Brother Electronic Labeling System

I sent my husband to the store to purchase tape for my label maker and what he came home with with a whole new P-touch machine and boy am I glad that he did.

The machine he bought is the Brother P-touch Pt-1230 PC. It was on sale for $19.99 instead of the regular price of $49.99 so he said it was a bargain he could not pass up. It is small, compact, lightweight and plugs directly into your computer.

When I first saw it I thought there was no way I was going to be able to operate it but I was totally wrong. I do not think there is a label maker that is easier to use than this one. You start by plugging it in to your computer. There is no software or anything to install. The machine itself has no screen or keyboard it is all donecompletely through the computer. A little screen pops up which I have added a picture of. This screen is where you type your text, change your font and do everything you need to do. It is so much easier to read and preview what you have written than it is on a smallscreen of a regular label machine. The unit runs on 6 AAA batteries or they do sell an optional power cord if you prefer to plug it in.

The P-touch 1230 prints labels in a continuous stream so if you are printing several at a time, you end up with less waste on the ends of each label. It has a large selection ofpreloaded fonts and can print on multiple lines. The coolest feature of this labeler though is that you can add images from your computer to it. I have a picture of one of my dogs treat jars that has a label with his name and his picture on it. In addition to the pictures, it also prints symbols, frames, mirror images and is capable of printing in several foreignlanguages as well. The software also allows you to save your designs so you can come back and reprint them at a later time.

The machine uses TZ laminated tape and comes with a sample size of 12 mm black-on-white tape to get you started. Additional tape can be purchased in widths up to 1/2 inch and come in a wide array of colors and styles. The tape ranges in price from about $10.00-$15.00. The tape is easy to change by opening up the compartment and popping the old one out and the new one in.

I love this machine because I label everything and it is so easy to use. The only problem I have encountered with it is that since I have gotten it, I have switched from using a my PC as my main computer to a Mac and this labeler is not Mac compatible.