Brother P-Touch PT-18R Review

This is a ReviewMe sponsored review, however, the thoughts and opinions are our own.

We got the Brother P-Touch PT-18R sent over to Gear Live HQ for review, and we have been playing with it for about a week. We have just put up a PT-18R unboxing gallery where you can check out everything in the package. While label makers are generally not the most exciting gadgets in the world, they certainly do come in handy when it comes to tasks like organization - something we know little about. Still, we were able to set up and test the PT-18R labeler, and we give you our thoughts, after the break.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

Upon removing everything from the box, we were very impressed with how comfortable the labeler fit into our hands. I mean, this isn’t something you would want to be typing on at length, but when printing labels, it’s very easy - certainly easier to type on than even some QWERTY cell phones we have used in the past.

We also like that the battery is rechargeable, and that the unit comes with a handy charging cradle.

USING THE BROTHER P-TOUCH PT-18R

So, we made a few labels with the P-Touch PT-18R, and it worked pretty much as expected. The screen shows up to 15 characters at a time, and you can move back and forth if your message is longer than that. We would have appreciated a multi-line screen though, as scrolling back and forth can get old fairly quickly.

The other thing we noticed is the amount of white space left on either side of a printed label - in total, it’s about two inches of wasted label paper by default. This can easily have been done with half the white space, which would mean a longer-lasting print cartridge.

Still, the printing in and of itself was fine. It prints quickly, and even cuts the label for you when done. You can even play with the font sizes and types.

One things we didn’t like was the software. It took us a few minutes to figure out what the heck was going on in there. Once you get it down, it’s fine, but for the target audience for a product like this, we think a simplified interface would be a lot better. Also, if you are on a Mac, you are out of luck unless you install Windows in VMWare or Parallels, as there is no Mac software for the product it seems.

To be fair, the software isn’t a requirement at all. We printed a bunch of labels just using the PT-18R itself.

FINAL VERDICT

The Brother P-Touch PT-18R Labeler is a more advanced label maker than those we have used in the past, and that’s a good thing. The rechargeable battery is a fantastic touch, as is the dock cradle to keep things looking neat and tidy - all in synergy with owning a label maker we suppose. While there are a couple of things we personally think it could do better for the average user, those complaints are mainly for the advanced features that we venture to guess most people won’t be using anyway. If you are in the market for a label maker with options, you can find the Brother P-Touch PT-18R for about $135 or so.