Recommend a printer for Chromebook labels

[David44]

Hi,

 

I wonder if anyone can recommend a label printer, letter address label size (96 x 50mm or thereabouts) that can print single labels while someone waits, i.e. within seconds. Here is the criteria.

 

 

1. It should be compatible with Windows (lots of these types of products seem to require a mobile app), ideally via a queue on a Windows print server so multiple users can print to it.
   
2. It should be able to print the label from Word or similar. no funny third party applications or 'label designers'.
   
3. It should print within seconds (I want to print labels for student Chromebooks while they wait)
   
4. The labels should last 5 years both in terms of print and glue quality (Pie in the sky, I know some students will peel them off within minutes. I just don't want them to 'fall' off)
   
5. Replacement labels and other consumables readily and cheaply available.
   
6. Be able to print one label at a time (we currently print a sheet of A4 which has 10 labels on it, so currently we print 10 labels at a time as the labels tend not to like going through the printer more than once)
   

 

I imagine the form factor will be something like this...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08MZTK56Y

 

Nice to have...

• wireless
  
• [rechargeable] battery powered
  
• colour printing
  

 

Anyone else already printing labels in this way? What are you using? Is it any good?

 

Thanks.

David.

[3s-gtech]

We use a few Brother QL-570 where these requirements come up - visitor labels mostly. They do a lot of printing! Thermal so mono only, very poor grey scaling.

 

These will print directly from a print dialog (we use Chrome). They're very fast, auto cut to length and changing rolls is fast and cheap.

 

Not wireless, battery or colour - these are all much harder to find.

[jthompson]

For durable labels, I suspect you need more of a handheld label printer, like a Brither P-touch sort of thing - https://www.brother.co.uk/labelling-and-receipts/p-touch-durable-label-printers. Address label printers are probably only going to offer paper labels with adhesve suitable only for sticking to another piece of paper. Sounds like you might be wanting plastic labels, or at least a clear plastic patch large enough to go over a paper label and hold it in place.

[David44]

For durable labels, I suspect you need more of a handheld label printer, like a Brither P-touch sort of thing - https://www.brother.co.uk/labelling-and-receipts/p-touch-durable-label-printers. Address label printers are probably only going to offer paper labels with adhesve suitable only for sticking to another piece of paper. Sounds like you might be wanting plastic labels, or at least a clear plastic patch large enough to go over a paper label and hold it in place.

 

We use something like this at the moment. We've found that the plastic labels produced by our Brother handheld printer don't stick to the Chromebooks that we have as the lids have a rough finish so we stick an address style sticker on first, it's paper but has a metallic look and feel and seems to stick quite well we then stick the personalised plastic label on top of that. It's not ideal or conclusive to labelling Chromebooks quickly and it looks a bit homemade.

 

We use a few Brother QL-570 where these requirements come up - visitor labels mostly. They do a lot of printing! Thermal so mono only, very poor grey scaling.

 

These will print directly from a print dialog (we use Chrome). They're very fast, auto cut to length and changing rolls is fast and cheap.

 

Not wireless, battery or colour - these are all much harder to find.

 

How are these when stuck to IT equipment? Do they stay on. I am not after something that can't be removed, just something that can't fall off. Maybe I need to approach this by purchasing a bunch of different labels first, finding the best ones for the job and then finding something that will print to them afterwards.

[jthompson]

This has got me thinking quite a bit, as we use dymo-type labels on a lot of our computers and I'd like to make them more vandal resistant. I wondered about whether there was some type of glue that could be used to form a clear hardened covering for a label, so that little fingers can't pick at the edge of the label. As soon as a label becomes a bit dog-eared, it's likely to get removed by some little darling.

 

I've also come across these library book label protectors, and wondered how suitable they would be for use on Chromebooks and other devices.