Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 83
 Sucks Batteries Dry in Nothing Flat September 16, 2007
Carl Klutzke (Indianapolis, IN USA)
25 out of 28 found this review helpful
I don't know why this thing asks for the date and time when you start it: I've had to replace the batteries every time I've used it, and then re-enter the date and time again. Yesterday I put brand new Duracell batteries in it, purchased that day, and after printing one label ("SPARES") the low battery warning came on. I tried printing another label and it just gave up. And that was the _second_ set of new batteries I tried, because I wasn't sure the Energizers I put in the first time were absolutely fresh. And there's not even a plugin for an AC adapter, so it's totally useless. I acknowledge that my experience must be atypical, otherwise no one would be giving this thing good reviews. However, if you do get one of these, make sure you give it a good workout right away, and keep all the packing materials in case you need to ship it back.
 Seems like a step backward January 9, 2007
Richard Kelly (Huntington Beach, CA)
23 out of 23 found this review helpful
I am organizing my files both at home, and now at work. For the last two weeks, at home, I've been using my Brother PT-65. It is very intuitive to use, the buttons are laid out logically. It is basically designed so well that anything you want to do can be figured out intuitively, without having to look for the manual, or even think about it.
Now, at work I've gotten a PT-80 (I ordered the PT-65, but the office supply store sent this one as a equivalent) All I can say is, if this is the newer model in the M-tape line, this is certainly a downgrade.
First of all, the numbers have been printed not directly above their keys, but above and to the right. Notice the '1' is almost equally between the 'Q' and the 'W'. This causes unnecessary delay constantly having to think, "pick the key to the left of the number." Secondly, there are no dedicated function keys like on the PT-65. On that one, you simply hold the code button, and the size button, and you change size. On the PT-80, you have to use the Function button 'Fn' to cycle through the options until you find the one you want. Then you have to hit 'Enter', then pick a size with the cursor keys. Then 'Enter' again. None of it is intuitive, and you have to think through each step. Since I switch between sizes often, this slows me down.
Finally, I knew something was off after I printed my first label. I use the half-width fonts to squeeze more letters on file folders tabs. There is a noticeable decrease in resolution with these labels, over the ones I get from the PT-65.
These design flaws were not necessary. I don't know why Brother decided to go this route. Anyway, I highly recommend Brother M-Tape labelers. Just not this one. Get the PT-65 or similar.
 Functional for home labeling February 19, 2007
A. Grace (Broomfield, CO United States)
20 out of 20 found this review helpful
This label maker works really well. Here are the pros:
1) Can change style of text (bold, shadow etc)
2) M tapes are very cheap compared to other Brother series of tapes
3) You can print on two lines (so say your name and phone number) but the text is fairly small - good for labeling personal property
4) Very easy to use - I never looked at the manual
Cons:
1) Uses a bit of extra tape on the ends
2) Only 2 lines max
3) Tapes only come in 1/2 and 3/8 inch widths.
 Good Price but some problems November 18, 2006
flyboy (Alexandria)
18 out of 22 found this review helpful
This is a pretty decent label maker if you get it at a good price. The biggest problems I see is the device for removing the label backing and the wasted tape. Removing the backing involves putting the label in a small slot and quickly pulling it out to get the ends to separate so that one can then peel the label from it's backing. After using the initial roll of label tape, which is one half the amount of a regular roll (13' versus 26') it seemed the labels wouldn't separate. I don't know if it's a tape problem or the device for separating the labels just sort of wears down. Because you must put about 1/2" of tape into this slot, they have to keep the ends of the tape - before and after the printed matter about 1/2" long. If you make short labels you end up wasting half your printer tape. I may take this thing back. It appears the whole concept of removing the tape was a rushed afterthought.
Update: I eventually figured you can remove the labels by twisting the label as you pull it from the label backing remover slot. Sometimes this slightly damages the label, but it is do-able. So I'll keep this thing. The label tape is cheaper than some of the other models as well. I have increasd my stars from 2 to 3.
Excellent Labeler For Casual Use December 19, 2006
KC (Northern CA)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
This is a nice labeler if your needs are not constant and your needs are items close at hand. The typeface/font is about 1/2" tall which is fine for file folders or other items on a shelf. If you want a labeler for items/boxes that will go in stacks or on a high shelf, unless you have 10-20 vision, you will probably need a larger labeler machine.
I'm not sure what the other reviewer was talking about in discussing "waste." It seems pretty straightforward. You type on the QWERTY keyboard and you press the PRINT button. The label comes up, you use the built in "cutter" button on the left and the label is cut. There is maybe 1/2" "lead" on the front and back of your letters - looks reasonably attractive to have a little white space front and back - hardly seems excessive. Certainly some people might want to trim it back some more but hardly a deal breaker.
What's also nice is that the user interface is actually well designed. The ON button is clearly marked. After a short setup (less than a minute to end time & date because there is an TIME/DATE button for people who need that - not very useful for me but cool to have anyway), you can just start typing. There are two large SHIFT keys as well as a CAP button. The NUMBER key is clearly marked as well as the accent key. There is a symbol key that contains probably close to 100 symbols ranging from the obvious brackets to the Euro sign to cool little "dingbat" choices - an excellent readable touch so you don't have to just use dashes or asterisks. What's also great is it's well designed. If you are typing and want to add a forward bracket like > just press SYMBOL and using two green arrow keys, simply navigate through until you hit a symbol you want. Then press the ARROW (POINTER) key which is the ENTER key (that is the only oddity, why not just call it ENTER?) but what's great is it remembers that you prefer/used that symbol so after you go back to typing letters, if you hit SYMBOL again, it goes back to that like-grouping of symbols instead of making you start from the beginning of the symbol choices - nice.
It's also easy to figure the green arrow keys let you navigate back to correct or add letters in the middle of your text - while the BS key will erase as it backspaces.
There's also an interesting magnifying key that will scroll your text in case your needs are artificial food additives like "6-hydroxydopamine" so you can double check what you typed :-) It will also tell you how long your label is for the exacting person ...
For me, it's the right price for a labeler AND just as importantly, the labels don't cost an arm and a leg - about $6 since my needs are not that great. The bigger labelers hold greater length tape so if you need to make dozens of labels a day, that might be a better deal in the long run but if you don't need large or that many labels that often, this is a great choice.
About the only downside is the font size "choices' are not really choices as they are no larger or clearer (there is a "tiny" sized choice if you prefer that) - they are just stretched or narrower. They look fine but are no more or less readable than the main choice so really - it is one choice but of course, you can figure that there would be a tradeoff in a lower cost choice.
So, excellent and easy to use if your needs are not daily. Also note, the unit is not particularly large (the keyboard area) so you do have to use some finese - even with the batteries, it is very light weight wise.
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