Brother QL-820NWB Professional, Ultra Flexible Label Printer with Multiple Connectivity options

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Works very well for our church check-in stations using iPads. They are very easy to setup and work great. The printing is less bold than on Dymo. DO NOT use the sample labels on something you want to remove the label from or damage will occur. For name tags, use these labels: 6 Rolls Brother-Compatible DK-4205 Removable Continuous Labels Black on White 62mm x 30.48M(2-3/7" x 100) With Refillable Cartridge

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We are running 8 of these printers (QL-720NW) for printing product labels and shipping labels. The printers work flawlessly in both XP and Win7. There are however some things to be aware of... 1) if you print to the printer with the wrong label setup (printer has 1.1" labels installed and you print a 3.5" label) the printer goes offline (red power led). So watch your printer setups. All you have to do is tap the power button to reset the printer. Be very aware that the printer knows exactly what size of label is installed. 2) printing Barcodes at 300dpi (fast mode) can create barcodes that "less expensive" readers wont read. If you have a non-name brand barcode reader print at 600dpi. We use Metrologic MS1690s and they read everything. But some of the less expensive "off shore" versions cant handle a "noisy" barcode. 3) make sure you have the most current firmware in the printer. Some of the older firmwares had problems with gigabit networks. Its easy to update with the BRAdmin program. 4) get the Brother BRAdmin Professional (free download from brothers site). Its easier to use that the "Lite" version that ships with the printer and it works for ALL brother networkable printers, and some HPs. You only need the BRAdmin software on one machine to do setup. All the other machines only need the printer driver. 5) dont install the Brother "add-on" software, its horrible. Toss the CD. Download the printer driver from the website, it works without problems. There was a learning curve for me in getting these working the way we wanted, but now they just run. Labels are easy to load, the printers are inexpensive compared to others, and having the options of hardwired ethernet, wireless, Serial, or USB, is amazing. The only complaint I have is that there is no Receipt paper option for these printers. Other than that I cant complain.

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After spending the better part of the day trying to get this thing to work, I give up, and its going back. Background : I have a Brother QL-570 printer but I wanted something thats wireless so I can put it out in the warehouse. Ive been using DK-2205 labels, which are supposed to be compatible with this printer. They work just fine in the QL-570. Anyway, after setting everything up and changing the settings in Windows to match the label roll I was using, I kept getting a "Wrong Roll Size" error. I called brother tech support and they had me set up a layout in their P Touch program, which I was eventually able to get to work, but it didnt solve the problem - the printer doesnt work correctly in any other windows program. Then after you get the wrong roll size error, Windows thinks the printer is out of paper so you have to remove and reinstall the printer every time. Its beyond frustrating, and Brothers tech support was useless. I was told they couldnt provide support for other programs. Thats a cop out. Its a PRINTER, its supposed to work based on the Windows settings. Who buys a printer to only use with the manufacturers proprietary software? I would love to be able to do what this printer is supposed to do, but unfortunately it just doesnt work.

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I own the Brother QL-720NW, decided to try the new QL-820NWB. Very glad I did. This new label printer is a great upgrade. It is easy to setup and use. The on screen LCD and menu system makes connections to various devices a snap. No hitch connecting my android smartphone or my apple ipad using bluetooth. Reading some earlier comments, I was prepared for some troubles. I found none, none whatesoever. I also purchased the optional battery, which makes labeling boxes down in the basement a breeze.

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The printer senses what type of label is loaded. If you try to print on another paper size the printer locks into error. So if the printer knows 1.1x3.5" labels are loaded, and you try to print a size of 1.1x3.0" you get an error message and you have to physically go over to the printer and reset it. So if you thought you purchased continuous-length labels so you could cut them according to the paper size YOU set, you are plain wrong! It is the size the printer decides it is, and nothing else. Even worse, at a certain moment my printer decided 1.1x3.5" was loaded while 2.4" was actually loaded. It was plain impossible to print ANYTHING. Because when I selected 2.4" inch wide it thought 1.1" was loaded. And printing something 1.1" wide failed because 2.4" was actually inserted. I never have been able again after initial setup to print ANYTHING on 2.4" labels. And half of the software doesnt work when the printer is connected to a network, not through USB. It is sold as a network printer, remember?

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I bought it for home use after owning two previous cheaper label printers. I love it. Its easily the best of the label printers Ive used. Worth the price. I share it with several Windows computers on my network. It works as either a network printer or single computer. I havent tried to get it to work on Linux nor the iMac. I have not looked to see if drivers are available. As I tend to use one Win7 computer the most. Label size/types change easily and quickly, it prints blazingly fast. The printing is so fast I dont bother with "3 across" labels any more. Id suggest buying a variety of label sizes/types up front. Youll use them! I also suggest something to catch the labels as they print and eject faster than a man in his 60s can turn around! Ive used it for things that I previously didnt use other cheaper label printers for. Like labeling tool drawers, labeling filing cabinet folders, etc. It is great for one offs, or your Christmas list. Negatives, I have been having some trouble getting it to wake up after not using it for awhile. I think the editor is quirky and took a few days to master. I usually open up existing labels and edit them as being faster than starting from scratch with the editor. The only bulk labels I do are Christmas Card labels. I dont like their database and wished they had used something more open source like the address book in email programs, so that the info can be shared. However once set up, the list can be easily edited and I havent printed any label on my Laser printer since I got this.

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So far this is working well for my small business office. I set it up on our network, and am happy to say it was pretty straightforward as long as you have some experience with setting up static ip adresses and installing drivers and programs on multiple computers. For some reason all of the label makers i have used are more difficult to set up on a network than regular printers, but this one was much easier than the zebra printer, and stays connected, unlike the dymo printer. Yes, I am on my 3rd label printer due to network connection issues... If i ever need to purchase another one i am hoping that they come up with a plug and play model. That said, I am using it for prescription labels. Although the labels that I needed to use with my office software are a little big for prescription labels, they work just fine, and the label maker has so far been very reliable to use from any computer in our office. I also like that this machine gives you the option of using several different size labels, which you have to set up on each computer with the p touch program (or it will not let you print anything), so it has more potential uses than the other label makers I have used. Overall happy with this label maker.

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I would give it five stars, but it took longer to install than I would have liked. Granted, I was going for a more complicated installation then just push and play. It is now up and working seamlessly on both my Windows 10 machine and my Galaxy S8 plus phone over my home wifi system. I will be using it to label the tops of cans of food in my cupboard. I have them in Ben boxes that I can slide out of the shells, and I want to put the name and the total calories on a sticker on the top of each can so I dont have to pull them out and look. I am also going to put little round. Stickers on the top of all of my spices so I can see at a glance what they are.

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After much research, I was about to buy one of the QL-700 series label printers and saw Brother just released this model — so I took a chance. Wireless & Ethernet for shared network, check! Mac/Win for mixed use, check! Can use any generic DK series labels, check! This also prints red along with black using labels that support it. Wireless to your Router/WiFi Setup (Brother does not win points here): 1. Menu > WLAN > OK 2. WLAN On/Off = OK 3. Network Mode = Infrastructure Mode 4. Infra Manual Setting = choose your SSID and enter your password. 5. WLAN Status displays your network IP which you can enter into a browser tab to fine tune your printer settings via web interface. There are other numerous ways to connect via Ethernet, Wireless direct, USB and Bluetooth. The ability to add a battery pack for portability is odd but could be useful to those that need it. The iOS iPrint&Label app is surprisingly decent for its abilities to knock off a few quick labels of all sorts. The test labels I printed were perfect and everything that I expected. The P-Touch 5.1 software is not my fave, but most of your normal desktop apps will recognize the printer after you have installed the driver. Definitely plan how you intend to connect & use it first, then download only the drivers and tools you will need. Great printer, oodles of options, can use generic labels... setup is geared towards advanced end users. I only wish it didnt look like a head from the iRobot movie. Update 03/12/17 I have successfully used DK-1202, DK-1204, DK-1208 & DK Continuous labels with this unit. However, I have tried 2 different DK-1209 rolls from different sources that would not work with this printer? Unable to feed and would not recognize when shutting the cover correctly. I am not sure why the new model does not recognize this label size? Everything else is correctly detected.

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The Brother QL-820NWB is a great little printer. The most important feature to me was the ethernet port. The printer can be used through WIFI but not many manufacturers make a printer that can be wired. The printer was easy to configure on the network. The printer offers quick printing and boy does it print clearly! The printer will only use label stock made by Brother. However, there is continuous roll stock available. Again, hard to find continuous roll stock for these types of printers. The printer also offers 2 color printer, red and black. That is pretty sweet! This is a very economical printer, no ribbon to replace, no messy ink or toner. The supplied software can be a little confusing, particularly if you have change from one color to two color stock. I had to contact Brother technical support for assistance. However, support was great and got me up and running! We use this printer to label tools, bins, and shelves. Perfect for business/industrial use!

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