Epson LabelWorks LW-300 Label Printer (C51CB69010)

Product Details

Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 5.7 x 2.2 inches ; 14.1 ounces

Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.

ASIN: B005J7Y6HW

Item model number: C51CB69010

Product Description

From the Manufacturer
LabelWorks LW-300 Label Printer
DO MORE…
AMAZING VARIETYThe LW-300 offers 14 fonts, 10 styles, 300+ built-in symbols, over 75 frames and glow-in-the-dark and reflective options. With so many choices for creative expression, you’ll finally have labels that catch up to your imagination.
LabelWorks SeriesTake ordinary to extraordinary with LabelWorks label printers, they make it easy to create customized labels for files, storage bins, household items, clothing, scrapbooking and more. With a wide range of fonts, styles, frames and specialty modes, these easy-to-use products offer amazing versatility. And, they ensure less waste with smaller margins compared to other brands.
All label images are simulated.Epson is a registered trademark, Epson Exceed Your Vision is a registered logomark and Better Products for a Better Future, LabelWorks and LC TAPE are trademarks of Seiko Epson Corporation. Take Ordinary to Extraordinary is a trademark of Epson America, Inc. All other product and brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks. Copyright 2011 Epson America, Inc. 8/11
The Epson LabelWorks LW-300 label printer is where organization meets imagination. No longer restricted by simple options, you can choose from a huge range of symbols, frames and fonts. With dozens of tapes in a variety of styles, borders, sizes and colors, your creativity can be boundless. The LW-300 is efficient -saves up to 30 files with built-in memory to prevent redundant work. Dramatically smaller margins mean up to 62% less label waste. It's perfect for creating professional-looking labels at home or in the office - for files, storage bins, household items, clothing and just about anything else. Explore the amazingly versatile LW-300 label maker and celebrate your creative expression.

Technical Details

Amazing variety - 14 fonts, 10 styles, 300+ built-in symbols, over 75 frames and more

Less waste - smaller margins compared to other brands for up to 62% less waste

Large built-in memory - store up to 30 files

Specialty print models and labels

Easy to use - automatically printed with a split back for easy and fast peeling

Customer Reviews

We've all used label makers, or at least most of us have, so I don't feel the need to go into the basics. Instead, I want to talk about what makes this new Epson unit better (for me at least) than any other I've used.
First, a caveat: my label maker is a P-Touch that's a few years old. I don't know how much the market has matured, so some of these features may be in other machines.
The box includes the labeler, instructions, a printed symbols list, and a sample 4 meter cartridge 12mm black-on-white tape (standard cartridges are 9 meters). It requires 6 AAA batteries which are not included. It can also run off an optional AC adapter.
First and most importantly, Epson has dramatically cut down on label waste at the margins which means big savings on cost. With my Brother, there is a full 1" of waste on each end of the label (I understand on some models this can be modified, but on one end only). Many of my labels consist of 1-3 words, so they might use up .75" to 1.25". For me, that meant I was essentially using 3 times as much tape as necessary. Calculated with 1.75" text length per label (larger than my average), the Brother will make about 84 labels per 26.2' cartridge.
The Epson, on the other hand, has .375" margins (3/8"). Using the same 1.75" of text, that will net about 142 labels per 29.5' cartridge. Based on list prices for cartridges, this translates to 22.6 cents-per-label for the Brother vs. 13.9 cents-per-label for the Epson. NOTE: I understand some Brother cartridges are sometimes discounted - but since the Epson units were not yet available at the time of this writing, it's impossible to know how much they will be discounted in comparison. You'll pay list at an office supply store though, and even with the big discount on some Brother cartridges on Amazon, it still nets out about a penny cheaper per lable on the Epson.
Other things I dig about the Epson: a wide variety of fonts, styles and sizes; a well thought-out group of symbols that suit a large number of uses; the size and weight is less than my Brother (partly due to the lesser weight of 6 AAA vs. 6 AA batteries); I prefer the way tapes are loaded; tape cartridges come in 9 meter sizes as opposed to 8 for the brother, making changing tapes necessary less frequently (especially considering the many more labels I can generate with the Epson); a really nice selection of cartridges, including clear, checkerboard, glow-in-the-dark, and iron-on (which I've never seen).
All in all, a far better labeler than I've ever used before. In fact, the only one I'd prefer would be the LW-400, which adds a two line display and backlighting (as well as expanded fonts, the ability to do barcodes and a few other goodies) that I wish the 300 had.
Still though, I'm not complaining - this is a great unit with a ton of flexibility. I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could, but only because another 10 bucks gets you backlighting and a two-line display, which points out what I thought were the only flaws in a great machine. But I've round up to 5 based on the extreme waste savings versus other units. If you can spring for the extra 10 bucks for the LW-400, do it - if you can't, you'll still be extremely happy with the LW-300.

This little label maker from Epson is Easy to set up, and easy to use. My disappointment with it is that the edges of the fonts are jagged on the labels. I would expect sharp clean edges on the letters, but the printouts look almost like the old dot matrix printers. I understand that these are just labels, but I would have expected crisper letters.
Pros:
Easy to use
Easy to load labels
Lots of choices on fonts/sizes
Easy to peal back off the labels
Reasonable to use for a small keyboard
Cons:
Jagged Edges on fonts
Options menu a little confusing (had to read the instructions)
LCD display a little hard to read
Basically, I would have loved this device if the labels would have had crisper edges on the letters.