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Brother P-Touch PT-18R Rechargeable Labeling System | 
 enlarge | Brand: Brother
Category: Office Product
List Price: $125.99
Buy New: $74.99
You Save: $51.00 (40%)
New (52) Used (1) from $74.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 599
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
Modem: None
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 9.3 x 3.5
MPN: PT18R
Model: PT-18R
UPC: 012502610144
EAN: 0012502610144
ASIN: B0002SCGHA
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New - In original, factory-sealed box
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| Features:
| • | Rechargeable desktop labeler with handheld convenience | | • | Remove from cradle for on-site labeling | | • | Connects to PC for special labeling products | | • | Graphical, 15-character by 2-line LCD display | | • | Easy one-key access for templates and symbols |
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| Accessories:
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Brother is committed to providing exceptional value for customers by utilizing its accumulated technology and know-how to satisfy their needs. The company supplies unique products, for personal use in office and home that incorporate the pleasure of creation with practical functionality.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
Great features & size - some concerns August 8, 2008
I'm a long time user of the P-Touch system. My first was the PT310, which worked great. But with 6 AA batteries, as most of the other units have, it was a bit heavy. This unit is lighter, but not by much. The battery weighs a bit, but they didn't cheap out and use NiCad, they made it a mercury-free Ni-MH. That's much much much better, both from an environmental perspective and usability (no memory effects, partial charges ok, and much longer life cycle) - thanks Brother!
The unit has an excellent feel in the hands and great QWERTY layout and other button layout - you couldn't improve on that very much. As far as features, pretty excellent, and certainly more than i'll ever need - if you include the PC-based part. So my concerns are somewhat minor - this unit is great - but here goes:
1) Brother absolutely should have designed the charger to work on the USB port. You cant charge as quickly, but that gives you a far better place to park the unit, and at least gives you the option to be un-tethered from yet another AC outlet.
2) when you print each label, even with the feed options minimized, there is about an ince of lost tape with each label. I can be less in the chain setting, so there is a workaround. I thijnk that they've found a way to minimize it in this unit,but they could do better. Overall, it is still better handled than my earlier unit.
3) Brother really should improve the resolution of both the print and the screen. That would not be hard, and an otherwise excellent product could be even better.
4) the number of symbols inherent in the unit is far less than my earlier model. Yes, you can import images from your pc, but most folks are like me - we will generally just use whats in the unit. Please add more images Brother! My last unit had a movie icon, great for labeling DVD's at a rental and now i can no longer match my older labels since they dropped that and a number of fairly obvious user friendly labels.
5) Great to have 4 fonts in the unit - six would've been better - esp on a $120 unit like this.
6) Brother should have done a better design job with the charging base. It certainly should be more compact - taller if needed, but the flared edges just take up too much space - my desk/office space is precious - and they could still make a good looking base (which could charge from either PC/USB or AC) which has a smaller footprint.
7) Small issue - the blue font special characters above the keyboard are hard to see and too small - so for example, its hard to find the comma "," in low light situations. Those characters should be darker/more prominent.
Otherwise, i'm very happy with this unit. Hope to have it for years to come.
No other labeler is better June 9, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I had a dymo for a couple years but I will never go back. this stand alone labeler is the only one I will ever use.
Good Labeler, Dated Technology April 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is my first labeler.
I kept seeing them in places like Home Depot and Staples, but I know retailers want to sell me what's most profitable for them rather than what I need.
So I went to the Brother website where they have an interview process telling you what to buy based on your anticipated usage. The PT-18R came up on top.
I was excited about this because I'm all for recharging rather than using and replacing batteries. I liked the option to plug in to an socket for straight electricity too. The length of the power cord is long enough so I don't feel restricted. I use a Mac, so the interface with a PC was meaningless to me and I won't ever use it.
When I first opened the box and followed the setup instructions, I noticed the battery is not Lithium-ion(Lion) but Nickel Metal Hydride(NiMH). Lion is state of the art and is unhampered by battery memory problems, so you can run it down and recharge at will. NiMH is last generation battery technology and while robust in terms of holding a charge, a NiMH battery will wear out sooner and may or may not have memory problems. Lion is more expensive than NiMH.
The book says to be prepared to replace the NiMH battery when it won't hold a charge anymore, or about a year. It also says the battery will lose it's charge if the labeler doesn't live in the recharger. So I'm prepared to buy a new battery from time to time, but nowhere on the Brother website is a referral to a retail outlet where a replacement battery may be purchased. And when I Googled PT-18R Battery, nothing came up . My hope is the battery is generic and someplace like Radio Shack will help me later on, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Wish me luck.
The interface works, but is clunky. Remember when the OS on a PC was MS-DOS? That's what this is like. After I got the hang of the file hierarchy with the operating manual at close hand, things became intuitive and I was able to edit and print labels in a smooth work flow.
I'm impressed with the variety of formats this labeler will render and I admit I'll never use them all. The PT-18R will do everything you want at home, and most everything around a business on up to barcodes, etc. I read in a previous review here someone was critical of the amount of tape used per label. This is easily adjusted in the setup menu before a specific labeling task. The operating manuel is complete, easy to understand, and covers everything about getting the most out of the machine. Use it.
The print quality is superb. The adhesive available on the tapes you can buy come in regular and extra strength, or two times the regular. I find if you're going to label anything other than file folders or paper based surfaces indoors, get the extra strength. Be prepared to get a head cleaning tape, especially if you use the extra strength tape a lot. The selection of tapes is the greatest in the 1/2 in. variety, so I recommend you start there and branch out into the other widths as the need arises.
TIP: It comes with a sample cartridge. Use it to experiment with what you're going to label before you go to the real tape you're going to use for the final application...cuts down on waste.
Also, DO NOT BUY TAPES IN A RETAIL STORE. Buy them either here at Amazon or online at any of the several P-Touch label vendors for half of what you'd pay at, say, Staples. Tapes are expensive and that's how Brother makes their money, not on the cost of the labeler itself.
At what I paid here at Amazon with free shipping, I got the street price going rate. So far I'd say PT-18R is worth the extra money over the cheaper models because it does exactly what I want it to do in the manner in which I want to do it. This represents value to me, but might not to you. Your call.
The PT-18R is an interesting mix of serious capability, especially to those of you who want to interface with a PC, and dated technology. There's no doubt it will be discontinued within two years (go to the Brother website and look at the long list of discontinued models) and replaced by units using Lion power. But I don't care. By then I will have labeled everything in sight. Get one.
Labeling System March 8, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have not used all the options available on this label maker - but have created several basic labels. Charged up quickly. Absolutely love it so far. Good purchase.
 PC Software only, but overall good product February 20, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Basically this is a good label maker, solid, and the rechargeale battery is a major plus; the software is for PC only, no Mac support, otherwise I'd give the product 5 starts. People complain about the labels getting used up quickly, and I somewhat agree, but it's how most of the printer companies make their money, so what's the surprise?
(also, given how much some users are complaining about running out of ribbon, you'd almost think they're hitting the spped a little too hard and in a fit of organization and labeling, running out of supplies before they run out of energy...)
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