Epson LabelWorks LW-PX800 Review - PCMag

The Epson LabelWorks LW-PX800 delivers coagulated show and akin capableness to the Epson LabelWorks LW-PX900, our Editors' Choice prime for heavy-duty standalone statement printing astatine up to 36 millimeters (mm), oregon 1.42 inches, wide. But wherever the LW-PX900 is simply a handheld exemplary meant chiefly for usage connected the job, the $379 LW-PX800 is simply a desktop exemplary meant for the office. It lacks the LW-PX900's screen, keyboard, battery, and handle, but adds the quality to stock the printer implicit a web and link to mobile devices. And portion it whitethorn not be—and doesn't request to be—as rugged arsenic its carry-around cousin, it's besides covered by a beingness warranty. The combined differences and similarities are capable to gain it its ain Editors' Choice designation, successful this lawsuit for a networkable desktop printer for concern labels up to 36mm wide.

The Design: Black-Box Label Printing

Measuring 5.5 by 4.8 by 6 inches (HWD), the LW-PX800 is simply a astir cubical achromatic container with rounded edges and 2 splashes of colour connected the front. Lime greenish marks the output slot. A reddish conception connected a tiny ledge indicates the slot for inserting an already printed statement to circular disconnected the corners (more connected that later). Across the apical beforehand are 4 buttons: for power, for advancing the tape, for switching betwixt Wi-Fi settings (Infrastructure mode, Access Point mode, and disabled), and for opening the apical screen to insert oregon region a portion cartridge.

Physical setup is simple. Put the 2.4-pound printer connected your desk, plug successful the powerfulness cord, unfastened the apical to insert a tape, drawback it shut, and link to a azygous PC oregon to your network. In summation to Wi-Fi, transportation options see USB and Ethernet ports connected the backmost of the printer.

(Credit: Epson)

Software installation isn't overmuch harder. The installation manual (actually a one-sheet foldout that's much of a speedy commencement guide) talks astir a CD that doesn't really travel with the printer. However, there's besides an insert leafage with the nexus for downloading Epson's Label programs, drivers, and web utility.

As with Epson's different desktop statement printers, including the LW-PX400, for example, the LW-PX800 offers much than 1 mode to people from some PCs and mobile devices. For Windows, the astir caller mentation of Epson Label Editor, mentation 2.10 astatine this writing, is the recommended choice, and what I utilized for astir of my testing. However, you tin besides download the older Label Editor Professional, if you're already acquainted with it and don't privation to larn a caller program. For macOS, there's Label Editor Lite. And each 3 of those programs travel with a modular operator arsenic well, truthful you tin people from virtually immoderate different app via a people command.

(Credit: Epson)

For phones and tablets, you tin download Label Editor Mobile, Epson iLabel, and Epson Datacom apps. All travel successful some Android and iOS versions and are suitable for basal substance labels. Beyond that, iLabel and Label Editor Mobile are meant for printing logos, information labels, and barroom codes, and they some connection a built-in diagnostic for connecting to Dropbox and Google Drive to fto you stock and store statement files. Between them, however, Epson recommends the newer Label Editor Mobile arsenic being the much susceptible programme and easier to use. The Datacom app focuses connected labels for cables, spot panels, faceplates, and the like. It adjacent includes a nexus to LinkWare Live, which volition beryllium of involvement to nonrecreational installers who usage Fluke Networks Versiv cablegram investigating equipment.

Take Your Pick: Tapes of All Types

At this writing, Epson offers much than 200 choices successful portion cartridges for the LW-PX800 successful an assortment of sizes, colors, and types. About 140 of them autumn into Epson's concern tapes category. The remainder are location and hobby supplies, which were precocious introduced for Epson's caller enactment of location statement printers, but are compatible with the LW-PX800, too.

Roughly half of the concern supplies are 30-foot, modular integrative (polyester) tapes successful assorted combinations of people and inheritance colour and successful widths of 4mm to 36mm (0.16 inch to 1.42 inches). Prices per cartridge astatine this penning are $22.10 for 12mm (0.5 inch) and smaller widths, $26.34 for 18mm and 24mm (0.71 and 0.94 inch) widths, and $36.57 for the 36mm width. All are continuous rolls, which means the terms per statement volition alteration with the statement size you print.

(Credit: Epson)

The remainder of the concern cartridges connection specialty tapes, including metallic matte tapes; tapes with beardown adhesive; vinyl tapes; magnetic tapes; heat-shrink conduit tapes for cables; fluorescent tape; extra-tough nylon tape; portion with removable adhesive; and self-laminating overwrap tapes for cables, with a clear, unprintable country of the portion to overlap the printed text. The length, pricing, ranges of widths, and fig of choices alteration from 1 specialty class to the next.

The 60-plus location and hobby supplies autumn into six categories. The lone 1 that's uniquely for location and hobby usage is simply a printable ribbon. Three of them—designer matte, pearlized, and brushed colors—are variations connected Epson's modular integrative tapes. The fluorescent tapes are the aforesaid arsenic for the concern tapes that person the aforesaid name, but successful shorter lengths astatine little prices. The metallic with golden imprint tapes are the aforesaid arsenic a azygous colour saltation of the metallic matte concern tapes. Details similar disposable lengths and pricing alteration by category. In general, however, the location and hobby cartridges thin to beryllium some little costly and shorter than the concern tapes.

Testing the LabelWorks LW-PX800, Using Epson's Label Editor

As I've pointed retired successful different Epson label-printer reviews, the Windows-based mentation of the Label Editor is casual to get started with and casual to use. It's besides packed with each the features you apt need, from conveniences similar automatically mounting itself to lucifer the width of the portion successful the printer, to generating barroom codes, to printing a acceptable of labels with adaptable information stored successful a spreadsheet.

By default, the programme is acceptable to chopped the portion astatine the extremity of each people occupation and bash a fractional chopped betwixt labels, which cuts the statement portion leaving the backing untouched. If you prefer, you tin acceptable it to chopped lone aft the past statement successful a people job, which speeds up printing, oregon for afloat cuts aft each label. However either of those choices volition upwind up costing you other clip overall. Cutting done the backing aft each statement makes it harder to find the statement you request successful a batch erstwhile you're pasting them on, and if you skip the cuts betwixt labels, it volition instrumentality much clip than you saved to chopped them manually later.

(Credit: Epson)

One noteworthy diagnostic is the quality to circular the corners connected labels, arsenic mentioned earlier. Epson calls it PeelGuard due to the fact that rounding the corners helps minimize the chances of thing catching connected a statement country accidentally and partially peeling the statement off. A peculiarly bully interaction is that you tin usage it successful operation with fractional cutting, folding the portion astatine each fractional cut, inserting it into the PeelGuard slot, and rounding the corners without cutting done the backing. The drawback is that due to the fact that you person to insert each statement manually, the rounding takes other time. However, the printer does a large occupation turning the right-angle corners into smoothly rounded arcs, portion besides leaving the labels successful spot connected the backing.

Epson rates the LW-PX800 astatine 35mm per second, oregon 1.38 inches per 2nd (ips), the aforesaid arsenic for the LW-PX900 and much than doubly the standing of the LW-PX400, astatine 15mm (0.59 inch) per second. Of each the statement printers we've tested, lone the overmuch much costly Epson LabelWorks LW-Z5010PX has a faster rating, astatine 50mm (1.97 inches) per second.

(Credit: Epson)

In my tests utilizing Epson Label Editor, the LW-PX800 turned successful fundamentally the aforesaid clip whether printing implicit a web oregon USB connection. In some cases, it printed 10 copies of a 4-inch statement with the substance "PCMag Label Printer Test" astatine a measured 1.2ips. (Automatic cutting betwixt labels was turned disconnected to springiness the fastest speed, and the clip does not see the last chopped astatine the end.) When I acceptable it for fractional cuts betwixt labels, the velocity dropped to 0.9ips. For comparison, the LW-PX900 was tied with automatic cutting turned off, portion the LW-Z5010PX came successful astatine a somewhat slower 1.0ips, and the LW-PX400 managed lone 0.4ips.

Note besides that the 360dpi resolution, which the LW-PX800 shares with the LW-PX900, is treble (or more) the solution for galore statement printers, and adjacent a spot much than the LW-Z5010PX's 300dpi. For astir labels, the precocious solution won't matter, but if you usage substance successful the scope of 5 points oregon intricate graphics, you'll spot a difference.

Verdict: A Top Choice for Heavy-Duty Label Printing astatine Your Desk

Each of the printers mentioned present is simply a apical prime for the close application. All travel with a beingness guarantee, each tin link to a Windows PC to people utilizing Epson Label Editor, and 3 person earned our Editors' Choice designation for their categories. The LW-PX400 is the slightest costly successful the group, and our apical prime for a moderate-duty statement printer for labels up to 24mm (0.94 inch) wide. The LW-Z5010PX is the astir costly and offers a wealthiness of features for utmost heavy-duty desktop printing, including the quality to people connected labels up to 50mm (1.97 inches) wide. It besides supports bulk rolls that are truthful large they person to beryllium down the printer, with acold longer tapes than you'd get successful modular cartridges (and frankincense a little outgo per inch).

If your label-printing needs aren't robust capable to see the LW-Z5010PX, but are much than the LW-PX400 offers, the LW-PX800 and LW-PX900 beryllium betwixt the two, successful what is apt your Goldilocks zone. Both stock galore of the aforesaid features, including the quality to people connected the aforesaid maximum portion width. However, the LW-PX900, our Editors' Choice prime for heavy-duty standalone statement printing, is the lone handheld printer successful this group. The LW-PX800, successful contrast, is designed to beryllium connected a table and tin link to a web arsenic a shared printer. That's capable of a quality for it to gain its ain Editors' Choice designation for heavy-duty statement printing connected the desktop.