Best Printer for Printing Avery-type Labels

[benos]

I recently switched to Endicia(for Mac) to print postage and shipping labels. (Thank god no more Pitney Bowes!)

The postage and shipping label print at the same time, on an Avery label (2 labels per 8.5 x 11" sheet). I was hoping to use my Brother HL-5150 Laser Printer, but it just eats to many labels, even when printing from the single sheet feed. (Printing from the tray is right out - it eats them all.)

So for now we're back to printing from an old Epson 740i, which was a good printer in its day. But I'm not sure it's gonna live much longer as now and then the gears make grinding noises when she starts up. I'm now wondering if an ink jet might be the way to go, because the ink jet's paper feed is going to be 100% reliable for labels. And we get black ink cartridges for it for $3 ea.

I'm wondering if anyone's had good experience printing labels every day from any type of laser printer?

Or I'd also enjoy suggestions on a replacement for the 740i, with the criteria first being cheap replacement cartridges, and the second being that it would print somewhat quickly.

be

[AikiDale]

The inkjet will probably be more reliable Brian because it does not heat up and loosen the glue holding the labels to the sheet. There may be lasers that will do the job, I've been out of it for a while, but you definitly want one with a straight through feed rather than having to bend around a drum.

Aiki (I hate printers!) Dale

[murkish]

Brian,

We use Dell laser printers in my business (8 of them) and have never had any problems with printing avery labels. The model we use is the 1700.

Jack

[Jeff686]

I recently switched to Endicia(for Mac) to print postage and shipping labels. (Thank god no more Pitney Bowes!)

The postage and shipping label print at the same time, on an Avery label (2 labels per 8.5 x 11" sheet). I was hoping to use my Brother HL-5150 Laser Printer, but it just eats to many labels, even when printing from the single sheet feed. (Printing from the tray is right out - it eats them all.)

So for now we're back to printing from an old Epson 740i, which was a good printer in its day. But I'm not sure it's gonna live much longer as now and then the gears make grinding noises when she starts up. I'm now wondering if an ink jet might be the way to go, because the ink jet's paper feed is going to be 100% reliable for labels. And we get black ink cartridges for it for $3 ea.

I'm wondering if anyone's had good experience printing labels every day from any type of laser printer?

Or I'd also enjoy suggestions on a replacement for the 740i, with the criteria first being cheap replacement cartridges, and the second being that it would print somewhat quickly.

be

Brian,

The friction/roller method that most inkjet printers use to pick and advance paper though the mechanism is very prone to peeling off labels. The tighter the turn, the worse the problem. For example, the front loading trays have to bend the paper in a 180deg paper path to print, and are more likely to loosen the edge of a label that can catch on the printhead. Top feed printers only bend the paper at about 70 degrees, but also in the more friendly direction. They are not perfect, but better than the front loading kind.

Inkjet printers with scanning heads (move back and forth) make multiple passes over the same portion of the paper, attempting to randomize which nozzles fire the ink to hide systematic defects. This means that there are multple chances for the printhead to catch a label. If one starts to lift, it is likely the next pass of the printhead will make it worse until it is finally peeled into the mechanism.

Don't forget that ink smears and is not waterfast. Some are better than others. Usually inks with good waterfastness tend to smudge or smear when you handle them. Those that don't smear are very easily washed away. If you cover your labels with shipping tape or plastic, this won't be a problem. A $3 ink cartridge is probably refilled, and is likely the worst performing ink, with very few qualities other than low cost.

Have you considered a dedicated label printer? Maybe a Dymo or Brother label printer? They are really slick because they are designed to print labels, and generally don't chew them up like a sheet feeding printer. Plus, you can print as many or few as necessary without trying to feed partially used sheets of avery labels.

Just my 2cents...

Jeff

P.S. If you haven't guessed, I design printers for a living.

[AikiDale]

Forget what I said about Inkjets.

[benos]

Forget what I said about Inkjets.

;-)

Thanks all! I'll do some research based on your replies.

And, AikiDale - I won't forget it. Because, the Epson 740i inkjet has been printing labels everyday for years, with its $3 refills, and we've never had a single problem with the actual printing of the labels. And, the labels we used before going to the 2-up Endicia label, were 10-up labels, so there would have been a lot more chance for the print head to snag a label. Never had that happen even once.

In a nutshell, I hate printers too. Especially inkjet printers if you don't use them every day.

be

[benos]

Brian,

We use Dell laser printers in my business (8 of them) and have never had any problems with printing avery labels. The model we use is the 1700.

Jack

Jack,

Would you happen to know if the 1700 will work with a Mac?

I've been trying to do some research, but almost every site I go to, but the forums, loads super-duper slow, if at all. Something big must be down somewhere.

be

[wgnoyes]

I'm wondering if anyone's had good experience printing labels every day from any type of laser printer?

"Every" day? No, but my cheap HP 1012 (can't get now) and HP 1020 (the 1012's successor and way less than $200 depending on the deal you find) works for printing competitor labels (15 labels for each of 350+ people) with no problems whatsoever. Plus it's also small enough you can take it to the range without busting a gut!

[Front Man]

I'm wondering if anyone's had good experience printing labels every day from any type of laser printer?

"Every" day? No, but my cheap HP 1012 (can't get now) and HP 1020 (the 1012's successor and way less than $200 depending on the deal you find) works for printing competitor labels (15 labels for each of 350+ people) with no problems whatsoever. Plus it's also small enough you can take it to the range without busting a gut!

Yep, I have an HP 1018 that I could take from my home to the office if I had to.

It even makes beautiful images in black and white. Don"t know about making lables though, haven't had to.

FM

[bgary]

I use an HP inkjet (I think it is model 952, it is a couple of years old) to do scorecard labels for matches. I think it cost $150-ish, new, and I've run literally thousands of sheets of 1x2-5/8" labels through it. Never had a problem (except when it is time to buy more ink cartridges! A couple of major-matches worth of printing costs more in ink cartridges than the printer originally cost, new).

Note that, when you buy Avery labels, there are "laser" versions and "inkjet" versions. It makes a difference...

B

[RePete]

Brian:

Are you using labels made specifically for for laser printers?

I have a Brother laser and don't have a problem printing labels.

Edited February 14, 2008 by RePete

[George]

Warning! Dell Printers Will NOT work with Macs. Dell does not support Mac drivers and you are shjt-outa-luck if you are a Mac user and buy a Dell printer of any sort.

Inkjets with straight-line feed-thru will be the best label printers overall. YMMV. And yes, media type must be matched to printer type.

I have an old Epson 745 (I think thats the model number) and a poop-load of new cartridges that need a good home, let me know if you want it all Brian. This would make a great label printer.

[benos]

Thanks G. Give me a ring when you're driving somewhere - I might just take that baby off your hands.

We're having great luck with my old Epson 740i. It's not the fastest thing in the world but that's not a factor, since while it's printing you can be fiddling with the package. It prints perfectly every time, and label cost per package is approx. $0.05/label. With the Dymo system, per package label cost looks to be around $0.18/label, so I'm gonna let the old Epson grind them out.

She's not going to last forever though - sometimes when she starts up/auto-cleans, the gearing that drives the print head grinds a pretty nasty sound (it's been doing that for 6+ months). So my plan at this point is to run her till she dies - that's when the 745 might come in.

be

[benos]

Brian:

Are you using labels made specifically for for laser printers?

I have a Brother laser and don't have a problem printing labels.

Yes, we tried the most ridiculously expensive Avery brand laser labels, and they jammed as much if not more than any others we tried.

I can flip down the back of the printer (where the paper does the "roll around") and watch it jam (feeding from single sheet tray). It doesn't look fixable unless I do some major surgery/parts replacing. You can see one corner of the paper not make it through the last pair of rollers it has to pass through before exits the printer. Watching the rollers, I can see there is a little runout at each end. With plain paper, it works good. Maybe once in a blue moon one will get stuck. But the extra thickness of the label is enough to make it not pass through the rollers way to often.

Since quite a few have said they print labels with Brother printers just fine, I'm guessing the problem is just with my particular printer, not even its model number.

be

[murkish]

Brian,

We use Dell laser printers in my business (8 of them) and have never had any problems with printing avery labels. The model we use is the 1700.

Jack

Jack,

Would you happen to know if the 1700 will work with a Mac?

I've been trying to do some research, but almost every site I go to, but the forums, loads super-duper slow, if at all. Something big must be down somewhere.

be

Brian,

According to Dell's website, it will.

"Compatible Client Operating Systems

Windows VistaTM , Vista 64-bit, Windows® XP, XP SP1/SP2, XP 64-bit, NT 4.0 SP6a, 2000 SP2/SP3/SP4, Server 2003, Server 2003 SP1, 2003 x64, Mac OS 9 v9.2, Mac OS 10.2/10.3/10.4, UNIXTM , Linux® , Citrix® , Novell® Netware-based Open Enterprise Server, Netware® 5.1, 6.0 & 6.5 "

The 1720 (current version of the 1700) is selling for $149 on dell.com.

Jack

[George]

Don't trust Dell drivers even if they say they are Mac compatible, they are really not. All printer features are not available even when they do actually work.

Again, stay away from Dell printers if you have Mac's. They also dump attitude on you big-time if you need support and aren't PC oriented

The Dell monitors however are a good deal in some cases compared to some other brands.

[benos]

Goal: Buy a color laser printer, with an individual sheet feed.

I know in this thread folks said they use laser's to print labels no problemo. But I'm wondering if you print all the labels on the sheet at the same time, or do you re-feed the same sheet?

Here's my scenario. We print 2-up labels, and we print one label and then put/feed the label back in the printer to print the second label. So - anyone have any experience with that routine with a laser printer?

be

[Nik Habicht]

Brian,

only in printing CD labels --- which come two to a sheet. The printer defaults to printing the top label first, so it's a matter of flipping the sheet around to print the bottom label, if doing one at a time --- that works for circular CD labels, but probably wouldn't work nearly as well for square labels, esp. if they're already partially preprinted, or have a specific orientation....

[JThompson]

Goal: Buy a color laser printer, with an individual sheet feed.

I know in this thread folks said they use laser's to print labels no problemo. But I'm wondering if you print all the labels on the sheet at the same time, or do you re-feed the same sheet?

Here's my scenario. We print 2-up labels, and we print one label and then put/feed the label back in the printer to print the second label. So - anyone have any experience with that routine with a laser printer?

be

Label printing software and even Word has a format option where you can define all the labels in one go. That way there is no need to run them back through.

What size are the labels, how many per sheet and who makes them?

Edited August 18, 2008 by JThompson

[benos]

Goal: Buy a color laser printer, with an individual sheet feed.

I know in this thread folks said they use laser's to print labels no problemo. But I'm wondering if you print all the labels on the sheet at the same time, or do you re-feed the same sheet?

Here's my scenario. We print 2-up labels, and we print one label and then put/feed the label back in the printer to print the second label. So - anyone have any experience with that routine with a laser printer?

be

Label printing software and even Word has a format option where you can define all the labels in one go. That way there is no need to run them back through.

Thanks - but the mail/postage program we use, Endicia, only allows printing one label at at time.

be

[RePete]

As George said, straight line paper feeders are the best, but I have 2 HP inkjets and a Brother lazer printer and am not having any problems using labels.

FWIW I had an Epson 760, which was a 740 that was quieter and had a bit more speed and it was great UNTIL it croaked.

[benos]

I bought the Brother color printer today. I talked to Jim Thompson for a bit on the phone (he repairs commercial printers) - and I'm pretty confident the Brother will work. Especially, if necessary, you feed the label in through the front, and open the door on the back so it goes right out the back.

be