Brother QL-820NWB - Review 2022

Recently, Brother announced the QL-800-series as new additions to its stable of professional label printers, which includes the flagship model, the QL-820NWB ($199.99), reviewed here. The QL-820NWB is similar in many ways to its QL-720NW predecessor in that it's networkable and it comes with highly capable software. It'southward besides well-integrated with mobile devices, and it comes with a robust gear up of features and options, such as a wide array of printable media, the ability to impress two-color labels, and an improver rechargeable battery. Flexibility, a rich feature set up, broad-ranging PC and mobile device integration, and a broad selection of characterization media elevates the QL-820NWB to our new pinnacle pick for a networkable professional person label printer.

A Small, Sleek, and Slick Labeler

At 5.7 inches high by 5 inches across past 9.2 inches long and weighing 2.6 pounds, the QL-820NWB is small and light. Information technology's slightly taller and longer (only a flake more than than a pound lighter), than the Leitz Icon Smart Labeling Arrangement (a similarly priced networkable label printer), but not enough to make a lot of difference. Both the QL-820NWB and Leitz Icon support Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct connectivity, allowing yous to pattern and print labels from PCs over your network, likewise as from smartphones and tablets, but the Blood brother model can also connect via Ethernet and Bluetooth.

The QL-820NWB supports dice-cut and continuous label media up to 2.4 inches wide (with a two.3-inch printing area), and it tin impress banners up to 3 feet long. A congenital-in cutter at the end of the paper path cuts continuous paper labels, apace and efficiently. You can print your labels at one of ix resolutions ranging from 100 to 600 dots per inch (dpi), though on most labels, peculiarly those containing just text, I saw little quality difference to a higher place 300dpi, but the printer did irksome down some with each resolution increase. Higher resolutions did produce improve-looking graphics and photos, though.

The QL-820NWB can, with the right paper installed, print in all black, black and scarlet, or all crimson. (Unfortunately, currently Brother offers simply i 2.4-inch continuous label blazon.) In improver to designing and printing labels while tethered to a computing device and an Ac ability source, an optional $115.49 1750mAh 26Wh battery (that, according to Brother, prints more than 2,000 labels on a full charge) lets you deploy the QL-820NWB as a standalone portable label maker. (This differentiates information technology from its sibling, the Brother QL-810W, which needs to be connected to a computing device to print.) Templates designed in P-touch Editor (one of the arranged programs, discussed in the next department) can be downloaded and stored in the printer'south memory, then accessed, edited, and printed—all without a PC or mobile device.

You can set up labels from templates stored on the printer from the QL-820NWB's seven-button (power, Cutting, Card, Back, Up, Downward, and OK, or print) command panel, which is anchored by a graphical monochrome LCD. In add-on to helping you ready and impress labels, the display shows the current label type and dimensions, too as the time and appointment. Given the minor screen and minimal number of buttons, though, setting up all but the simplest labels is better handled from your computer or mobile device, with Brother's versatile and powerful software.

Piece of cake Install, Powerful Software

The simply assembly required to go the QL-820NWB upward and running is loading one of the two starter label cartridges (either "Continuous Length Black/Red on White Newspaper Tape" or "Die-cut Standard Address Labels, 100 count") in to the machine and threading the paper into the output slot. When you lot turn on the printer, it automatically recognizes the paper size and type, and displays information technology on the control panel. To connect the printer via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, yous must offset connect it to a PC with the included USB cablevision, and then become to Brother's installation site (install.brother) to download and install the drivers and software—there is no disc in the box.

The online install.brother utility constitute the QL-820NWB over the USB connection and downloaded and installed the appropriate software without a hitch, allowing me to choose my network connectivity method forth the mode. In addition to the drivers, the software included both Windows and Mac versions of P-impact Editor 5.1 and P-touch Update Software, as well as P-bear upon Accost Book one.2 for Windows.

P-affect Address Book is a database program for storing mailing list data to create mailing labels. P-bear upon Editor, a versatile, full-featured label layout program, is the primary label design and print software. It allows you to add text, borders, backgrounds, clipart, barcodes, symbols, contacts from your database, appointment and time stamps, and fifty-fifty logos, graphics, and photos, to your labels. Depending on how artistic you lot are, y'all can blueprint some rather elaborate labels—or as elaborate as you lot can get with one- or 2-colour consumables.

A Microsoft Function add-in links P-touch Editor to Excel or .csv files for merging data onto labels, allowing you to print many mailing labels quickly, and another MS Office add together-on lets you highlight, click, and print from within Excel, Outlook, or Discussion. And if all this is not enough integration, Brother offers software development kits for Windows, iOS, and Android that allow you (or your It staff) to create your own integrated and/or automatic label-printing applications.

Brother likewise provides its iPrint&Label mobile app that connects to the QL-820NWB via Wi-Fi Direct or Bluetooth. While information technology'south nowhere near as robust as P-touch Editor, iPrint&Label provides impressive options for designing and laying out labels from your smartphone or tablet. Once I got the hang of it, I designed several labels, such as a red FRAGILE banner, labels containing serial numbers and barcodes, and and then on, in simply a few minutes each. iPrint&Label is especially handy when running on the optional battery.

Print Speed and Label Quality

How fast the QL-820NWB prints, of grade, depends on what you're printing. Brother says that information technology volition print upwardly to 110 (i-color, text only "standard address labels" at 300dpi) labels per minute (lpm). Simply then that doesn't include cutting. When printing three-line die-cut address labels without cutting, I timed the QL-820NWB at 102.2lpm, and virtually 20lpm when I let the printer practise the cut. (Note that when I didn't count the lag time (the time it took the computer to procedure and initiate the impress job, the QL-820NWB churned at 112.2lpm.)

At 116lpm, the Leitz Icon performed slightly amend, and some other direct competitor, the Dymo LabelWriter 450 Turbo, managed 68.5lpm. The QL-720NW mentioned before was tested with a different methodology; comparison its results hither wouldn't be practical. Again, these times are for only 3-line address labels printed from Blood brother'southward P-touch Address software from our Cadre i5 testbed PC running Windows 10 Professional person. Every other blazon of label you lot print in different types of scenarios volition, of course, take different amounts of time. For instance, I printed a 2.four-by-9-inch, black and red (red lettering with a black border) FRAGILE banner from an Android smartphone in virtually 6 seconds.

As label maker output goes, the QL-820WNB's print quality is good. Small type (8 to 12 points) comes out reasonably crisp and legible, and larger blazon (24 to 100 points and college) prints without any uneven edges. Logos and graphics looked good, as well, as long as you're not expecting the same kind of quality you'd get from a expert 4-color inkjet or laser printer. In other words, everything I printed looked expert enough for most business-labeling applications.

Buying Labels

Brother offers about 25 unlike label types, ranging from nearly 0.5-inch to 2.4 inches broad in both die-cutting and continuous formats, for the QL-820NWB. How much you'll spend per characterization, of course, depends on the label type. For example, the dice-cutting 1.one-by-iii.5-inch standard address labels, when y'all purchase the 400-label roll at Brother Mall, volition run y'all most 3.9 cents per label. White newspaper proper name badge labels toll most 8 cents each, and the black and ruby-red paper labels toll a bit more.

With the continuous paper labels, which are measured by width and the entire length of the roll, rather than per label, y'all'll accept to know the size of the labels y'all programme to print before you lot can calculate a cost per label.

A Handy Little Labeler

There'southward a lot to like about the Brother QL-820NWB. When combined with your PC or mobile device, it'due south a characteristic-rich labeling arrangement capable of churning out professional-looking labels quickly and efficiently. It supports wired and wireless networking, every bit well as Wi-Fi Direct and Bluetooth, thereby allowing you and your team to design and impress labels over your LAN or from a computing device, and when combined with its optional rechargeable battery, it operates as a standalone characterization printer that y'all can take with you and use simply about anywhere.

The Leitz Icon Smart Labeling System is a little faster, just the QL-820NWB delivers superior impress quality, as well as Ethernet networking and improve software. The QL-820NWB prints well, reasonably fast, and it's flexible. Combine that with an excellent set of label design and printing software for both your PC and mobile device, and it easily earns our Editors' Choice nod for a networkable professional labeling system.

Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/printers/17162/brother-ql-820nwb

Posted by: valerioyoursteptat.blogspot.com

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