Dymo Personal Label Maker Keeps Me Organized

Even if you're not a compulsive organizer, some sort of labeler can greatly increase your productivity and peace of mind when you need to find something. I label my electronic gadgets, file folders, CDs and all sorts of other stuff! Before I got a labeler, I was more stressed and less organized. Now that I have one, I don't know what I'd do without it!

When my interest was first piqued in a labeler, I just couldn't justify spending $30-50. I am after all, a writer/musician! So I went down to my local Wal-Mart and found the Dymo LetraTag Plus LT-100H. It was small, only about $20 and seemed to fit my needs perfectly.

There's a lot to like about the LetraTag Plus, but the first feature that caught my eye was the ability to preview your designs on the large screen before printing. It allows you to see your font, up to two lines of text, and a selection of cute little pictures before you print. While it's not quite "what you see is what you get," it does a well enough so that you pretty much know what your end result will be. My primary complaint regarding the screen the contrast...I'd just like the on-screen characters to be a little darker.

Speaking of characters, the character support is pretty good, with a wide range of punctuation and international language support. The interface is a bit clumsy when it comes to entering non alphanumeric characters, which can be an annoyance if you need to punctuation frequently.

While it may a bit annoying to wade through the many menus to get the exact punctuation mark or symbol you need, the device is unquestionably easy to use. The software makes sense (Neither I nor my wife have had to consult the manual), and buttons are clear and well laid out. It should be noted that the keyboard is in alphabetical order and not in the conventional QWERTY arrangement. This may be blessing for some, a curse for others. I'd personally like to use a qwerty layout, and this is the main reason I may be upgrading the larger Dymo model soon.

One feature that's particularly handy is the "save label" function. You can have up to 9 label designs saved in memory, so if you're frequently printing out your name, phone number, etc., you can quickly open the file and presto! You've got a label with no hassle. The auto-off feature is also nice for conserving battery power. Have I mentioned that I haven't replaced the batteries on the Dymo LetraTag in well over 6 months? And it gets pretty heavy use.

The physical design of the labeler is attractive and small enough to be very portable (you can easily throw it in a backpack without adding much weight or bulk) yet not so small as to inhibit use. The front compartment for the cartridge opens easily (it must be spring-assisted) and loading new tape is a snap. The cartridges are pretty affordable for this model, and come in regular white, iron-on, and plastic-strengthened varieties. A great feature of the tape itself is that it's split down the middle, so it's very easy to remove when it comes to place your label. Overall the adhesive is strong enough, however you'll want to get the plastic reinforced tape for anything that will be in your pocket all time (like a cell phone) or exposed to heat or sunlight.

The Dymo LetraTag Plus LT 100-H is great labeler for the price, although a high quality screen and QWERTY keyboard layout would make an even more devoted fan. I'm definitely pleased with the product, and I fully intend on checking out Dymo's product again when I get a new labeler.