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Do you scroll through social media for ideas on how to make sense of the disorganized state of your pantry? Having an organized pantry not only looks attractive, but it also makes cooking and cleaning easier when you’re able to quickly locate necessary items, such as storage containers and spices in a spice rack. So how does one transition from a cluttered mess to an organized area in which items are quickly at your fingertips? One of the critical elements of any neatly arranged pantry is proper labeling.
The best label printer is easy to use, easy to read, can print in various font sizes and styles, and may even connect to a smartphone or a computer. Labeling items in your pantry makes finding them faster and ensures they are returned to their proper place. In this guide, we’ll learn about the myriad of considerations to keep in mind as you shop for a label printer. The following selections are some of the best label printers on the market for organizing your pantry and simplifying your time in the kitchen.
- BEST OVERALL: Brother P-Touch
- BEST BUDGET: DYMO LetraTag LT-100H Handheld Label Maker
- UPGRADE PICK: Brother P-Touch Cube Plus PT-P710BT Versatile Label
- BEST FOR LARGE LABELS: DYMO LabelWriter 450 Direct Thermal Label Printer
- BEST KEYBOARD: Brother P-touch Label Maker
- BEST PORTABLE: Phomemo M02 Pocket Printer
What to Consider When Choosing the Best Label Printer
As with most electronics, shopping for the best label printer involves research to find one to suit your needs. There is a multitude of factors to consider in your search, depending on how you plan to use it and your particular preferences: the overall size of the label printer, the screen size, the type of battery, the availability of a keyboard, the adjustability of tape margins, font choices, graphic capabilities, and connectivity options.
Overall Size
Whether you have small hands or just limited space to store it, the label printer’s size will play an essential role in your selection process. Larger label printers can be clunky and hard to hold, but they typically also have a larger screen, which can make seeing what you’re printing easier. Smaller label printers are easier to hold without being cumbersome, but their screen size might be too small to see clearly, or they might not have a screen at all.
The size also impacts where you can store it. While label printers are an excellent tool for organizing the pantry, you likely won’t need it every day and want to be able to conveniently store it. If space is already tight, finding a spot for a large printer could be a bit more tricky, but a smaller one could easily fit in the back of a drawer.
Screen Size
For those who struggle to read small print or plan to print long labels, screen size can impact the ease and enjoyment of using a label printer. Naturally, the size of a screen is often in proportion to the size of the printer itself, so a larger printer is likely to have a larger screen.
However, many label printers are now manufactured without screens and instead connect to smartphones or computers.
Battery
The last situation you want to be in while organizing your pantry is to look for batteries because the label printer died. Knowing if the printer needs to be charged, plugged in, or requires batteries is essential to ensuring you can complete your labeling tasks.
Some label printers run on either standard or rechargeable batteries. If you don’t want to worry about batteries, some printers can be plugged into the wall, although that will limit your movement as you label items.
Keyboard
Larger fingers might find it more difficult to operate some of the smaller keyboards found on label printers, or the small letters could be hard to see. Keyboard sizes range from compact to large, and the ease of use will depend on your own abilities and preferences.
As mentioned above, many newer label printers don’t have a screen or a keyboard and instead connect to a smartphone or a computer. This tends to eliminate concerns about using or seeing the keyboard as the letters and numbers on a connected phone or a computer are usually larger.
Adjustable Tape Margins
If you’ve used a label printer before, you know it can feel wasteful when the margins on either side of the text have too much unused white space. The best way to combat this is to find a label printer with the option for adjustable margins. This feature allows the user to decide on the length of the margins and reduces the amount that is cut off and wasted.
Font Options
Even within a pantry, you can let your personality shine, and this can be made easier with a label printer that offers a wide variety of font styles. With an abundance of choices, creating labels to decorate storage containers for food and other items can be fun and unique.
Consider font size and spacing as well. These are other features that can allow creative flair and imagination to design a beautifully organized pantry. Additionally, manipulating the font size and spacing ensures you can fit whatever you’d like to type on any given label.
Graphics & Color Printing
In addition to a variety of font options, graphics and color printing are ways to bring a touch of excitement to a label for a boring storage bin. Note that not all label printers offer graphics or color and will only allow black text. However, some printers have preexisting graphics to add to a label. Similar to standard printers, printing in color adds more cost to purchasing ink, so be sure to keep that in mind when shopping.
This feature offers even more opportunities when the label printer has the ability to be connected to a smartphone or a computer. Many of these label printers include programs that allow custom graphics to be uploaded and printed. This makes the options for labels nearly endless.
Connectivity
As mentioned above, many newer label printers can now connect to a smartphone or a computer. There are many advantages to this feature: the need for a screen is eliminated and contributes to a smaller printer design, and custom graphics and fonts can be uploaded to and printed from the label printer.
Our Top Picks
To recreate those ideal pantry goals seen on social media, only the best label printer will get the job done. Our top picks feature label printers in a variety of categories that take into consideration the features and factors we’ve explored in this guide. Read on to discover some of the best options on the market to organize your pantry.
Best Overall
Brother P-Touch
With 14 font sizes, 10 font styles, 97 frames, and over 600 symbols, this label printer from Brother is an excellent option to organize items in a pantry. Not only does it offer a plethora of options when it comes to styling the labels, but the device also has four available tape widths, ranging from 3.5 millimeters to 12 millimeters, allowing the user to print up to two lines of black text. The printer also provides 27 pre-set templates, in addition to a variety of pattern designs.
Best Budget
DYMO LetraTag LT-100H Handheld Label Maker
This affordable handheld label printer by DYMO is both easy to use and easy to store when not in use, while still offering a multitude of features for the price. The DYMO offers five font sizes, seven font styles, eight frame styles, and 195 symbols. For added convenience, the printer has internal storage with the ability to save up to nine labels that can be printed repeatedly. The full keyboard is on the smaller side due to the handheld nature of this label printer, although we love that there is an option for one- or two-line printing.
Upgrade Pick
Brother P-Touch Cube Plus PT-P710BT Versatile Label
With no screen and no keyboard, Brother has created one of the smallest label printers on the market today. Its square shape is 5 inches in diameter and 2 inches thick. This small size makes it easy to handle and more manageable to store when not in use. Using Bluetooth wireless technology, connect this label printer to a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, or a desktop to create personalized 24 millimeter labels for a multitude of pantry items via either two free Brother apps or—with the included USB cable—the Brother P-touch Editor software. The use of a smartphone even provides the ability to use spell check and voice-to-text capabilities for further ease of use.
Choose from a variety of fonts, frames, and symbols, including the multitude of symbols available in the Google and Apple font libraries, in addition to a wide variety of pre-designed templates. Several different tape colors can be purchased separately. Its built-in lithium-ion battery allows for on-the-go labeling.
Best for Large Labels
DYMO LabelWriter 450 Direct Thermal Label Printer
A professional-grade label printer, this DYMO unit is ideal for printing larger-sized labels, which it’s able to chart out at a speed of 51 labels per minute.
This label printer does not require traditional ink. Instead, it uses direct thermal printing technology. Connect it to a computer via the included USB cable to quickly print labels directly from common software applications for word processing and email—all without the need for a screen or a keyboard on the printer itself.
Best Keyboard
Brother P-touch Label Maker
This label printer from Brother is larger than most, given its QWERTY-style keyboard that makes it easy to type out label content. The keyboard features large keys and an angled design to allow for more comfortable typing. It also offers a full-color and backlit screen to see exactly what will be printed.
The printer accepts a variety of tape sizes, ranging from 3.5 millimeters to 24 millimeters. It boasts 14 font sizes, 11 font styles, 99 frame styles, and over 600 symbols, and the internal storage can save up to 99 labels for repeated printing.
Users can also plug this printer into a computer via the included USB cable, and after downloading the Brother software, create and print both template and custom labels.
Best Portable
Phomemo M02 Pocket Printer
With no screen or keyboard, this unit is compact and ideal for on-the-go label printing. Simply connect the device via Bluetooth to the companion smartphone app to create and print labels with black-and-white, text, graphics, or even photos.
The printer utilizes thermal technology for printing (running out of ink won’t be an issue), and the unit is powered by a built-in battery that lasts up to a week on standby before needing to be recharged.
FAQs About Label Printers
There is a lot to consider while shopping for the best label printer, and after learning about all the key features to keep in mind, there are always more questions. Check out some of the most frequently asked questions and their corresponding answers below.
Q. How does a label printer work?
While there are many different types of label printers and they all function in different ways, a label printer essentially works like a standard printer. Although some use thermal technology instead of ink, a label printer is either a stand-alone unit or it connects to a computer or a smartphone to print whatever you text you type into the unit.
Q. What can I do with a label printer?
Label printers are ideal for organizing storage spaces within the home, such as pantries, desks, and shelving units in areas like the garage and the basement. Labeling items like containers, jars, and drawers can keep items organized and make it easier for everyone to quickly locate them.
Q. How do you laminate labels?
To laminate labels, you will need a laminator. Once you’ve printed the labels, run them through the laminator, cut them out, and use double-sided tape or an alternative adhesive to attach them to the item you are labeling.