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Dymo LabelWriter 400 Turbo Review

If you manage an office, home office or simply write a lot of correspondence, a label printer can really help to simply your life. Dymo has built a reputation around its personal printing and labeling devices. They bundle their printers with easy to use software that helps simply the everyday tasks in the office. Let’s take a closer look at the Dymo LabelWriter 400 Turbo and how it’s going to simply your life in the office…

Company:

Dymo, www.dymo.com

Price:

$110.95 US at NewEgg.com

Ratings

Price:
Install/Setup:
Usability:
Support:
Average Rating:

Getting Started

When first opening the box, you’ll quickly find that it includes all the basic necessities needed to get going. Besides the printer, the package includes a power supply, USB cable, CD containing a user manual and software with drivers supporting both Windows and Macintosh, and a Quick Start Guide. To setup, I simply followed the Quick Start guide for step by step instructions with pictures to guide me through the process setting the printer up fast. The process was really as simple as that! The system that I installed the printer on was a Windows XP Professional workstation. Setup involved installing the software that was included on the disc, attaching the printer to the computer, and finally loading the labels in the printer.

Click on picture to enlarge image

Usability

Dymo makes two versions of this same printer. The Dymo LabelWriter 400 and the Dymo LabelWriter 400 Turbo. In the UALab we had both and compared the speeds. I found the advertised 1 second per label or about 55 labels per minute to be very accurate on the turbo version. The non turbo version takes about ½ to 1 seconds longer per label than its turbo sibling. If you anticipate printing a lot of labels in bulk the savings in time may be worth the extra $30 investment. Otherwise, the two printers are both functionally equivalent.

The Dymo LabelWriter 400 Turbo is very simple and straight forward to use. Total setup took less than 15 minutes. The printer is also very quiet, which is definitely something to consider when comparing it to its competitors. The price is very competitive with other printers in its class. It is versatile in that it can be used to print a wide variety of labels. Including; shipping, return address, regular address, internet postage, file folders, media, name badge, and receipts. The options are endless, the only constraint is that the labels are 2-1/4” wide (56mm) or smaller.

For my home office management, I use both Outlook and ACT on a regular basis. In the software included on the CD that ships with the product, Dymo includes add-ins that work with both. These add-ins do not come standard with some of the competing products. Even better, the add-ins integrate easily with minimal effort for installing. In addition to Outlook and ACT, there is also add-ins for QuickBooks, Goldmine, Palm Desktop version 4, and Word Perfect. Also included is a utility that works with Word, Outlook, or the Dymo addressing software to validate addressing. It checks addresses against the US Postal Service database to fix address errors. This is a very nice bonus and works well.

The Dymo LabelWriter 400 uses thermal technology. This means that there are no ribbons, toner, or ink cartridges to change. So added with a normal office printer, it will cut costs on printer supplies. It also runs off USB power so there are never any batteries to replace. Most label replacement rolls are about $20 on average and include at least 300 labels.

The device is able to be shared on any Windows or Macintosh network making it great to be shared with the whole office.

Specifications

• Super fast print speed. 1 second per label, 55 labels per minute. Very quiet.
• 300 dpi resolution printing means crisp text, graphics, photos and bar codes.
• Connects to a USB port. Cable included.
• Prints Code 39, Code 128, Codabar, UPC A/E, EAN 8/13/128, ITF-14 and Interleaved 2 of 5 barcodes.
• Works with Windows 98, 2000, Me, XP and Mac OS X(10.2.8 or later).
• Package Contents: Printer, power supply, USB cable, Windows and Macintosh software and Users Guide on CD-ROM, printed Quick Start Guide, and one roll of shipping labels.

Features and Benefits

• Eliminates the hassle of printing labels with a standard office printer.
• Direct thermal printing means you never change a ribbon, toner or ink cartridges. The only supplies you ever need are the labels.
• Super fast print speed. 1 second per label, 55 labels per minute. Very quiet.
• High resolution printing means crisp text, graphics, photos and bar codes.
• Includes easy to use DYMO Label Software that makes it simple to design labels and manage address books.
• Includes add-ins for instant printing from Microsoft Word, Outlook, QuickBooks, ACT!, Goldmine, Palm Desktop version 4 or later, WordPerfect® and more. LabelWriter also prints from other programs through standard print drivers.
• Includes DYMO Address Fixer™, a unique software utility that automatically checks any address in Word, Outlook or the DYMO Label Software against the US Postal Service database, fixes errors and adds the 9 digit ZIP+4 code to ensure faster and accurate mail delivery.
• Easy to share over your Windows or Apple Macintosh network.
• Includes the DYMO Software Developers Kit (SDK). The SDK lets you develop support for the LabelWriter into your custom application in minutes. Includes tools for all major development languages.
• PC and Mac compatible.

Pros:

• Super fast. 1 second per label or 55 labels per minute
• Quick setup
• Very quiet
• Great quality

Cons:

• A bit more expensive than the non-turbo version

Adding It All Up

The DYMO LabelWriter 400 Turbo is a great effortless alternative to printing Avery style labels. The quality and speed are amazing. It is without reservation that we give this product as the UpgradeAdvisor.com Recommended Upgrade Seal of Approval!!!

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