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vicrider

The labelmaker doubletake...

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Years ago I had a labelmaker just like the one Sheldon had on the Big Bang Theory. Red plastic thing you turned to the letter and squeezed a big trigger to emboss the letter if I remember right. Decided I'd do a major makeover in fly shop and start labeling bins and fly boxes neatly with a labelmaker instead of putting masking tape and writing on it. The many bins I had with pullout drawers had no markings and though I pretty much knew what was in each one thought I'd mark all of them too.

 

Well, the wife and kid were going into Wally World and told her to pick up a label maker. Found out how old I was when she brought it home and I asked, "What the hell is this thing?" Thing needed 4 AA batteries, had a keypad, multiple features I haven't begun to figure out, and was all automatic. Typed your label in, hit PRINT, and presto, the thing fed out the paper all printed in black on white and all you had to do was squeeze a tape cutter on side, peel back and lay in place. For an old guy who was expecting the label maker from childhood it was quite a surprise and like so many of these keyboard computerized things of today I'm just happy to run it in the standard mode and all the "neat" tricks the kid showed mean nothing. If I need them I'll just call him like I do for computer or phone problems.

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I like the new label makers ... but they waste about an inch of tape before and after the printed part. Doesn't seem like much, but it adds up to about half a tape roll wasted.

When you're ready to print up some labels, type in a whole series of them with only a few "spaces" between each name. Then use scissors to separate them. You can print a long line of names, wasting much less of the tape between them.

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I keep my hooks in labeled watchmaker containers, and have over a hundred of them. I agree exactly with Mike. The tape is not cheap either.

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Probably still have a blue label maker with rotary letter dial & big white trigger to emboss a couple rolls of tape for use one of these days in the near future. Haven't had much use for it in years nor have I even browsed at the new fangled ones; which sound like a pretty fancy office tool !

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I like the new label makers ... but they waste about an inch of tape before and after the printed part. Doesn't seem like much, but it adds up to about half a tape roll wasted.

When you're ready to print up some labels, type in a whole series of them with only a few "spaces" between each name. Then use scissors to separate them. You can print a long line of names, wasting much less of the tape between them.

Mike that is a great idea! You thrifty bugger!

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Mike that is a great idea! You thrifty bugger!

 

Thank you ... usually I'm just referred to as "cheap".

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You may have to order it online but I believe Dymo still makes the old style embossing labelmakers:

 

http://www.google.com/shopping/product/11920698237652136678?q=dymo+label+maker&client=ms-rim&hl=en&channel=browser&prmd=ivns&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwigp5uJ9-XTAhWj44MKHcncCoQQ8wIIJjAH

 

Make sure you order the tape for it since you will most likely have to order the tape online as well.

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change is good, sometimes. I'll take the new fanged label maker over those crappy old embossed POS's any day

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Poopdeck, as much as I'm a guy who usually hates change I'm with you on this one. Flyty1, thanx for link but now that I've used it I'll keep the new model.

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Good advice on doing a "batch" of labels at once, Mike -- for years I had an older Dymo label maker, a small hand-held model similar in shape to the old kind that Nick described, but fully electronic with the keypad, printed labels in b&w etc. However, it didn't do that thing with the wasted tape. Recently replaced it with a brand-new version when I couldn't find replacement label cassettes for the old one anymore. New one looks like a mini-typewriter and has lots of bells and whistles, but I was appalled at the amount of tape it wastes. I will be using Mike's suggestion for sure.

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We use this at work and I sometimes 'test' its working right. Great way of marking drawers.

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I thought you might stick to the "old school" Byron - I too had changed over the years from Dymo to the new printed labels. I did find that both labels had trouble sticking to certain plastic containers. The old way I found to fix this was to use scotch tape on the containers first, and then stick my label to the tape. Some of the new printed tapes come with an extra sticky adhesive which seems to adhere to most any type of plastic.

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