Brother VC-500W Zink Printer Review
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- čas přidán 20. 01. 2021
- As appealing as this little guy is, does it have what it takes to give you professional quality labels? Find out in this review of the Brother VC-500W Versatile Compact Color Label and Photo Printer.
Brother VC-500W amzn.to/396Di3X
Canon color laser printer amzn.to/3bYPANF
Toner amzn.to/3p6OuTL
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Thank you I was about to purchase this product. Searching for it on CZcams I came across your video. I absolutely appreciate your honesty. As well as this product review.
Thank you for the kind words!
Thank you so much for your review on this printer. I was just about to buy it, but your review helped me not to make that mistake.
Thanks for commenting! I really wanted to like this thing but I'm so glad i went with my color laser printer. So much more versatile and better quality. Those rolls for the Brother are just way too expensive anyway.
@@86peppers i literally just finished installing my canon lazer printer. I came on youtube earlier to search for reviews on this printer and stumbled on your channel. Thx again now you have a new subby.😁
@@naturallytls7468 thanks! Which printer did you end up getting?
@@86peppers good morning. I didn't get one I end up using my canon I had for a good few years now. The USB cord was damaged and my friend brought one for me last night. So I installed the printer on my new laptop.
Thank you for your unbiased review. This certainly is geared towards hobby use and not professional.
Thank you for an honest review and not a sponsored review where you only say nothing but great things about this printer!
Absolutely! Only genuine videos. 👍
Thank you so much for such a honest review & actually showing us the difference between the label maker VS proper printer!! Very much appreciated!! Hopefully one day soon the quality of the print, colours & the overall price of the rolls will get improved on.
I’ve heard many people also say how impossible the Brother app is to use for designing labels so many people have to pay for Canva subscription on top (which is $17 a month AUD!!!). For people who already have that subscription for other things, not as big of a deal but if you need/want to create top labels & different ones often & you don’t already pay for Canva, that’s another big ongoing cost. $17AUD a month definitely adds up!!! 🤯🤯
Such a shame really cause I STAN the Brother brand!! I’ve only ever bought their 3-in-1 printers & I have a Scan N Cut machine, I really love & stand by the brand (you can’t kill a Brother printer, just sayin), so this is a little disappointing to say the least. 😔😔
Appreciate your thoughts here. I hope I wasn't too hard on the Brother printer. It definitely serves a purpose, just not as a product labeler. I've used the free version of Canva and found it very feature rich and the desktop version of the Brother software was adequate. It just takes a bit of trial and error to get it to line up properly. And simple designs are key.
Thank you for your very informative review. You saved me time and money. I appreciate you.
Thank you for your honesty - price is a big factor, for 99% of us (including me). Wish I could have this but - I'm still looking for that rich uncle..
Appreciate the in-depth review.
Thanks!
Thanks. Just what I needed.
Thanks for the awesome comprehensive review. I have a Brother QL-820NWB which is black/white/red only. I use it a lot and its been very useful, but I was looking for a color version as another labeler. But, OMG not at that price per label.
I too was surprised by the "sticker" shock! 😂😂😂. Thanks for the kind words 👍
Thank you for the details i almost bought it lol 😂😂 good content man keep it up 👌
Thank you, really appreciate it!
Great review man never heard of you came for the printer but I subscribed
Thanks for the support!!!
absolute boss-man, thanks for the video and comparisons.
Good review, thank you!
I like my Brother printer. It works for what I need to do and the color for me is sharp
Great advice. 👍 Thank you.
Thankyou for this review, too late for me 😢 hubby bought it THEN we found your review 😂.Good advice for the long run though on its value to just start up with this,because we have it now, but will move on to a bigger printer with more label options and more affordable running costs long term. Cheers 🍻
Thank you. Very helpful.
Great advice and to the point!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
appreciate your honesty
Thank you so much, you help me make my final decision.
Fuzzy text could be a sing of low resolution print setting. It could also be a sign of the method of printing. To my understanding Zero Ink labels are akin to a full color thermal paper.
thank you for your review. I came here checking out this printer because of a popup ad for a clearance sale at lenovo. apparently this printer is priced at $289.99, however is selling for the amazingly low price of $159.99. Well, you got this for $150 over 2 years ago. So either it's either somehow gotten better, or demand for it has just been so great that it hasn't just dropped in price but went up by over 90% or Lenovo wants to pull the wool over our heads.. which one is it lol
Ha! Wonder why Lenovo is selling a Brother product anyway? 🤔
Thank you!
You are welcome! Glad it was helpful for you.
Thanks for the review! What's the best inkless label printer for minimum start-up and fixed long-term costs that you recommend? Also, what about the evebot?
Hi! Thanks! Never heard of the evebot. Just looked it up. Looks interesting. Kind of like a digital P-touch? My Canon laser printer amzn.to/3bQtYCK has been working out awesome. The versatility is great and the toner is so much easier (and cheaper) than ink. Unless you have a specific use case like shipping labels or UPC labels, then there are printers designed for those specific tasks which would be easier.
@@86peppers nice but shipping for the bulkier and bigger items all the way to SA would not work out that's why I was into this small gadget. I will purchase the brother vc500 though because either way paying for ink cartridges or treated labels rolls would come up to the same expenses monthly :D Thanks again!
@@GiiGiii100 good luck!
@@GiiGiii100 Are you happy with the printer? I am considering one too.
Very high quality video review. Can I send creative labels from my photoshop (I use Corel paint XI) to this printer?
Thank you! That's a really good question. I honestly don't know. Sorry!
Great review thank you! So helpful, I won’t waste my money. Brother seem to be big on expensive consumables. I wonder if there is another brand with the same concept that has knock off rolls of the stickers?
Thanks! Good question. There are cheaper black and white thermal printers to be had. I'm not entirely convinced thermal technology is going to produce the resolution that most people would expect.
Thank Uoooo So much for this video!👍🏽
Thanks ❤️ glad you liked it!
Regarding the waste on each end when printing one label at a time: I believe the software will allow me to print out up to 17" inches ... does that mean my color image would be closer to 16"inches (due to the wasted space on each end?) Or will it print out a color image with the full 17" filled in? Thank you in advance for your response
Each print will have wasted space on each end. Doesn't matter if it's 1 label, multie (duplicates), or one long label. Whenever it prints and you cut the end you will have that space on each end. Does that help?
Thanks I almost bought it
You saved me 150$ Thank you!
You're welcome! I hope i didn't bash this printer too much! What turned you off about it?
Thank you 🙏👍
Thank you for sharing. Can you elaborate on settings for transparent printing.
Thank you! Are you referring to working with transparent images? Take a look at 07:35 let me know if that helps.
Thank you for saving me a lot of time and money.
Really appreciate your review. Please which colour label printer would you recommend for a small business?
Thanks! It really depends on what you're looking to print. Pictures, graphics, product labels? I think most color laser printers in $300ish range do an ok job. But they suck at printing photos. Honestly, if you're looking for professional quality product labels, you'll need to send those out to be professionally printed.
thanks...did you do the round circles on this or your cannon printer?
Hi, the round circles were purchased from onlinelabels.com and printed on my Canon laser printer. This Brother printer only accepts their roll strips.
How did you get round labels? It says on Amazon the printer won't print round labels.
The round labels shown in the video came from my Canon laser printer, shown to illustrate the difference in print quality
@@86peppers that makes sense, thank you
thanks, can you use Zink brand rolls? can you use regular thermal rolls as well?
I'm not sure, I'll need to look into it!
Do you have a link to the software for the computer? We tried the app on our phone and it worked the first time. The next time and ever after the printer won't connect to the app on the phone no matter how many times we uninstalled and re-installed it.
Sure, here you go: support.brother.com/g/s/es/inst/en/index.htm?c=eu_ot&lang=en&navi=off&comple=on&redirect=on
Thanks for the review! Do you think it is a good printer for pre workout jars?
Thanks. That's probably a pretty good use for this printer. It's pretty easy to use for making quick labels for around the house or organization.
@@86peppers do you have any recomendations on a device thats efficent at making labels for small boxes and seed bags? your seed bags look great, thats basically all i wanna do. Thanks
@@rahkielsingh6028 for seed baggies I use either onlinelabels.com and sheetlabels.com printed on the Canon color laser mentioned in this video. I'm not sure how well they would perform on boxes though. They do offer permanent labels which would adhere to the boxes better I'd imagine. (But it's not as efficient). This machine is probably the most efficient printer i have used. Only true efficient method I know if to have your labels professionally made.
Merci beaucoup ! From France :-)
De rien! ❤️
I think you forgot to add in the ink cost to print the blank labels? Remember there is no ink needed for the Brother.
You're right. The cost of ink definitely needs to be factored in here. Not aure how to measure that, too many variables. Honestly, I would be able to justify the price of the brother label paper if the quality and print alignment were satisfactory.
Buddy of mine and I was thinking about starting our own business, which will be a hobby at first, making candles. Do these stick to jars that you know of? Is this product good enough for those who want to get their business off the ground in hopes to buy one of the professional label makers?
I think it meets the needs for this use. I'd suggest keeping the label simple.
Thank you for this great Video. Does the Conon Laser Printer work with sticker paper?
To my knowledge, unless something changed recently, the only paper that will work are the rolls mentioned in this video.
Check with the Canon webpage for that particular laser printer. It should have a manual you can download which will tell you the types of papers it can handle. I use Avery 95920 box of 250 8.50x11 inch mailing labels. From my walmart they cost $48.29 per box. If I am making 1.50 inch Popsocket stickers I can get 25 per sheet. That's 6,250 round stickers. I use my Brother Scan N Cut DX series digital cutter to make my stickers. I use a HP laser printer where black toner is $50, each of the CMK toners are $55 a piece. Black yields 700 pages while each of the other colors yields 500 pages separately.
The digital cutter allows me to take single page sized labels to make any shape I like. While it can be more convenient for some to buy pre-cut sticker labels it also limits how much inventory you can store by bulk. If my dyslexic math is correct that amounts to a nickel per sticker. Sell 'em for .25 each easy. On Etsy stickers of this size go for a few dollars each.
thanks!
thanks for the video
man, my wife recently started to candle business at home. I was looking colorful label printer and found this guy. Is there any better option that not $2000? I found canon around $2000, do you have any recomendations?
Glad the video helped! Seems you gotta send away for a company to print them. The machines required for the quality we're after are just not practical for consumers. I recently used Vistaprint to print my logo stickers and the quality was much better over the Canon laser mentioned in this video. Just my opinion 🤷🏻♂️
Hello, this is Fatine from Casablanca!
Thank you for your very thorough and honest review. I plan to acquire a printer to make iron-on color labels.
It's to start a small business, so the printing speed doesn't matter.
The cost of the printer doesn't matter to me either, but the price of the consumables must be reasonable.
What printer can you recommend?
Thank you !
Honestly, I am not sure. I have no experience with iron-on labels.
Maybe you could help me? Basically I want to make stickers at home. I want to print pictures on sticky something, so I am looking for something that would print on a contonuous roll nice pictures, art, things in full color.. is there a label printer that would basically allow me to print color stickers?
Hi! Sorry I'm only familiar with regular desktop laser printers that print on paper/label/sticker sheets. I think the rolls are all too high-end/commercial for me.
Wish I would have seen this before I brought it. Wanted it for a label printer bottles etc. They say they can do it with 50mm. Not a chance. Very expensive even for a label maker and fun thing.
Thanks! Glad to see my review is ringing true with a lot of people. I really did want to like this little thing. There is no silver bullet approach it seems.
Appreciate this video. I am looking for any other alternatives in this price range (lets say $500 and under) that does full color label printing on rolls from a reliable printer brand? The only thing that looks even remotely decent, is the Astronova Quick Label QL-E100, however, that unit is about $2100 and everything else beneath that price range looks like hobby level printers. I'm looking to do simple full color full bleed labels with a max width on the roll of 4". Any ideas?
Unfortunately, anything consumer level I have seen is for the hobbyist. I am not familiar with the professional printers. IMO, they are way too expensive for someone printing their own labels. Unless you're starting a label printing business, I don't think you'll ever see an ROI.
I bought one of these used, bought new rolls and also did all my images/text in photoshop at 300dpi and the prints are sharp and perfect. Could it be the software used? I only use it to load the photos. I have zero regrets or print issues with mine.
It's possible the software might contribute to the print quality. I wouldn't say using photoshop is a practical workaround for most people. I was not pleased by the cost of the paper, limited flexibility, and being locked into only buying oem paper. Cool you got it working tho!
What is the price per label for the color laser, including toner and drum kit?
That is a great question. I bought my printer in Nov 2020. It came with starter cartridges that I replaced only once so far. The ink kit includes all colors and black and sells for about $50. I would imagine with heavy printing you would need to replace that once per year perhaps? Difficult to measure but definitely less expensive. Plus you have the added bonus of flexibility printing any size dimension within 8.5 by 14 in with any type of paper. (Joe - 86peppers,)
Thanks for the comprehensive review and I imagine you're correct that this printer might turn out to be expensive to run. But shouldn't any cost per label comparison reflect the fact that regular labels rely on ink, the cost of which also needs to be factored in? Obviously the price of ink and how many labels a given ink cartridge array will produce will vary according to the printer and, indeed, the images sent to it, none of which applies to this printer since a complex full colour vista or a thin black line appear to consume an equal amount of its resources. Ink also has a limited useful shelf life. How does that compare with the use-by date of the ZINK paper if it even has one? Not an issue for a heavy user but ink nozzles getting blocked or the ink wasted in preventing it can be a problem for the occasional user.
Thanks for writing in! I hear you, cost of the ink cartridge should be factored in re inkjet printers. I did comment about using knock-off toner for my laser printer, but still, a variable not easily measure. Still, while (probably) more expensive to run it does win on ease and footprint size. Assuming you're not after professional quality prints.
Hello! Will you please teach me how to use transparent labels with the brother machine? We make hot sauces and that is exactly what we are looking for. As another bonus to this video, we are going look into your pepper site to use for our sauces!
Hi, thanks! Unfortunately, I have not seen transparent labels for this printer, only the white labels featured in this video.
Can it print QR codes and is the labelling paper laminated or a little water will destroy them?
Yeah, you can print whatever you like. I had my label in the freezer and it held up without issues. I am not sure about fading however.
1 quick question:
Have you experienced any situations where the VC500W cannot print green?
Hi, I don't think many of the samples I printed had a lot of green in them, but it definitely does not sound right if the unit cannot print green or any other color.
Now, Do you have a label printer that you would recommend for a small business?
Hi, so many out there. For printing barcodes, addresses, etc? I love my canon color laser printer. Even a monochrome laser and just buy the labels sheets. But if simplicity bis what u are after, one of the monochrome brother label roll printer would be fine. This one in my review tries to be a roll photo printer and just doesn't make the cut imo.
nice video...can I please ask You, if the device can be set so that it cuts regularly my own sized labels from the roll? thank You very much ♥
Please correct me if I misunderstood your question. The label is one continuous roll. You could print a label that is 4 ft long for example. You set the width and it cuts it accordingly.
@@86peppers you understood it perfectly..♥ so it will cut the width that I set and at regular intervals for example the whole roll? already without my participation?
@@thetruth8053 right. If you create a label that is 4 in wide it will print and cut it at 4 in. If you set it to print 4 copies of that label it will cut each one at 4 in so you will have four 4" labels. You won't need to cut anything.
It sort of works like printing from Microsoft word. You can print one page or print multiple copies of that page. But you have to specify how many copies you want to print.
you helped me a lot..thank you so much♥ ..beautiful Easter and greetings from the Czech Republic ♥@@86peppers
why on earth did they not allow for some bleed? Good review. Thank you.
Yeah right? Thanks!
Are you able to use permanent vinyl for the labels
You can only use the brother labels mentioned in this video.
Good day. What does it mean when the message come up " the printer has no media"?
Hi Jenna, I'm not too sure but media usually refers to the label paper so I'd check to make sure it's aligned in there properly. Good luck
Hi! 👋🏻 What if I want circle stickers/labels??
On this Brother printer? No dice. You can only use the brother label strips mentioned in this video.
Can u get a clear sticker type paper for it?
No, unfortunately the unit only accepts the white brother labels. That's it.
I need your recommendation to buy label printer, with the best label printer in the market?
I'm not sure, there are so many things to consider. What will you be printing, product labels, barcodes, shipping labels? Is print quality a factor? I discussed the different pros and cons between this brother printer and using a traditional color laser printer. It's towards the end of the video. As far as which one is the best on the market? I have no idea. I love mine but it's probably considered far from the best. If best is what you're looking for, you would likely need to seek out a professional printing service. They have access to commercial/professional equipment.
Thnaks you save money to me .
Do you know how copy the designs from an iPad to an iPhone? Thanks!!!
Sorry, i do not.
@@86peppers Thank you!!!
can this print in fabric? something like satin roll for clothing labels and whatnot? ty
No, unfortunately it will only print on the brother labels mentioned in this video.
@@86peppers too bad. Thanks for the quick reply though!
@@Shutaru1985 no prob! It was one of the reasons i returned mine 😉
My printer is printing with a pink hue, I can't get rid of. Any suggestions are most welcome. Thanks.
Sorry, I have no idea, you'll need to contact Brother for support 🤷🏻♂️
Can you print circle
No, you can only print on the label strips that go in the brother zinc printer. The round labels featured in the video are from my Canon color laser printer using round label sheets from onlinelabels.com.
Nice review. I nearly took the plunge but will hold back till I do some more looking about. I noted them selling a cleaning cartridge as well, you didn't mention this. Can you or anyone enlighten me/us?
Thanks. I did not mention the cleaning cartridge that came with the brother printer in my video. But I will mention now that I did not have any luck getting the printer to notice the cartridge when I plugged it in. So it actually never worked for me.
@@86peppers This looks like a test project for them (Brother) at cost to the consumer (note the 'con' part) I'll maybe wait for the next model with more going for it. Appreciate your prompt reply.
@@Mr.T4LLY-0 a sound choice. I do like the simplicity of it, but I get way more mileage out of my laser printer using sheet labels.
Would this printer be good for a photo booth?
I don't think so. Paper too small, and they would be labels. It's not its intended use
Can I use wiifi iPhone I’m having trouble support we’re hopless
Yes you can use your phone to design and print the labels. But I believe it uses blutooth to connect, not wifi. There are a couple good videos on YT that walk you through the process.
I will sum up this printer very quickly, it sucks. Thanks for your detailed review though.
Haha👍
Olá, porque quando vou imprimir a impressora diz que não há papel?
Hi, when you go to print and it says that there is no paper, to me it seems that if cannot detect the paper. Did you try removing the roll and reinserting it? I did have a problem where the printer did not recognize the cleaning cartridge. Maybe yours is broken?
Does ıs print a transparan back?
No, unless they came out with new paper with clear background, at the time of this video the only paper available had a white background.
I want the best color printer to make labels for a small business would love to make a purchase for my wife as a surprise for her business and like most people she’s using a printer and to me there’s got to be something better
I hear you. The best? I'm not sure. I do like my color printer referenced in the video but honestly they all have their cons. For example, color laser printer labels are not that durable and scratch quite easily. In my opinion, for that ultimate professional quality you'll need to have a company make them.
Great video thanks. I really wanted it but I'll pass. Thanks 👍🏽
So what do you recommend then bro???
The color laser printer mentioned in this video is great. Good enough quality for me and the knock-off toner works great.
Does the ink rub off easy?
Not at all. It's not ink, it's thermal paper.
@@86peppers I went with the
Phomemo M220 instead for easy labeling.
it has battery?
Hi! No, it plugs into the wall.
Yeah cheers for the review, i was thinking it may be a nice option for address labels but now I wont get it, looks crap. Cheers!
Yeah, I'm thinking it may be overkill for address labels. The label paper might not be suitable. Too thick.
@@86peppers Yeah I just stuck with getting a thermal label printer and an epson ecotank for anything colour.
@@troyd-motorsport9933 how do u like the ecotank? Can u dump aftermarket ink in there?
I wonder how it compares to the classic QL series like the QL-810w. The unit price is comparable, but the label costs are vastly different because the QL uses classic Labels in black and white or black/white/red...oh, and clear labels are available, too, grom brother and the humongous 3rd party label market, with distinct labels, endless labels, etc.
Good question. I'm not familiar with that model. Most of the other products I found were also b&w or designed for shipping labels. 🤷🏻♂️
@@8686joedog I know many people who use the QL-Series for private purposes. Labels for their self-made marmalade, labeling their storage, printing out stamps or something like that. I used a QL-500 for that purpose (its the cheapest version, you could get one for around 30-40 bucks if you searched and waited). The QL-Series uses very, VERY cheap labels, as example you can get the big 62x100mm labels for under 6 bucks, and one packages has 300 labels in it www.ebay.com/itm/Roll-DK1202-Shipping-Labels-w-Frame-for-Brother-QL-500-550-570-720NW-700-1050/164712946785. Sure, its only black and white (or red, black and white), but I think the difference in label pricing is something to consider. I searched for options because I wanted to print my stuff from my phone/tablet, and so I got the QL-810w - it's the same price as the one you tested, but can't print full color. Maybe you should check out one of the QL-Series (the lower end is quite cheap, or a used one) and give us your opinion about them ;-)
@@erebostd always looking for a good review!!! Thanks. I'll look into it.
Didn’t work for me , software for laptop is really bad , really hard to set up , so many steps for everything .
Software looks so old . Website for wifi setup sometimes it works some times it doesn’t .
It might work for someone that doesn’t need to print from excel or print many label at once .
This is clearly for short run individual things, not for your use case.
I agree, but is it marketed that way?
The ink tank system appears to be much better than the cartridge system czcams.com/users/postUgkxciSwynMJ7PnUvvx11rewiu-yFBkZTl53 and a lot cheaper to run. The machine was easy to set up. A small point but I thought they'd be a USB cable included to help with the set up but there was none. I've been using it now for a few weeks and it seems like a good product and superior to my previous printers which were all troublesome HP machines.
I can run a mile in the time to print a label.
Yeah it is a bit on the slow side.
But you don't have to get any inkt
Correct. It simplifies the process, however at a cost
Sorry, I think this is an invalid comparison.
Example: Need a quick label for the storage box that is going to be put on the shelf.....
VC-400W -
launch label application. Open or create a label. Print label. Done!
Color Printer - remove standard paper from printer. Insert label sheet. Open label application. Load or create label. Go to print and select where the next unused label is on the sheet. Hope you get it right. :-) Print. Remove label sheet from printer. Insert standard paper back into printer. Done! (Finally)
Another thing. When you try to use those sheet labels for the kind of work this little printer is designed for, you will never get through every label on the sheet until it curls up and will know longer feed correctly because you have inserted it so many times.
I agree 100% that the printer is not cost-effective. I'm pretty sure we will eventually get generic print rolls.
Disclaimer: Word accuracy not guaranteed as I am using Siri to transcribe, and Siri is stupid and getting stupider every day. Thank you for your understanding...
Thanks for writing in. I guess if you use it for that purpose, sure it would be more efficient. But brother makes a p-touch labeler designed for that purpose. My comparison was more between this printer vs a traditional printer when printing decorative professonal labels, which seems to be what this was intended for, based on the marketing.
the video image is too poor, you need to fix it more
LOL the label price
Yeah, it's a bit rediculous. Aftermarket labels would be a game changer.
@@86peppers if you ever find some aftermarket labels I would love to know. Bought this printer to label my plants and seeds so at 60 cents or more a label it’s pretty expensive.
@@drudigger I wouldn't hold my breath but maybe one day someone will knock off these cartridges. Have you thought about getting the 3" labels and adding multiple designs to cram them all in and just cut them?
Wow... 0,55$ pro label... that's really too much😶
I agree 💯!
Don't bother. It's a horrible product. I've never gotten mine to work. I hate it. It really is horribly designed. HORRIBLE!
installing and setting up this printer is a night mare its fkn shit house threw and threw i did a installed and cause ive got another brother printer the software wont even find the new printer there fk all videos on how to actually set this thing up mainly forcing you to go wifi and still thats confusing and buggy
its the biggest con with Brother that margin adds up to feet in the end total waste and by design too its all about the label or the ink folks i guess we are going to need the chinese to come up with a rip off version to teach them a lesson
yeah... its not zink! the word zink on the side of the box stands for zero ink! but that's not where you lost me, you actually lost me when you thought the labels would stick to a baggie... lol!
You're right, can't believe i missed that. The title has been updated. There's nothing in the description that would make me believe the labels would not stick to plastic🤷🏻♂️.
This Brother is Stinky
The worst product ever of brother. I hate it. Does mostly not work at all!
WOW this is a CRAP unit!!!!!
Lol
I hated ALL the Brother label makers I tried (their top three) because they ALL MAKE SO MUCH WASTE! I need a 3-inch long label? It prints 5-inches and I have to manually remove two inches of BLANK LABEL! UGH! Every time I use it I feel like I had signed a contract of a scummy SCAM. >.< Until BROTHER "solves" the "waste issue" (AKA, until BROTHER quits doing it on purpose, because we all know they are) buy a label maker from ANYONE else. >.
Yeah the waste wouldn't bother me so much if the labels rolls weren't so expensive.