Thermal Label Printer Recommendation

[JasonK]

So, who here uses a thermal label printer or has some recommendations? Between my ebay store, by brother’s amazon car parts business and my mother’s ebay store we probably print 500 labels a month. My trusty old HP 1320 laser printer has served us well but we really want something that prints smaller labels. I’m familiar with the brand Zebra as I’ve supported these printers for some of my IT customers but they are very expensive and kind of a pain to get working. Also, what size label do folks use with these? Not sure if there are some limitations on what the ebay shipping wizard supports.

[Temudgin]

I have been very pleased with the Rollo X1038 I’ve been using about 4 years. It prints on 4×6 Direct Thermal Labels, same as Zebra. Easy, plug and play setup and it’s easy to set eBay Labels and PirateShip to always print that size (except eBay Labels won’t print USPS First Class International in a 4×6, at least the last time I tried which was a while back since I’m 100% on PirateShip for international shipments now). I buy the labels in packs of 500, fanfolded. My label volume is significantly less than yours, though, so you may want more features or you may find it not as durable.

[Amatino]

I have the Dymo XL Labelwriter. Love it. Plus, I have figured out how to configure it, so I can use it on PayPal shipping labels too.

 

[Ryanne]

Love the Rollo, i have one at home for ebay and one at our coffee roastery for roaster orders. i figured out how to print invoices/packing slips for ebay on it too, so it saves a ton of toner on my laser printer because i barely use it! We use UPS a lot at the roastery so I was able to get 5000 thermal labels for free through them. Win win.

[JasonK]

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll have to check out the Rollo and Dymo options. Where do you folks get your thermal labels from? Are there any things to be carful of when buying them? I buy my half-sheet labels on ebay but have gotten burned a number of times with bad quality ones that get jammed or ones that are not laser printer compatible so the toner smears. I pretty much stick to known good vendors now.

[Temudgin]

I didn’t know that FedEx and UPS offered free labels so I’ve ordered them on eBay; search “4×6 Fanfold Direct Thermal Shipping Labels for Zebra Rollo Printers” for purchase options. You’re looking at about $12 – $15 for a box of 500 at the moment, and the sellers are all China-type, high-volume commodity sellers even if you select for US location so reliable delivery can be luck of the draw. For this kind of item, I try to select for higher feedback generally and see if they’ve got good feedback for that item recently, then I hope for the best and order. Seller ID’s are meaningless as they seem to change so frequently.

[Ryanne]

Thermal labels are free from Fedex and UPS. If you have an account with them, you can sign in and get labels. An account is also free. We use UPS a lot for shipping wholesale coffee orders, but i’ve also starting using UPS Ground for a cheaper rate through Pirate Ship for large, heavy ebay items.

[JasonK]

Do the free FedEx and UPS labels have their branding on them? Most of my items ship USPS First Class.

[Zach]

Zebra works fine for me with Windows and eBay shipping (as well as Pirate Ship). I picked up an older model on eBay for about $100 a few years back and print directly to 4×6. About the only maintenance it’s needed is an occasional cleaning to the print heads.

[Retro Treasures WV]

I use these labels:

BETCKEY – 4″ x 6″ Shipping Labels Compatible with Zebra & Rollo Label Printer(not for dymo 4XL),Premium Adhesive & Perforated[12 Rolls, 3000 Labels] https://a.co/d/70Nmlmx

3000 labels for $60. 2 cents a label. That will last me over 2 years.

[JasonK]

@Zach, what model Zebra printer do you have?

[Author]

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