If you’re looking for a basic, handheld label maker with a built-in keyboard and screen: Consider the Brother P-touch PT-H110. This affordable label maker is incredibly easy to use, thanks to the clearly marked one-touch formatting buttons clustered at the top of the keyboard. It also has more templates, fonts, symbols, and frames than similar handheld label makers we tested.
Though the keyboard can be uncomfortable to use, and the screen is too small to display more than one line of text, the PT-H110 offers the most flexibility in comparison with other handheld models. This traditional label maker doesn’t offer Bluetooth connectivity, however, so it lacks the flexibility of our top pick.
If you want a compact model with advanced features: The Brother P-touch PT-P710BT Cube Plus remains one of the most convenient models to use because of its smartphone pairing and auto-cutting mechanism. It prints crisp labels that survived our durability tests, and at just 3.8 by 7.8 by 8.2 inches, it’s easy to toss it into a bag for your daily commute.
But the PT-P710BT Cube Plus costs $115 at this writing, making it one of the most expensive models we’ve tested. This model also spits out 2.5 cm (or about an inch) of tape before each new print, which quickly adds up if you’re making one-off, unique labels. No amount of fiddling with settings can prevent this tape waste.
As with our picks from Brother, the Bluetooth connection on this model can be finicky. It has to be manually connected to Bluetooth every time it’s turned on rather than connecting automatically (which other Bluetooth-enabled makers we tested were able to do). Reconnecting doesn’t take long — you have to go to your phone’s Bluetooth menu and tap the device — but it’s still an annoying quirk.
If you have small business needs and want an auto-cut feature: The Brother P-touch PT-D610BT offers all the perks of the PT-P710BT Cube Plus, including the same design apps, but with the addition of a QWERTY keyboard and a color, backlit screen.
Like the PT-P710BT Cube Plus, the PT-D610BT consistently produced sharp, smudge-free labels that survived the dishwasher, and its auto-cutter made printing uniform labels a breeze. The auto-cutter is useful when you’re printing dozens of product labels or organizing a room and don’t want to waste time manually cutting every one.
But its interface can be frustrating to navigate because the menu can be tiresome to rotate through, so you might reach for this label maker less. Its keyboard isn’t the most comfortable to type on, as we had to press down with some force in order to register. Plus, the one-touch formatting keys are scattered around the keyboard, which makes them harder to find in a hurry.
Like the PT-P710BT Cube Plus, this model also costs $115 at this writing and wastes tape with the auto-cut feature. And this isn’t a label maker you’ll want to take on the go. It weighs a whopping 34 ounces, compared with our 16.5-ounce top pick, and it measures 12.6 by 8 by 10.2 inches.
