                              ͻ
                               2 Label  
                               Printers 
                              ͼ

I take a look at two label printers this month: Avery Personal Label
Printer and Seiko SmartLabel Printer Pro. The Seiko review follows
Avery's review. Also a comparison of the printers is presented near the
end of the Seiko review.

                           ͻ
                            Avery Personal 
                            Label Printer  
                           ͼ

                             by Tony Curro


Avery, world famous makers of label products, has released a Personal
Label Printer(PLP). The printer is good for those jobs when you only
need several labels, and do not want to print out a whole page.

PLP will work in any environment from DOS and Windows to Macintosh. The
installation of both hardware and software is simple. You will either
need a free serial port, or use an A-B switch box. Plug the printer into
a power source, connect your serial cable, and install the software. The
connector cable supports both 9-and-25 pin serial connectors. When using
Windows software, you must also install the PLP printer driver.

The PLP includes software for DOS and Windows, LabelPro for DOS.
Macintosh version includes MacLabel Pro. The unit measures 6 1/8" (H) x
3 7/8" (W x 7 5/8" (D) and weighs 1.5 lbs.

Features of Personal Label Printer include:

* Works with scaleable Windows fonts, including TrueType and Adobe Type
Manager (ATM).
* Imports your logo or other graphics in .PCX or .BMP format.
* Free clip art and 12 ready-to-use designs are included. You can easily
modify these designs, or create your own.
* Built-in address book. Import address from formats such as .dbf,
comma-delimited text and others.
* Postal, UPC, and Code 39 barcodes.

Software features include:

* Print tool prints the address currently in the Windows clipboard using
the default design as set in the options screen.
* Designer tool allows you to view, modify, and print label designs. You
can also view and print address found in Windows clipboard, and
optionally add them to the address book.
* Address Book tool allows you to view, modify, create and import
address lists. Individual addresses can be edited and saved using
Address Book. A number of list maintenance functions can be performed
such as sorting by name or zip code.
* List Book tool allows you to view, modify, create and import other
kinds of lists. You can sort a list alphabetically or by the order the
items were added to the list.
* Options tool customizes Personal Label Printer for your particular
needs. You can select a default Address Book label design to be
automatically loaded when you use PLP.

Windows-based software allows you to design and print labels, and store
address and other lists for future use. You can also capture addresses
and print them on your PLP at the same time you print your document on
your regular printer, using Word for Windows, WordPerfect for Windows or
Ami Pro. Macros are included for these three products.

PLP includes a starter roll of 130 labels. You can choose labels in
white, clear or yellow fluorescent. Avery product codes 4150, 4151, and
4152 respectively. It has an easy access front panel on/off switch, and
form feed button. It comes with a one year warranty.

The printer performed well. However, I found it lacking in one major
area, and that was label choices. The above label products are all
standard size labels. The internal housing where you place the labels
has a wide option. However, being in contact with Avery, they assure me
that the print head is not capable of doing this. At least not yet. The
irony of this, as you will see in the Seiko SmartLabel Printer Pro
review that follows, is that the Seiko printer does have this
capability. And, who makes these shipping labels? Right, the company
associated with labels, Avery. You would think that the label leader
would make its own product a leader in the personal label printer
marketplace.


Product Information

Avery Personal
Label Printer

SRP -- $249.95

Avery Dennison
20955 Pathfinder Road
Diamond Bar, CA 91765
909-869-7711
909-598-2905 (FAX)
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                          ͻ
                           Seiko SmartLabel 
                             Printer Pro    
                          ͼ

                             by Tony Curro



Seiko has had several label printers on the market. They have released
their top of the line product in the Seiko SmartLabel Printer Pro. This
is a sleek attractive unit. It is small: 4" (W) x 8.5" (D) x 6" (H), and
weighs only 1lb.  There is a Windows/DOS integrated package, and a
Macintosh version. You do not need to install the DOS software if you
use Windows exclusively, and vice versa. The Windows product works with
devices that are 100% TWAIN compliant. Also, Windows users will find
sample ClipArt images to use with their labels.

Features common to Windows, DOS, and Macintosh versions:

* Print labels in background.
* Scaleable fonts.
* Multiple fonts on a label.
* WYSIWYG screen display.
* Import and export files.
* Print a list of labels created in another application.
* Save label format.
* Built-in database common to both DOS/Windows.
* Print Code 39, Interleaved 2 of 5, UPC-A and EAN-13 bar codes.
* Automatic POSTNET bar code.
* Mix text, graphics and bar codes (DOS does not support graphics).
* Automatic address capture from most popular Windows applications, and
automatic return addressing.
* Customized SmartLabel icons "instantly recall label formats."
* TrueType and other scaleable Windows fonts can be used.

The first thing that impressed me was the selection of labels. Seiko
supports 4 different label formats. The printer comes with a roll of 130
standard labels. However, you can select from the following:

LABELS      Rolls/BOX       Labels/Roll     Label Size in inches

Standard    2 rolls         130 or 260      3 1/2 x 1 1/8
Euro.       2 rolls         260             3 1/2 x 1 1/2
3.5 disk    1 roll          320             2 3/4 x 2 1/8
Shipping    1 roll          220             4 x  2 1/8


The standard labels, as with Avery, are available in white, clear, and
colored. The others are currently only available in white.

Seiko uses thermal printing for laser-like quality output. Using the
software there is an option to set the darkness of print.

I use shipping labels quite often. Many times I need only two or three
labels. Using the standard laser labels I had to print out a sheet of
six labels. With SmartLabel Printer Pro I can print out the size labels
I want and the amount of labels I need. The output and performance of
this product are impressive. Operation is quiet, and labels are printed
usually in under six seconds.

You can design multiple return addresses. Save them under different
names. When you need a return address, just select  it from the list.
After you enter the addressee, or paste it from the clipboard, the
printer will print it using the selected return address and format.

Also available at a lesser price, and only capable of printing standard
3 1/2" x 1 1/8" labels are: Seiko SmartLabel Printer Plus for Macintosh,
SmartLabel Printer Plus for DOS, and SmartLabel Printer Plus for
Windows/DOS (combo pack).

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

* DOS version -- DOS 2.1 or later. 512K RAM. Hard Disk. Serial Port.
* Windows version -- DOS 3.1 or later. Windows 3.0 or later. 1MB RAM.
80286 or higher CPU. Hard Disk. Serial Port.

Overall I found several differences in the printers besides the label
size. These include:

* The Seiko has a better quality printout on labels.
* Avery printer has a preview mode, and an address book where you
can edit/add/delete entries.
* Seiko allows you to import a text file as an address book. You cannot
directly add/edit entries. Nor, do you have a label preview mode when
printing from the address book. It also only shows you the name of the
person in the list, not the complete address where you can see a
possible error.

For my needs, and the print quality, I have to lean toward the Seiko.
However, I was a bit disappointed with the Seiko so-called address book.


Product Information

Seiko SmartLabel
Printer Pro

SRP -- $299.95

Seiko Instruments USA Inc.
1130 Ringwood Court
San Jose, CA 95131
408-922-5800
408-922-5840 (FAX)
