I'm glad it helped Albert, it's a good bit of kit!

I think I'm falling into the same trap...

Well, I certainly haven't regretted the purchase of mine, and I use it for custom labels on external accessories such as intruder alarm bell-boxes. For the price, it's a pretty indispensable bit of kit!

It is jolly useful. Bloody good show, mate.

Interesting

Sounds very clever, I didn't know it supported merge functions. That sort of thing may be useful to me when it comes to labelling up a TPN board. Not something I have to do often, but worth a look next time!

Why use USB for computer if it'll handle wifi ?

John have you ever tried the third party labels? What are your thoughts on them? I just got this labeller and have only tried the third party labels, so not sure what to think.

Russian Russian language is supported by the application on the phone, will the device print in Russian?

This does the same and wastes one inch at the beginning. Unless you do continuous printing, where it will half cut between each label, but if you print them individually it will waste the 1" each time. They say it's the way they do the laminating of the labels which requires it.

Very interesting! Thanks for the correction!

@@dsesuk If you pull the ribbon out of a used cartridge you see everything that you printed, but inverted

@@dom1310dfThe lamination is the difference between the small yellow label printer at 0:23 and the ones with the larger cartridge. The yellow one is like a thermal printer with single layer tape. The larger cartridge type produce better looking labels that are covered with the clear laminate layer just before they come out of the cartridge. The disadvantage is that the larger type cannot print close to the end of the label - if you look at the label printed at 5:16 there is about 2cm wasted on the left. I have a brother label printer but with manual cutter and it doesn't do the automatic cut in the label like you see at 5:16. There is always 2cm left margin which I have to cut off with scissors.

I always thought that extra wasted part of the label was just to use up the labels more quickly so they could sell more label tapes...

@@dom1310df Like IBM Quietwriter. So not thermal at all - ink transfer.

It's a good bit of kit alright. Will be interesting to hear how the knock-off labels do. One thing I didn't mention, the battery life is great, but it will also take double-A's if you get caught short!

@@dsesuk The knock off tapes vary widely in quality, some feel like paper and some are excellent, the trouble is that there are so many suppliers it's hard to know the really good value ones when you are buying. Some fade badly in the sunlight and others loose adhesion after a short time especially on cable flags. Where it's critical stuff I always go back to the genuine Brother supplies.

Well I've been using it for a month with the knock-off labels and so far they've all been excellent considering. The only shortcomings I've come up against are that the horizontal cut in the backing paper is a bit deep on some tapes (so you can make out a small horizontal crease through the finished label) and they have a bit of gunk near the start of the tape that gets trapped under the laminate, so I've had to reprint a couple of labels. Some of them are a fraction of a millimetre off with the laminate and backing alignment which collects dust along the top or bottom edge of the label over time, but the Brother brand tape that came with the printer also had this problem so it doesn't seem unique to the off-brand labels. But really, considering the price, they are fantastic for home use. I've left them out in the Australian sun and they haven't faded, I've stuck the "extra strong" adhesive ones to textured surfaces and they don't peel off like my old thermal labels used to - I'm completely sold! The cable flags have only been there for a couple of weeks and in my experience it takes a bit longer for them to come unstuck, so I'll need to wait a bit longer to know for sure there, but it sounds like I was quite lucky with the quality of these label tapes as they are perfectly fine for personal use!

Just another follow up on the cheap knock-off labels after about a year. The black text on yellow label I left out in the sun (subtropical Australia) has now started to fade around the edges and start to turn white, but the text is still clearly legible. Only the label in direct sunlight faded - those in indirect sunlight are fine (even where the old thermal labels used to fade after a few months). Some of the cable flags did come unstuck but this is probably related to them being in a network cabinet where the temperature is usually well above 30°C, because the genuine Brother "flexible" tape that came with the printer did the same thing. None of the labels with the extra-strong adhesive have come loose - I should try making cable flags with them now that I think about it. The 6mm knock off tape was the worst because the laminate kept working its way off the backing due to some misalignment in the tape cartridge itself, and eventually it would jam. I completely stuffed a label tape trying to fix it, but ended up disassembling it and reassembling it and it does work again, so it is possible to open the label tapes and put them back together again without ruining them, although the tapes never look the same after reassembly. My only complaint with the unit is that it only takes up to 24mm tapes and can't use the 36mm ones! Also it's a shame nobody makes a tape with transparent backing and transparent but UV-fluorescent text, so that I can put invisible labels on things that only show up under a UV light so they are a bit more discreet. Many commercial buildings label their switches and mains outlets with what breaker is feeding them and it'd be useful to do that in some homes but it doesn't look so great, however if it was invisible most of the time...

LAsparkTV Wire&Test Limited Here in ‘Murica, we use that nail gun to stick the cloves into our Thanksgiving Ham! 🇺🇸 🦅

I believe you refined English gentlemen call it; Ham- Gammon Cloves- Queen’s Nails. Long live the Queen! 👸🏼👑🇬🇧

@@catlady8324 Hi Karl, are you a Saffa?

LAsparkTV Wire&Test Limited Saffa? I had to google that term. Does that mean “South African”? Surely you jest, Sir!

Not graphically, I tend to use text labels for final circuits. I try to use the manufacturer labels where possible, but there always seems to be one circuit they haven't accounted for!

Hi Alvin. This link is where I bought one of my recent tapes from and it contains a compatibility guide in the pictures: amzn.to/2KJcfj0 - If this fits my E550WVP, it will also work with the other models listed for the same tape size.

@@dsesuk Thanks for the link, will check it out. Whats the difference of the E550WVP with E550W?

I'm not actually sure. Whatever it is would just be a feature difference though, the label compatibility and form factor is the same.

@@alvint4944 In case you never found out, I believe the VP version is "value pack", which includes the case, etc.

Long time no speak old fruit - and a change of name for you I see. How are things Stateside? I'm afraid I'm not acquainted with this Froggatt lady, but I'm glad to hear her narrative arrangement is pleasing to the ears!

@@dsesuk We’re as well as to be expected with our dottering old fool for a “President” screwing everything up. 🤦‍♀️ Ms. Froggatt is most famous from Downton Abby, which I like because I grew up on “Upstairs Downstairs”. I like how you say “Old Fruit”! 😹 In American “Fruit” means a gay person (Not that there’s anything wrong with that), but in England it is a classy address. 👍 P.s. I washed my hands of the electrician work and meow all my tools are safe and sound, out of danger from grubby hands “Borrowing” them! 🧰🔧🪛🔨🪜🔦

@@catlady8324 Ah, yes, the old fruit was indeed a term of endearment on these windy shores! What are you up to these days?

@@dsesuk I found a nice Mom & Pop Shop and I drive sweepers, scrubbers and a bit of pressure washing. I work on my own at night so there’s no; coworkers, customers, traffic, sun & heat, just peaceful solitude doing my work and enjoying audio books on the headphones. I’m currently on Animal Farm. The cat is my favorite character. Glad to hear you are well, Sir. Have “A pint” for me, my friend! 🍺🍻

I will indeed have a quick snifter in your name! The job you're on sounds idyllic - what brand are you working for?

No, I don't think it will do what you require. I may be wrong, but my understanding of the templates is that they are treated simply as a fixed image by the printer. As an example, I use mine to produce equipment asset labels, but I use the PC to increment the asset number; I can't edit details on the printer itself. There's no way I know of to superimpose information into blank spaces on the template from the printer itself.

Hi Rupert. Can't say I've had this issue myself. I only have a handful of transferred templates, but they seem to have behaved. I'd have thought the software would turn the design into a simple image file which then gets transferred over, so it's not like it ought to be down to the fonts themselves as they should appear on the printer as they do on the screen. I'm on the latest software and firmware after upgrading recently. One thing you could try is to assemble the label using an art package (I use GIMP), save it as a JPG or PNG, then import or cut/paste it into a new label and see if that will transfer in rather than using the P-Touch editor software directly. It depends on how your art package skillage is though! It should be possible to knock something up in Paint as a basic test.

Hi Sherwin. Are you referring to the tab at the left of each label? If so, yes, and it's annoying how much label gets wasted in this way, but that's been a 'feature' of every label printer I've owned. It's to make it easier to peel the sticker from the backing, but it doesn't need to be as big as it is and I've never found a way to make it smaller. Of course, it's in Brother's interest for tape to be wasted as it means you'll be buying a new cassette sooner rather than later!

Thanks. It's a Blackberry KeyOne and it runs Android. I too don't get on with touchscreen typing, although I admit the KeyOne keyboard is a little stiffer than Blackberries I used to use. They've since brought out the Key2 which got better reviews for its keyboard. A pricey bit of kit, but has the stuff you like about the Blackberry hardware merged with the functionality of the Android OS.

Cool, I'll check it out. Thanks Mate!

I have a dual SIM BlackBerry Key2 - great handset although I wish RIM had maintained BlackBerry OS. Later versions of BlackBerry OS (e.g. with the BlackBerry Passport) could also run Android apps. I too have this label printer and I too haven't used most of the functions on it!

@@richardwalsh5882 My Blackberry Torch 9800 was perhaps the best phone I'd ever owned! I miss it and it's OS (I'm no fan of Android or iOS, but that's what we're all stuck with now!)

The battery is great. I don't need to use it every day, but it goes weeks without a charge. I don't think I mentioned it in the video, but the battery pack can be removed and 6 AA cells installed, so if you think you might be caught short on charge, keep a packet of Duracells to hand!

No complaints and no problems Alan. It's on the van every day, and is there when I need it!

"Mobile Cable Label Tool" is what's installed on my phone.

Ah, no, that's a new one on me Rupert. I shall have to investigate!

How do we do that? I have the same unit

PyroDanUK I stand corrected as well as surprised! I wonder why they went for mini on this thing then if it wasn't for durability?

I often wonder the same thing, I have one of these, if i was to guess I think they probably chose it due to the fact that it's harder to force a mini usb into the connector the wrong way, you know know what some of us can be like with tiny connectors. :)

You can forget about mini/micro connectors it's all USB - C now! It can be plugged in anyway round, it's gigabit fast and has a k/amp charge capability 😉

Yep! A lot of people have this view of microUSB as being weak, which I think stems from having microUSB sockets breaking off of smartphones in the past. I expect that that's usually been a failure of the socket's mechanical connection to the PCB and/or its electrical connections to the PCB, rather than a failure of the part of the socket that mates with the microUSB plug. And yes, that can still mean that the socket itself is weak, but there are *dozens* (hundreds?) of different microUSB sockets available, especially if you include those from Chinese manufacturers as well as those available on Digikey/Farnell/etc - I've repeatedly come across AliExpress listings for "one each of 50 different types of microUSB socket" - and the mechanical PCB attachment design of them varies *considerably!* Some of them have nothing but a couple of puny surface-mount pads! No doubt if you read the datasheet for those it says that they're for specialist applications with few cycles where through-hole variants aren't an option, but that doesn't stop stupid designers inappropriately using them on a smartphone! On my own PCBs I use a style that I think I've seen described on AliExpress listings as "horns" or "bull horns", because the "back" of it has a wide U-shaped pair of pins that extend about 1.0mm below the connector and through the PCB, AND two more such pins on the sides, about halfway between the front and the back. If those go through a plated through-hole and those holes are filled with solder, there is *no way* that's coming loose without enough force that you'd be damaging other things as well!

I'm surprised to hear it's not regionalised Nick. You could knock up your own labels if you're handy with the editor, but I wonder if Brother have any template downloads on their US website?

The regulations do state that the font sized used be no smaller than that displayed in the examples shown in BS7671, however they use a font so large that you'd struggle to apply all the required labels onto any CU. Most label sheets supplied by the manufacturers apply a smaller font. Printing something like a two-colours label using this device will also result in a label that uses a smaller text. Then again, the two-colours label is a waste of time, the RCD notice is worded horrendously and the inspection/testing notice is not fit for purpose. Hopefully, 18th Ed. Amendment 2 in March will address the hopelessness of labelling. Or... more likely not.

@@dsesuk Totally agree. The information at a consumer unit needs an overhaul to simplify and improve usability. Ideally it should now be done exclusively in emojis.

Probably because it would be huge.

@@wwsxa39 And just think of all the extra tape handling mech it'd need.

@@millomweb yup, so much more stuff that could broke.

Hi! Same issue. Seem that using general fuction there is no way to obtain different pages. I solved in this way: press "patch panel" choosing a number of blocks (e.g. 5); write inside each block according to your needs; press "general" and press enter/return. All blocks will be converted in different pages. Probably it is not the proper way but at least is something.

@@GianpaologianpoxMessina thank you very much for thks workaround!!

Go to Menu -> Cut option -> #5. If you bought a real 550 and not a 300 or 500, that will make it do the continuous label with half cut. Remember, though, that only works if you print more than one label at a time. If you print one at a time it won't make a difference, except you will need to hit the "Feed & cut" button then press OK to get it to cut the last one.

@@Sugarkryptonite Thank you! It worked very well!

No I haven't. My concern would be how a cheaper third-party tape would last over time and whether it would fade, degrade or lose adhesion.

David Savery Electrical Services yup you’re probably right there, maybe worth trying on personal stuff first. Do you think you could do damage to the printer? Suppose you always run the risk with non genuine..

Can't see it damaging the printer itself unless it gums up inside the thing. I don't think the price of the genuine Brother tapes is too onerous though, they're usually about a tenner for eight metres which adds up to a lot of labels!

@@liammollatt4147 Just want to know, if you have tried with compatible tapes already? :)

Alvin Tan I’ve been running a generic I found on eBay for AU$4. (The original 12mm brother tapes cost just shy of $40 here) So far so good, have had the label out in the sun and rain for about a week, no signs on delamination or fading! Print is good, no blemishes

No amendment from my end, so maybe it's something different across platforms although I can't imagine why.

It’s not the correct size to BS7671

I personally like mini USB B (which this is) quite a lot. Full size USB B is often a tad bulky, although that would have worked for this device. And micro USB B is far too fragile for my tastes. Especially on a job site it won't take long for dust and dirt to get in that port and block it. These days I would have preferred USB C though, that's rapidly becoming _the_ standard.

Micro-B connectors (which were the most common ones) are still in the spec - the Micro-A plugs and the Micro-AB sockets are both officially deprecated and no longer supported. There are in fact no license issues with any of the USB connectors and they can all be freely implemented and used by anyone - what IS licensed are the logos and some trademarked terms. One strange thing is that "USB" is not trademarked, but "USB-C" is - so if you put a USB-C port on a device and mark it "USB" then that's fine - but if you correctly label it "USB-C" then you need a license. I sometimes suspect that a global cull of IP lawyers would make things a lot simpler for everyone.

Worst case price is about £12 - £13 with VAT, although cheaper deals can be found online. The tapes are eight metres long so you get a lot of labels out of them, and they're stocked by the likes of CEF, Edmundsons and Denmans. I carry a 12mm white, 24mm white and 24mm yellow which works for circuit-way labelling, RCD/two-colours labelling and caution labelling (400V, earthing point, etc.)

The little bloody buggers cost 10 quid and four stone.

Currently £124.95 at TLC ex-VAT. I think the show special price I paid may have been nearer the £120 mark, but I can't remember now if that was with or without VAT.

Got one earlier this week from LEW Electrical wholesales for £120+ vat

Toolstation have them on offer right now (Nov 1st 2019) at £102.20 (£85.17 Exc. VAT).

@@markcynic808 That is DIRT CHEAP. IT TRULY IS A BRILLIANT PRINTER. Absolutely worth buying.!

Jay r This is one purchase you will never regret. It's a fantastic unit. I bought one on the strength of David's review.

Worth every cent!

@@dsesuk yes guess you have to factor time and money having to faf about getting labels from wholesaler or from the van or office yeah i get it

ok question answered

@@dtec30 I think via desktop app? Were you able to do QR codes?

@@alvint4944 i don't know as i dont have the 500 label printer

It'll print text and images in monochrome.

Worth every cent too!

I wouldn't want to lower the tone just to satisfy the Trumptards.

Can you translate that 🤔

🇺🇸MURICA!!!🇺🇸

A form of currency rather than weight, which is obvious from the context and location, that location not being London incidentally as I'm elsewhere in the UK, a fact also given in the video. You can believe that, and anything else I say, to be bogus if you wish, but it isn't 'fake news' as it really isn't any kind of news unless you live in some trailer park backwater where hearing of a WiFi enabled label printer is mind-bending enough to grab the local headlines and have the natives talking in excited tones over their moonshine stills.

@@dsesuk You can't talk any sense to these Fortress America Fuckwits.

Will Ford What do people in England call English Muffins?

@@catlady8324 Just 'muffins'. Probably. I don't know, I don't eat cakes or desserts. How've you been Karl, haven't heard from you for a while?

David Savery Electrical Services I’ve been well, Sir, and hope you have too. Work is very busy too!