Esselte Dymo LetraTag QX50 Label Printer...Helping Me Get Organized

I remember many, many years ago my dad having one of those little label makers where you turn a dial to each letter that you want and eventually have a label made. It was rather time consuming, although I remember having fun labeling everything.

Fast forward a lot of years and here I am finally using another label maker, this one I bought at a yard sale, still in its original unopened package. When I saw the Esselte Dymo Letra Tag QX50 I decided that my files might look a whole lot neater if I labeled the folders rather than hand writing the file names on them.

I have been having so much fun labeling just about everything in site since I got it. I love that it is a battery operated electronic label maker and looks much more professional than what I’ve been doing.

It looks a bit like a mini typewriter (remember those?) with a QWERTY keyboard. The case itself is an off white color hard plastic and the keys are a blue soft rubber. The whole unit measures just 5” x 5 ½” and sits under 2” tall. The top, near where the 2” x ½” viewing screen is sits a little higher than the bottom by the space key. While the screen is small even my old eyes can see it well. It will display up to 9 characters, but you can type in as many as you would like.

The length of the labels can be adjusted to whatever you want by simply typing in what you want or by using the appropriate key to adjust. There is a handy cutter inside on the back left side, you just push the large blue button in and your label is cut. The width is limited to ½” (12mm) but can be printed in single or double line styles.

After inserting 5 (yes five!) AA batteries and the Dymo label refill and selecting the language you would like, you are ready to go. I do really like that if you don’t use this unit for 2 minutes it shuts itself off, so helps to save on the battery usage. Unfortunately there is no AC adapter so it is strictly a battery usage label maker. I’ve used it quite a bit and the batteries are still going strong, so at least it isn’t eating them in lightening speed.

You can choose the size and style font that you would like to use as well as nine different box or underlines that can be used from just a plain underline to a shaded or even a zigzag box. While I haven’t used these options too often, I do like that they are there when I do need them.

This label maker also has a memory and can store up to 70 characters or 20 labels that can be used at any time. You also have the option to make up 9 of the same label at once. There is a / mark to show you where to cut each one by hand or you could just manually print each one individually.

I was pleased that a clear symbol chart was included with the Letra Tag QX50 label maker. It attaches to the bottom and makes it simple to know how to type the included symbols, such as the poison symbol, heart, arrows etc. Again this isn’t a function that I’ve used a lot, but it has come in handy a time or two and it is easy to use.

I do wish the directions were a bit larger, especially when they are telling you which key to press to pull up different settings or symbols. While the directions are easily understandable and printed so that even a novice label maker can understand them they are small enough that I have to use a magnifying glass in order to see which symbol they are telling me to use.

For anyone looking for a quick, easy to use label maker I would definitely recommend this one. Although I only paid $5.00 at a yard sale, I do believe that they can be purchased in a store, such as Wal*Mart, for under $25.

So I’ve quickly and easily labeled all of my file folders in my filing cabinet. I’ve labeled some storage bins and cupboards in the playroom and am feeling very neat, tidy and organized and I had fun doing it!