Handheld Cable Printer

Every cable/label printer I have ever used wastes tape. This is mainly due to the fact that it has to cut the label and to be able to remove the label after it has been cut. Panduit has wire labels by the sheet you can pre-print before you go to the job site and there is no waste but are expensive.

For good labels that don't peel off  you need to use the nylon labels.

I was going to try one of the Dymo labelers since they have a heat shrink option.

Dymo Wire Label Makers

Not sure if we need one that is PC compatible. If they are pulling from multiple locations, taking a laptop out at each location may negate the savings. Keeping the laptop setup at a central location unattended may be asking for trouble.

Anything else comparable?

Not sure on price, as I don't do the purchasing, just given the stuff to use.

I had a Rhino 5200 I bought for myself as I was tired of using the number books my previous employer would give me. It was pretty solid, I got it for a decent price at an ADI Sale, only downside is 3/4" was the largest label.

My current employer first gave us all the Rhino 6000, which I thought was pretty solid. Boss made some wild claim they were being discountinued and you could no longer purchase label cartridges for them, so we next wound up with the XLT 300. They are pretty garbage. I don't know if we just got all the bad ones, or if there is some big quality control issue but I think out of 20 we bought, 12 have been returned for warranty, with even some of the warranty replacements also getting sent back.

Hi

Thanks for the replies. The Rhino 6000 is indeed discontinued... I may actually try to get it at a Discount if the label are standard. Dymo suggests the XLT300 which I will avoid:)

I understand that some tape will be lost but not 2" or more at each print job however short the actual label may be ... Wasteful. 

I actually had a Rhino 4200... :(

Thanks people!

We have used the Dymo 4200 , 5200 and 6000.  The 5200's were good for field use and what we had the most of, no PC connection.  We were buying them with the buy 15-20 label cartridges get a label maker free program.  Plus they were in every one of the local and natl distributor shops that we use so it was easy to get them. 

It worked, kept  us on the brand and it was easier to overlook the printer failures, the sometimes poor printing quality and if you don't stick them on cable perfectly they will start to unpeel over time.  I did not think they wasted labels when printing.  The label cartridges would sometimes have the black printing tape start spooling out with the label and it requires dexterity to pull that off the label and then get it to a trash can, it clings to everything.  The label color options seemed like they were a nice idea, but other than white and yellow we were always disappointed in the clarity of the printed label.  They stopped that promotion and as we work through the last of the labels and printers in our inventory I am actively looking for a better alternative. Of the group, the 6000 was the most reliable and versatile and included a PC connection.

The 6000 would take the same cartridges as the 5200/4200 but would also take the larger 1"size that other two would not. 

As mentioned, I often see electricians and structured cable outfits use the Dymo Rhino 4200:

I am also curious to read the bad experience details, only because they seem so common not because I'm a personal fan or anything.