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AnchorDesk

David Coursey
The low-tech wonder tool that helps find things!

David Coursey
Executive Editor, AnchorDesk
Friday, January 3, 2003
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Suppose I told you I had a gadget that could help organize your life and get stuff returned to you when you loan it to others or even lose it. It's portable. But it's not a wireless device. Although it solves several problems most computer users face, it doesn't have to hook up to your Mac or PC.

I'm talking about labeling systems. They've been around for a long, long time. I won't give you the whole history of personal labeling except to say that, for me, it started more than five years ago with a Dymo Labelmaker that embossed characters into plastic tape.

WHILE SUCH SYSTEMS hardly represent the highest technology, I can honestly list them as among the most useful devices you can have around the house. And I make this claim not only because of my own experience, but also because I've seen how they've helped other people.

In years past, I've given label printers as holiday and birthday gifts. I know it's not festive or romantic, but invariably the recipient comes back about three weeks later to tell me what a wonderful gift it is.

Better yet, label makers are not all that expensive. Some are available for as little as $20, while the most sophisticated systems won't cost you more than $200. (Check prices on several different types of label makers.)

There are two major types of labeling systems. One uses a laminated plastic tape, and the other prints onto thermal paper labels. Around my house, I use a system made by Brother for printing labels on tape and those made by Dymo for printing onto paper labels.

Laminated labels are fairly permanent and can be printed in color or on color tape. I use them to tag anything where the label needs to stay put, such as putting my ID on all the equipment I own (radios, iPod, notebook computers, more radios, GPS devices, peripherals I loan out, etc.).

FOR THIS I USE one of my Brother P-Touch labelers. (Check prices.) Yes, I have a few of these, including two standalone devices and one that connects to the PC.

The P-Touch can print labels up to 1.5 inches wide and to any reasonable length. You can print horizontally, vertically, and in mirror images. You can also fit multiple lines on a single label. It supports a variety of fonts and borders, as well as bar-code printing. Besides the standard tape, Brother offers super-sticky industrial tape, fluorescent tape, iron-on transfer tape, and even fabric tape. There are a variety of different P-Touch models, ranging from handheld to those that directly connect to your computer and are capable of printing TrueType fonts.

If you can't label an item with a P-Touch, Brother offers some metal embossing labelers that I've never had reason to try.

The thermal label printer that I use, a Dymo, requires label paper that can be heated to create an image. Thermal paper is not permanent and the image will fade over time.

THE DYMO LABELWRITER system I have uses a variety of different label sizes, up to 2.3 inches wide. It can easily print everything from tiny return address labels to CD labels. The printer can also be used for file folder labels, shipping labels, name tags, appointment cards, Internet postage, and a variety of other uses.

Dymo's printers (check prices) come with software that allows you to print directly from Microsoft Word and Outlook, as well as an application for printing labels directly. Anybody who has ever had to stop what they were doing to hand-address an envelope for a letter they'd just printed will appreciate being able to print directly from their address book.

An add-on utility for Dymo printers, called Address Fixer, is essentially a spell checker for addresses. It's capable of quizzing the official U.S. Postal Service database to make sure street names and ZIP codes are correct, down to adding the last four digits of a nine-digit ZIP. The labeler also prints PostNet bar codes that are supposed to speed your mail through automated sorting systems.

And now that we have USB ports, the LabelWriter can easily be attached to a computer that already has a printer connected.

IF I COULD ONLY have one or the other of these two systems--laminated or thermal paper--I'd choose laminated because those little labels have gotten lost items returned to me on more than one occasion. But I don't have to do lots of addressing, so your choice may be different.

If you've resolved to get better organized in the New Year, or merely recognize a useful gadget when you see it, both of these labelers will find their way to your desk.

Have any of you found labeling systems as indispensable as I have? How and why? Have any of you had experiences using a label printer? Which ones? TalkBack to me!

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