DYMO LabelWriter 550

Funny rating I know given the review title. There is nothing wrong with the printer itself and does the job well. Unfortunately, it has been programmed at manufacture with 'convenient recognition technology' to recognise your label automatically, BUT it does not accept any compatible labels except Dymo and they are much more expensive than others we used on the old predecessor model. They have to have a hole or coding on the label reels that the printer picks up and if it isn't there, then the label printer won't work. That's a forced purchase and Not Cool!!!

Having had a Dymo Labelwriter before, I decided to go with another despite the reviews saying you could only use Dymo labels. I don't print many - christmas card addresses & a couple a week through the year. I thought as I had a considerable address book on the Dymo Label v.8 software, I would be able to continue to use these. I managed to import them with some difficulty in to the Dymo Connect software but the problems really start to occur when you want to print a label. The easy interface that I was used to is gone. Being able to alphabeticise the labels is gone - most are under Mr & Mrs! The previous software you could specify which part of the first line to use to arrange the list - very clever & very useful. So now you either use the search facility or trawl through the list. Ah, I hear you say, that's not so bad. Unfortunately, though, to get to this point in the process is not straightforward. Every time you open the software, you are faced with a label with "ABC" on it. If you click on New, it asks if you want to save this! Arrgh. So once you click on New, then click on the envelope for the addresses, then click "select contact" on the label, click the drop down arrow in My Contacts to select your address book. Click the address or addresses & then click print bottom right of page. This is so counter-intuitive that I have had to write it out on a sticky label. The software never remembers what you did before and doesn't open where you were. ARRRRRGGGGHHHH. Oh yes and whenever you open the software it redetects your labels and asks you if you want to change to that label type. AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I'd try another brand if I was you.

Very pleased with item Easy to install

Now that eBay insists on private vendors using its so-called simple mailing system to despatch most of their sales I upgraded my ancient Dymo Labelwriter 400 to a 5XL, that is capable of printing the larger labels required. But that is not really designed for swapping labels on a regular basis I took took advantage of an Amazon warehouse offer to buy this Llabelwriter 550 at half price. The printer is excellent but it's a shame that the Dymo Connect software is rubbish. That's why I've knocked a star off.

Printer did fail but was replaced free of charge immediately

UPDATE - after 10 months of use the labelwriter failed to recognise official Dymo labels and the software is buggy - I contacted Dymo ( given a registered 3 year warranty )but the best they do is sending a refurbished model and a complex process to send the failed unit back to France via UBS before you get the replacement. It didn't feel like a quality warranty or customer service excellence So just be aware of this issue.It is very time consuming and frustrating when the software refuses to recognise genuine DYMO labels.Frim start to finish it took 2 weeks to receive the refurbished replacement from France. INITIAL THOUGHTS An excellent label printer. You need to follow the set up sequence instructions carefully and first of all download the listed software/drivers from the Dymo site after registering the printer on there. The printer has warning stickers to remind you to do this.Then connect the power supply and the printer to your Mac or PC with the power cable and the usb cable.Only then turn the printer on Set the label roll up carefully as instructed and adjust the main black feeder roll to the size of the ticket roll , feed the roll paper through the slot and then adjust the grey small lever to the size of the label paper by sliding it to the left. Failure to do this will cause a jam. The printer will recognise the label size and the software enables you to write ,save and print labels.The thermal printing is very fast and efficient and it make label printing easy and accurate with no need for ink cartridges.Connectivity is usb only and Bluetooth,WiFi access would be a good next step. You are only able to use dymo labels but they are good quality. Would get 5 stars if Wi-Fi connectivity for printing and a high quality associated app.

Edit: after installing an upgrade and losing all my recent and favourites, and the ability to change the font size within a saved ticket, i decided to ditch the 550 & ordered a 450! Infuriatingly slow! If you need to print off several individual tickets quickly, this is not the right printer for you! What used to take 20 minutes now takes me an hour! The 450 had everything easily accessible from one screen. With the 550 you cannot even print multiple of the same label without having to navigate to another screen. The program is slow, one can no longer double click and print as quickly as pressing the mouse button 3 times! I find loading the labels awkward and fiddly because they are positioned closer to the feeder slot than the 450. I do like the Browse function, however, for the labels I use less often. Literally the only good thing about it!

Good item but not as easy to use as the older versions.

Ich habe den DYMO LabelWriter 550 gekauft, um unseren alten LabelWriter 450 zu ersetzen, der uns viele Jahre zuverlässig treue Dienste geleistet hat. Leider hat sich DYMO beim Nachfolgemodell in meinen Augen klar in die falsche Richtung entwickelt. Das neue Gerät akzeptiert ausschließlich Original-Etiketten von DYMO – andere, günstigere Etiketten werden vom Drucker nicht mehr erkannt. Offenbar wurde eine Art „Chip-Erkennung“ eingeführt, die verhindert, dass Etiketten von Drittherstellern genutzt werden können. Das bedeutet konkret: Die alten Etikettenrollen, die wir noch in größerer Menge vorrätig hatten, funktionieren nicht mehr. Für uns macht das Gerät damit keinen Sinn mehr, da die Originaletiketten ein Vielfaches teurer sind als gleichwertige Produkte anderer Anbieter – und für unseren Zweck waren diese immer völlig ausreichend. Ich habe den Drucker daher zurückgeschickt und mir stattdessen einen gebrauchten LabelWriter 450 besorgt, der wieder tadellos arbeitet. Interessanterweise werden diese älteren Modelle inzwischen teilweise teurer gehandelt als die neuen, einfach weil viele Nutzer das gleiche Problem erkannt haben. Für mich ist das Ganze so, als würde man einen Laserdrucker kaufen, der nur Papier des eigenen Herstellers akzeptiert – das ist weder kundenfreundlich noch nachhaltig. Ich würde mir wünschen, DYMO würde lieber den Drucker etwas teurer machen, statt über das Zubehör künstliche Abhängigkeiten zu schaffen. Fazit: Tolle Marke, aber diese Entwicklung geht in die völlig falsche Richtung. Klare Daumen runter.

The product looked as though it was used by someone else and returned the packaging of the box even the plastic seal sticker looked open.

Bonne impression

Not satisfied

Faulty, did not print properly. I have 1 already so I am familiar with the product and software, but this item I received came in a tattered box and didn't function, will be returning it