing" crap on Epsons... A little program called SSC Service Utility solves that inlcuded on reset discs you can buy from ebay.

"Your ink overflow pad if full"..................I know...it leaks onto the shelf it stands on which is why I have kitchen paper under it.
 
Unsure on transparancy, but yes the labels come in smaller sizes.
 
I have used an inkjet printer almost every day for the past 10 years and to be frank they are all pretty much the same.........craxp!
I have now come to the conclusion after spending lots of time and money on them that the best way is to buy as cheap as possible.
Two months ago I bought an HP Deskjest 2454 from Tesxo for £39 which has wifi and I plan to sling it when it starts playing up after a year. This is about the same length of time my last one took to fail that cost me £300 and would only accept HP's own cartridges (£50 a pop) as it was linked by internet. I disconnected the internet from it and used compatible for around a month until it just refused to accept them.
We also have laser printers in the office, they spend more time with an engineer peering down into them than actually working.
If printers were cars they would all be Moskvitch, showing my age now :spy:
S
 
Just replaced our aging HP 2605 with the Dell Itma suggests. Does what it says on the tin but as with the HP, it's a little slow spooling labels because it builds the image first however no problems with ink run in damp conditions.
It's currently printing stickers and badges for the children attending Gwent BKA at Newport ECO Week.

I do miss the duplex for tri fold leaflet runs but that's just a minor inconvenience given the price of a set of replacement carts.
 
Printing Transparent Labels

Sorry to revive an old thread but was hoping a techie out there could offer some advice.

I had a very small initial honey harvest (1 Kg), which filled 7 of the small square jars that my son bought me as a pressie. I won't be selling any, giving most away as Christmas presents, but I wanted the labelling to be legal and of merchantable quality so that when I do get some honey to sell. I've got the labelling cracked.

I did not want the label to smear so I used my old but trusty HP Laserjet 6L to print on A4 Transparent laser label material. I wore disposable gloves when sticking the labels on to avoid finger prints. Trouble was, the black printing was not dense enough to produce the depth of "ink" to show up enough against background of the honey. The printer works at a maximum of 600dpi and I don't think this is dense enough - light appeared to be coming through the larger areas of print - text and graphics. Even modern laser printers don't seem to print at much more than 600 dpi. I could not find any way of increasing colour density for my printer.

Anybody got any ideas on how to improve the transparent labels that does not involve going to a printer and saying "how much to print 7 of these?"

CVB
 
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Hi CVB, what you need to do is something so simple and not very techie, when you click on print, you will be shown your printer with a few setting, at the bottom of this box there will be a button saying " advanced ", click on that and there you will find how to change the dpi( you said 600 was your max, make sure its selected). Then find print quality or toner quality, they're numbered 1 to 10, 1 is the low eco setting which will be selected, change it to 10, then click ok. Then press print.

Now the printer will run slower as it is putting down loads more toner but it should be solid matt black when done.

Don't forget to reset everything when your done or you will be buying a new toner cartridge after a few weeks, good luck.
 
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I bought a laser printer this year partly so I could try clear labels and do finer other labels. I have found that with clear labels to make them stand out and easily readable you have to make the text larger and bolder than you otherwise would. The exception to this if you have a very light honey and then the clear label looks great without the need to make the text bold or increase the size.
 

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