PT-D600
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Brother products have been changing the way people work, and play, for years. Our reliable, high-quality, feature-rich printers, scanners, labelers, and more are hard at work in homes everywhere. Whatever your need, Brother products are always "At your side."
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CJS on Amazon
8 years ago
12/27/2014, 10:34 AM
New toy!
I have never seen one of these so I was worried I'd never get it to work...I was wrong! What a neat label printer...plus I figured it out with no problems... so easy to use! I had a few label ideas read to print and had them printing in minutes after getting this out of it's box...I was floored!
I don't know that I'll EVER have a need to connect it to my PC, does great for me just like this. I can see where this could become a popular item in a household full of active kids! I think lots of Moms would love having this!
AJ on Amazon
8 years ago
12/27/2014, 03:18 AM
Very intuitive, stiff keys, easy to change tapes
This was my first label maker and I'm pretty impressed. It was fairly intuitive to create and print labels, and the tapes were easy to switch in and out. I only needed the manual to see how to take full advantage of the customization options.
The keys are a little stiff, and controlling the scale of the label could be easier, but otherwise it's great. I did have problems with one of the other tapes I used (a lime green one). It worked for the first two labels I created, but after that my label content was so faint it barely showed up. The sample tape that comes with this label maker worked great every time I used it.
One last thing to keep in mind is that the tape included is a sample, so the length is very short. You'll want to pick up additional tapes right away. I did enjoy using this but I'm not sure it's better than printing labels on my computer, especially considering the cost ($100 for the maker and around $10 per tape refill). But if you like label makers and prefer the relatively small size of this one (see image for scale), this one does it all.
nekojita on Amazon
8 years ago
12/27/2014, 02:56 AM
easy to use, lots of variety
The Brother Printer PTD600 PC Connectible Label Maker is pretty intuitive right out of the box, and easy to set up - you can plug it into the wall if you don't have six batteries lying around (AA, I believe), and it comes with a simple white with black ink label tape (but you're able to buy a wide variety of different colored labels and inks). The screen has a color display so you can see what you're making, and you can make a wide variety of different labels (with images, barcode scans, etc.). There's so much you can do without even connecting it to your PC, the unit is very self-contained. You can go from simple font to fancy - really, you'll probably spend the most time trying to figure out to select for your labels than you will actually figuring out how to use the label maker. The label cartridges are easy to pop in and out of the device (just pry it open and put them in).
Sunny Sewing Honeybee on Amazon
8 years ago
12/25/2014, 04:50 AM
Useful, relatively intuitive, and fun
This is a really nice labeling machine, and it's all-in-one, so there's no need to connect it to your computer. That being said, you can download (to your computer) design software. I downloaded it to give it a look, but it really doesn't seem necessary if you can get used to the printer's controls. However, it has some interesting label samples that can be tweaked, and it has them arranged by category: address label, album, asset management, cable and panel, greeting, identification, kitchen, media, office, sign, store, and thermal paper (AV). That being said, I also wanted to download this software because it's possible that there will be more content added in the future, and you can check for updates through it. At this writing, there's a firmware update (which isn't critical), but no new things (such as clip art or frames) available to add.
Though a lot of it is intuitive, there's a decent learning curve to figuring out how to use it. My biggest challenge when first making labels was figuring out how to create a new column. For example, how could I put a large graphic next to lines of text? The answer is Shift-Enter. That was the main thing that I couldn't figure out on my own, without the aid of the manual. The manual is very thorough, and explains things that may not be intuitive. Another thing to take note of before starting to use the tape is that you can change the cut option in the menu to small margins and conserve tape. Unfortunately, it defaults back to large margins, so this is something to check regularly.
The on-screen display is very helpful, especially as the machine "senses" the tape color you put in and will show you your label on the screen as it will appear once printed (both background/tape color and ink color).
It's worth noting that, though it has a standard QWERTY keyboard, normal typing isn't possible as the letters are buttons rather than keys. When designing labels, the up and down buttons have to be used frequently for editing things. Because of these two things, any labels more than just minor plain text can take a while to make.
The only thing negative I can say is that sometimes the printout looks a bit pixelated; i.e., the lines aren't always crisp. But this label printer is really nice and comes with enough tiny graphics, frames, etc. to make labels for both practical and decorative purposes. Aside from being useful, it's also pretty fun!
Dr. Stuart Gitlow on Amazon
8 years ago
12/23/2014, 14:38 PM
Excellent label output, with very nice Mac interface
Roughly half the size of a cereal box, the PT-D600 quickly was set up both as a stand-alone and as a PC connected label maker. I tested the unit with my MacBook Pro after installing the P-Touch Editor, which is available from Brother's website. I also installed a firmware update, 1.01, using the Brother updating software and the provided USB cable. I tried out the label maker using several tape types, including one that provided white print on a lime green background, and another providing black print on a yellow background.
The screen on the PT-D600 is color, letting you quickly know what color tape you have installed. But you should realize that you can't print in full color. The color of the printing is determined by the tape spool that you have installed. So if you buy yellow tape with black print, you can't print in any color other than black, and the background will, of course, always be yellow.
The keyboard allows you to access a significant number of options, including frames that will surround the printed text, barcoding, and text layout choices. Utilizing the P-Touch Editor software on the Mac provides an enhanced option list and a much more intuitive and speedy interface. Since the printer can run off batteries or off AC power, you have your choice between using it disconnected from the computer, in the field, and off battery power, and connected to your computer, on your desk, and on AC power.
Everything worked nicely, with labels printing out clearly, as depicted on the screen, very much looking like the on-screen layout version so that multiple prints were not necessary to achieve the desired result. The built-in cutting tool worked automatically and the labels themselves - I used Brother brand print tapes - peeled easily from their backing and adhered appropriately to the destination.
Overall, the printer works quietly, quickly, and unobtrusively. The manual provides extensive discussion of each option, and while the approach to developing a finished label can be somewhat unintuitive at first, once you have your workflow down, you can store your approach in the printer (so long as it has batteries or remains plugged in) or in your computer.
One note to Brother: the firmware upgrade software running on the Mac suddenly quit mid-upgrade twice (at the 0% and then at the 14% point) before working the third time after a reset of the printer. My expectation is that the majority of customers won't search for and upgrade their firmware, so no downgrade here, but it would be worth checking over the upgrade software handshaking process just to reduce the likelihood of any such problem.
Brian Connors on Amazon
8 years ago
12/23/2014, 09:13 AM
Hello my name is P-TOUCH
I don't know if *everybody* keeps a P-touch around somewhere to label random things or just mess around with, but they certainly are nice to have around when you need them. The question is, is it worth the expense to buy one of the big ones, or are you better off with the cheap $30 model you can keep in a junk drawer?
The PT-D600 is nothing if not versatile, that's for sure. It has a decent selection of built-in fonts, most of which are approximations of better-known fonts (Helsinki = Helvetica, Brussels = Bookman, Belgium ~= Bauhaus, among others), which gives you a lot of wiggle room in terms of label layout, if you care about that sort of thing. The TZe series of tapes comes in an assortment of widths and colors and, like most P-touch cassette formats, is easy to swap out (probably even easier than the M series that the low-end units use). If you make a fair amount of use of bar codes, the PT-D600 supports several of the more common ones, including Code39, UPC, EAN, and Codabar, so this is perfect for inventory purposes.
Which is all fine, but... I'm not a fan of the interface, which is too modal and convoluted to begin with. Despite the large screen it isn't quite computer-like, and it doesn't put all the relevant functions on the keyboard instead, meaning if you're used to older models you have to relearn how to use it from the ground up. And despite the fact that it supports bar codes, it doesn't have any 2D bar codes built in for some reason; you need to download the P-touch Editor utility for your computer for those. I can't quite fathom why a labelmaker created in 2014 doesn't at least have QR support built in. (The editor program itself is pretty simple to use, but it's a bit frustrating that you need it for something basic like that.)
It's fine for what it does. For a hundred bucks for a rather specialized device, I don't mind that it doesn't have Bluetooth or anything like that, although a USB host or OTG port would be nice to have to use it with a phone or tablet. Linux support exists, although you have to dig around for it. And, well, yes, there are other label makers on the market, but who's got the name recognition? This will do fine.
Dean Burns on Amazon
8 years ago
12/21/2014, 07:52 AM
Prints as crisp as a triple-starched shirt
What a fantastic label printer, and so easy to use! We were printing is less than five minutes after opening the box... not exaggerating. So far, we've just used the printer directly rather than hooking it up to the Mac. At this point, I don't know why I'd need to connect it to a computer, as it's fully functional for my purposes as a stand alone. My youngest is making labels for Christmas presents as I type this. This is a great value in a small footprint, high quality label printer.