brother PT-1230PC Thermal Transfer 10 mm / sec. 180 dpi PC Connectable Label Maker

Pros: For the closeout price at which this printer is sold, it is an outstanding value, especially if you have the power supply to fit it. I had two with the correct polarity that had been used for pairs of powered speakers. I prefer to use batteries for convenience, and battery life is not bad if you turn the power off after printing a label. It is true replacement tapes are overpriced but if you look around a bit on the Web you will find them for as little as eleven dollars, sometimes with free shipping. Nothing wrong with eleven dollars!

Cons: Not sure I have the right to carp about this, but although the printer will print images they are relatively low res. I get best results by converting grayscale images to bitmaps with 1200 dpi resolution using the "diffusion dither" Photoshop setting. Even so, don't expect much more than a basically OK picture, and stick to pictures that don't need much detail. Clipart images work very well; halftone images are not so great but tolerable on some level.

Other Thoughts: About power supplies: Many universal power supplies are available on the Web, which allow you to change voltage, polarity, and the connector plug. You might think about getting one and not considering it a cost of this item, because it will be useful in dozens of ways and you will use it to save your bacon dozens of times.

Pros: Compact, lots of choices for tape. Built in software. Downloadable software.

Cons: Doesn't come with power supply. Have to buy it separately or use 6 AAA batteries. Batteries don't last very long.

Other Thoughts: Power supplies with sufficient capacity are not cheap. Took some time to find the right one. Negative center on plug while most common is positive center.

Pros: It works and prints labels. For ten bucks I had to try it. For fifty I would pass.

Cons: Print cartridge is labeled "Sample". Label cartrdiges are expensive but BJs sells them for reasonable cost. I know the power adapter isn't included but seriosly, why not tap the power from the USB. For retail cost it should include power adapter and full cartridge.

Other Thoughts: I guess if you want to go high tech and buy a labeler then this is okay. For ten bucks I can live without the adapter and sample print cartridge. I wouldn't have paid fifty bucks for this.

Pros: It looks like it should work with the included lite version of the software

Cons: The unit's main software program, P-touch Editor5, won't install at all. I sometimes see its folder but then the folder just vanishes. And the installer indicates that the installation went through okay. There are no solutions to this problem on the company's website. I tried the printer uninstall clean up tool but that didn't help at all. I'm using windows 7 64.

Pros: Works quickly, easy install for basic operations, free PTouch software available for advanced operations, portability is great for my uses!

Cons: Price of replacement tape, which can not really be held against this product per se.

Other Thoughts: My biggest problem with this product is the reviews from some people... Did nobody read the product specifications? It SPECIFICALLY says POWER ADAPTER NOT INCLUDED!!! Why are people griping about this? You paid $20 for a product that likely cost more than that to manufacture for crying out loud, how can you complain about something so obviously stated?

That is like going to buy a candy bar, and you read the label AFTER you bought it and find it says that it contains traces of nuts, then you get all upset because you have a nut allergy...

Are you people kidding me? How can you dock a product for something that was specifically stated..

Not only that, but for the people complaining about how impossible it is to get a reverse polarity plug, REVERSE THE POLARITY BY SWITCHING THE WIRES AROUND!!

Seriously!?

Pros: Size!
Initial Price AND Cost of Ownership.
Uses their standard TZ tapes (available everywhere, even at Sam's Club and Costco)
You can use it with the on-board "P-touch Editor Lite" portable software OR you can go all out with the professional, full blown install P-touch Professional.
The P-touch Editor Lite allows you to use ANY computer to print labels (its a portable app that runs from within the label maker and doesn't need installing).
Make awesome DATA & TELECOM symbols and then some!
Barcodes!
NewEGG's awesomeness price ($9.99 promo) and lighting shipping (via Shoprunner - 2day)

Cons: Sample labels :-/
It WILL take time to learn how to make amazing labels.
Manual cutter.
When you add the printer after starting the Professional version software, the software gets very confused and may not find the printer.
I have YET to figure out how to minimize the initial 2" margins added to the beginning of the label (makes waste)
The so called "User's Guide".
Uses 6xAAA batteries (would have preferred AA instead)
NO ADAPTER or BATTERIES!

Other Thoughts: I purchased 2 of them but only received 1. The invoice also shows 1 ordered, so either I mistakenly accepted less than I requested (from being to excited) or there was a maximum order of 1 at the price. That was very disappointing.

You can make some amazing labels with this unit, but it takes practice and patience to learn Professional software. The size allows me to carry it in my bookbag. I stick a piece of paper between at least one battery to stop the flow of electricity and extend the batteries when not in use.

When making labels, use the spacebar and print as much as you can on one lable. If you need to make more labels at one time, you can choose the number of "Copies". When you choose this, the 2" leader margin disappears, saving you labels.

Pros: I'm using this label maker on all my computers and works great on all of them. Labels even sticks to freezer bags etc.

Cons: wastes to much tape at the start, high cost of replacement tape, take 6 AAA batteries, or you may purchase a power supply,

Other Thoughts: still with all pros and con I think it was a good purchase.

Pros: Fast printing, easy connect and use, inexpensive.

Cons: Wastes about 1/2 inch to 1 inch of thermal paper on the front end with each print. That's gonna add up.

Other Thoughts: Requires batteries. I initially liked that, because the last thing I needed was something new to plug into my already congested wall. Wish it was usb powered and required only 2-3 batteries instead of double that.

Pros: Simple, straight forward, easy to use.

Cons: Original price is way too much. I got it for $9.99. I wouldn't pay more that $20 for one of these....and the refil tapes arent that cheap either.

Pros: Price was cheap, but with the added cost of having to order a power cord, it really wasn't worth it.

It came with a cut-down starter cartridge that I can't use because Brother was too cheap to include the POWER CORD.

Cons: Cheap piece of Junk. Brother really tried to squeak a penny with this one and I am very disappointed.

BUYER BEWARE - DOES NOT WORK RIGHT OUT OF BOX
Requires a non-standard, very hard to find power cord (reverse polarity, negative tip, positive barrel), OR 6x AAA batteries.

I would expect the product to come with a power cord, how cheap can they get!?
Sorry, I don't have 6 AAA batteries in my back pocket, and besides I don't want to use batteries. Why can't it run off the 5v USB connection, or use a double-plug like portable hard drives used to? Unacceptable to not include a power cord.

Other Thoughts: If you are going to make your product require a power cord, why reverse polarity? Where on earth am I supposed to find that, besides ordering one online and waiting another week? You could have made it 12V positive tip, those are a dime a dozen. Just grab one from an old router, hard drive, anything 'computer' really. Why 7-9 volt? Now I have to find a 7-9V power cord, cut the wire, swap the connections, and solder the wire back together again. There's no reason this thing couldn't have ran off a double-usb plug.