Electrician’s label maker – suggestions?
akjim
| Posted in Tools for Home Building on
I am specialty contractor and apprentice electrician.
In the market for a good quality label maker for wire/cable (heat shrink style) and self-adhesive style labels for breaker panels, cover plates, disconnects, etc.
I realize this may require two separate label makers.
Any recommendations or suggestions on make or models?
Thanks.
Replies
This is the one I have at work. Covers everything I run into. I love the heat shrink labels. And it's pretty simple to operate. I have noticed smaller versions in Lowes. They might cover your needs.
http://global.dymo.com/enUS/Products/Rhino_5000_Hard_Case_Kit.html
"I wonder if Heaven got a Ghetto." Tupac
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChIdFwQwoYM&feature=related
I also have the Rhino 5000. It seems to do just about everything I need, although it might be nice to have a few more options in terms of fonts/styles like the homeowner versions do.The new Rhino version at Lowes will not do heat shrink and is limited to 3/4" and looks to have a lot less custom features.When I researched them, it seemed the Rhino did the most for the least $$. For me it ended up being a no-brainer as I picked one up from Ebay for about $65 and then when I recieved it - I found that it came with 8-9 rolls of label stock - virtually about $180 worth of label stuff.For the $100 or so they run new, it's a good value and Amazon sells the label material.JT
I got no complaints at all. Good system there.
"I wonder if Heaven got a Ghetto." Tupac
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChIdFwQwoYM&feature=related
Thanks for responding.The Rhino 5000 does BOTH heat shrink and flat self-adhesive labels? Is this correct?Are you familiar with the Rhino 3000? After a quick look it appears very similar.Are the "hard cases" any good? Are they worth buying?
The Rhino 5000 does several different types of labels including heat shrink and flat self adhesive. I don't know about the 3000. Yea the hard case is worth it. It's a good way to keep all your label cartridges together and organized.
"I wonder if Heaven got a Ghetto." Tupac
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChIdFwQwoYM&feature=related
OK, just about sold on the Rhino 5000 with hard case.How difficult is it to change labels?How long does an ink cartridge last? Found it online for $149.99 at Staples. Which is $50 less than anyone else. Am I missing something? Same SKU number, appears exactly the same.Thanks,
Jim
Cartridges change out in seconds with no waste - there's a switch to tell the printer which size you are using.They are not ink cartridges - there is no ink - it's a thermal deal. The cartridges are simply the label stock, which comes in different lengths.They range from 16' long to 23' long as I remember.Look around, seems like I've seen it cheaper and aside from the power adapter which seems to be a weird proprietary arrangement, not sure how much value I'd say the case has, as there's any number of cases out there that could serve as the system case. Of course, I've never seen the case in person, so maybe it's the greatest thing since sliced toast.The 5000 has a rubber sleeve it fits into to protect it from drops and shocks - you take that off to change batts or labels - easy to do.I've found that with batts - it lasts a good long time. Don't own the power adapt.'JT
Ditto what Julian said. Except I like the power adapter. And the case is definitley worth the money. If you have an instrument like that and want to keep it organized and in good repair then you need a case.
I believe $145.00 is what they paid for mine a year or so ago. I haven't priced them since but at the time that was the average price.
"I wonder if Heaven got a Ghetto." Tupac
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChIdFwQwoYM&feature=related
Thermo print sounds interesting, and I get the "no ink" concept.Seems like it really comes down to the cartridges. I suspect the cartridges are proprietary, ie. each manufacturer is the sole source for label cartridges.Or are there generic labels available?Staples was listed as a dealer. Would they necessarily carry all the different label cartridges? Jim
No chance you'll even find them in Staples IMO, and if you did, it'd be the very basic sizes. They are definitely proprietary, so them's the ones you got to buy.Any full stocking online dealer will have any you need, I was able to find a few on Amazon for a decent price.Do a search for Rhino5000 and they have a Rhino-specific pdf showing a complete lineup of the lables available and the colors and part numbers.There seems to be a bit of confusion trying to get info online as there's the Rhino specif site which doesn't mention Dymo - and that site doesn't have the manual for download, and than there's the Dymo site where you can download the manual.When I called up Dymo and asked how come I couldn't download the manual from the Rhino site, it was like they didn't even know about the Rhino-specific site and they said, what's the prob - it's at out website (Dymo.com).JT
What would you suggest for a beginning selection of label cartridges?Seems like you could go broke buying one of each.My main uses: breaker panels (heat shrink and flat) - what sizes? "structured media" panels (Cat5e, coaxe, etc) - again what size labels? flat labels for disconnects - probably 3/4" wide flat I figure flat labels for cover plates - 1/2" wide?And color - do you recommend both white and yellow? Are there any other colors available?White seems to be the logical choice for both heat shrink and flat? Yes?Getting good information. Really helping me make good decisions. Thanks everyone!
One cool thing it does is you can specify a certain length and it will output to that length no matter how short the text is. great for panel boxes where you want uniformity regardless of the amount of letters.I'd say get the 3/8, 1/2, 3/4 white and maybe the 3/4 yellow for warnings or special stuff...Like I said, mine came with a bunch, but I still picked up a couple each of 1/2 and 3/8.JT
If you are doing labels for coverplates and appearance counts then I would get some of the clear also.
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Might want to keep your eye on this one on ebay:
http://tinyurl.com/2yuajd
(sorry about the long line, dont know how to edit them down).
Live by the sword, die by the sword....choose your sword wisely.
Edited 2/4/2008 7:29 pm ET by m2akita
Do a search for tinyURL.That will tell you how to do a short link.
Thanks, and everyone else probably thanks you also!!!
Live by the sword, die by the sword....choose your sword wisely.
I'd go with whatever your main supply house carries .... be it Dymo, Panduit, or Brady. Getting replacement tapes is the issue - you want a reliable source.
Personally, I'm a cheap-skate. I use a 'home owner' level Brother. It only makes labels (no heat shrink), the adhesive isn't very good, and there's a lot of hand trimming. Yet, it works for me. Most of the time.