- Prints a 4" x 6" labels, plus dozens of existing DYMO LabelWriter label styles and sizes for a variety of office and commercial uses
- Prints up to 53 labels per minute* or 3.2"/second (*4 line address label)
- Prints in high resolution - 300 dpi, ideal for text, graphics and barcodes.
- Thermal printing needs no ink or toner.
I bought this printer hoping to use it on Ebay Paypal to print shipping labels. Well it works perfectly as a label printer on Paypal/Ebay. It has saved me a ton of time and worth the money I spent since I ship frequently.
For example in paypal if I have to ship ten orders using the multi shipping tool I print all ten labels at once. You have the option of printing a packing sheet to a regular printer that tells you what is to be packed in each order for the labels just printed. You need to know the weight for each shipment before printing the labels though.
Its appears that the Dymo printer is compatible with Zebra printers. Use the multi shipping tool in Paypal and set your printer to a Zebra 4X6 printer. If you are not using multi shipment in Paypal be sure to set your printer type to thermal and pick one of the Zebra 4X6 printers.
Other reviewers said the printer jams frequently. I have no such problem. What I think may have happened to that reviewer was they did not discard the first labels. Before you install a new roll for the first time you have to remove a small piece of tape from the roll. Unfortunately that tape leaves a sticky residue on one of the exposed labels. If you use that label it will put that same sticky residue in the printer causing labels to stick and jam. Dont take the chance and just get rid of the first 2 or three labels on the roll.
One reviewer said the labels fade with time. Well its a "thermal" printer and almost every device that prints on thermal paper the "ink" fades. Its actually heat the "colors" the paper and that type of paper fades over time. That is a fact of thermal technology not a problem with the printer.
Extra credit: Take those labels you discard from the new roll and put them in direct sunlight for a few days.
Buy DYMO LabelWriter 4XL, 4" x 6" Label Printer Now
Well, I had this for a few weeks, so I can''t speak for some of the complaints, but I do use this in combination with Endicia to ship packages off and it works very well. Before this, I had multiple Zebra 2844.
For those who ship a lot, the Zebra 2844 (EPL) is the standard with most 4x6 labels made for it. It retails for $100-200 more than this machine, but is available ubiquitously used on ebay in the sub-$100 range. Once you get them up and running, they often print without fail.
However, the 2844''s are a complete pain in the behind to set-up. We''re talking playing with settings and inconsistent software from the manufacturer itself. Sometimes I d/l 3-4 software packages before the 2844 even responded at all, let alone correctly. All this wouldn''t be so bad except on my Windows Desktop, if I so much as unplugged the usb cord to the computer for whatever reason (say I was moving it), and replugged it 5 minutes later in the very same USB slot, the computer wouldn''t remember the printer at all, and the nightmarish set-up process would begin anew. Not acceptable. Maybe this was because the 2844 accepted parallel and serial port input as well, and USB was an afterthought in the design? Whatever the reason, it''s very plug-and-play unfriendly. Also, when the computer went to sleep, the unit needed to be restarted or it would fail to respond. The third defect was that everytime I printed out a shipping label, between 1 and 7 blank labels followed. This wasn''t always the case, but it was when I had to reinstall the driver and I could never figure it out. I experienced these defects on both a 2004 and 2007 manufactured 2844, so I would say these aren''t random issues.
A while back, I got a notebook that replaced my desktop, I would move around, so plugging and unplugging the USB cords became a fact of life, so enter the 4XL. I always liked dymo''s smaller models, they just worked, and this one was no different. You first install the very friendly software (whether d/led or from CD) and then any of their printers and the computer recognizes it without hesitation. I can plug my older Labelwriter 400 or my new 4XL or both and there will be no problems, whether the dymo label software is actively running or not (I use endicia instead). It prints without problem. I never had it jam. Can''t say much more about it.
As to any jamming, I would recommend when installing any new rolls of labels that are sealed at the end with adhesive tape, thow away the labels the tape was on so any adhesive residue never enters the mechanism. That may be a source of the problem people are experiencing.
As for fading, this is a thermal printer and inherent to all thermal printers. Think of receipts as well that fade, as many are of the same technology. However, a nice dark print comes out of this that will last longer than those cheap receipts, so I have no fear shipping items, however long, long term labels for household items may require a second thought. They are affected by direct sunlight the most. Look up thermal printers in wikipedia for more info.
If I had a complaint, it''s the cost of the rolls. Dymo is ridiculously expensive, wanting nearly $0.16 a label. Although 4x6 labels are an industry standard with many makers, the dymo labels are slightly different with a oblong hole between each label, perhaps telling the printer where to stop. I''m not sure. I still have the zebra labels, but I haven''t had a chance to see if they worked in this machine. Dymo warns you not to use any 3rd party labels, but that''s because of profit motive.
However, I see 3rd party compatible labels for this machine at a well known site called labelvalue. An excellent site, I got my zebra labels there for $0.051 (5.1 cents) a label. The dymo compatible labels are much cheaper than the "real thing" at $0.086 (8.6 cents) a label. For a small time operation, not a big difference. Figuring that I was throwing away 1-7 labels on the zebra per print, I still come out ahead.
I just have a small business and ship a dozen items a day. The dymo serves me well. If you ship day and night, and have a desktop dedicated to shipping (where the cords will absolutely never be touched), a zebra may be better, sturdier and cheaper in the long haul.
Read Best Reviews of DYMO LabelWriter 4XL, 4" x 6" Label Printer Here
I currently own a Zebra LP 2844 thermal printer to print all my 4x6 shipping labels. Then I bought this Dymo 4XL because it was about $200 cheaper than a brand new zebra and I need to print lots of labels.
After using both units for a couple of days I would say that this Dymo printer is slightly BETTER than Zebra in terms of SPEED and ease of use. Both units seem to be very well built. I have used the zebra for over 4 years without a glitch, time will tell if the dymos are equally welll built.
The single biggest problem with this dymo printer is that it REQUIRES labels with index holes. There is a photo-sensor located on the bottom left of the printer head. Labels without index holes will cause a printing error saying "the printer is out of paper". The zebras can use labels with or without index holes.
For those who buy cheap third-party labels make sure they are index holed or your printer wont recognize it.
I took out one-star because of this issue. Other than this, the dymo prints great!
Want DYMO LabelWriter 4XL, 4" x 6" Label Printer Discount?
Unless you are willing to pay $15+ per month to print USPS, UPS, FEDEX or other major labels, which I''m pretty sure is the only reason you would want this printer, this is USELESS. I''ve wasted the entire roll of included labels plus countless HOURS of my time trying to get this to work with any of the big 3 shipping places. NONE OF THEM WORK. PERIOD. Look it up yourself. I work in IT for a living and could not even trick it into working with ANY OF THEM. I HATE IT SO BADLY I MIGHT PULL AN "OFFICE SPACE" fax scene on this PIECE.
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I just bought the Dymo 4XL to print on eBay using my MacBook Pro (running 10.7.x), and I had a miserable time of it trying to figure out how to get this thing to print my shipping labels through eBay. I was able to set up the printer easily enough according to the directions in the little pamphlet that comes in the box, but whenever I printed through eBay the labels would not format properly. (I had the same problem as another reviewer here--the labels came out incomplete, looking like they were formatted for 8.5 x 11.)
Then I found a very helpful guide on the ShipStation website (''How Do I Setup My Dymo LabelWriter 4XL Thermal Printer on My Mac?''). This helpful, step-by-step guide shows you how to customize the printer itself for your 4 x 6 labels by tinkering with your CUPS. (By the way, I named my customized setting something other than ''4 x 6'', for which I already had a setting.) Apparently, eBay might be changing their printing process. If you''re printing from a PDF of your shipping label, these settings should work. If, after following the ShipStation guide, your shipping label doesn''t quite print correctly (if the top border gets cut off, for example), then you might need to customize your settings. If so, try these: Set the width to 4.25" and height to 6.45", with 0" margins all around. This should allow you to fill the label completely. (This might make more sense once you look over the ShipStation guide.)
Once you configure your 4XL, you should be able to print through eBay. As you''re purchasing your USPS postage, go toward the top of the page to configure your printer settings on eBay. You *will not* see the Dymo 4XL on the drop-down menu; choose the compatible Zebra LP2844 on this menu instead. Once you''ve purchased your postage, make sure that your ''Target Printer'' on the next (print) screen is the Dymo 4XL. Voila! This should do the trick. It did for me, at least (and I didn''t have to pay for Endicia, either).
One other thing: I''ve been having problems with my Java plug-in trying to do this through the Safari browser, so I''ve used Firefox instead, and it works well (though Firefox is a little slower).
Finally, I''m just a schoolteacher who makes a little extra lunch money by selling on eBay every so often. I am not connected with any of these companies in any way. I''m also a numbskull when it comes to peripherals, and I noticed that this Dymo/Mac/eBay thing has been a problem for others, so I just wanted to share this info. Yes, you Mac users can make this work for you, too.
In terms of the 4XL, this is my first label printer and, now that I''ve got it working for me, I''m happy with it. (I took off a star for the time spent working out the kinks.)
PS! I just remembered: The installation disc included in the box was worthless for me, so I had to download the driver package from the Dymo website directly, after wasting time installing and uninstalling a couple of times. Save yourself the trouble and forget about the disc altogether. Another needless step (and probably worth another star, actually).
