Brother P-Touch 2730 label printer

Labelling machines have a wide variety of uses in the home: for files, jars, boxes and more, having a clear-cut, robust plastic label can make things a lot easier to find and differentiate.

Brother's P-Touch 2730 printer is a standalone labelling device that uses the company's range of TZ label cartridges, available in a choice of widths and tape colours.

It has a full rubber Qwerty (computer-style) keyboard and a lit screen, so you can type text directly into the printer and choose from a wide range of stored clip art to add.

There are even complete label templates for standard uses such as warning labels. The display can show several rows of text and graphics at once and it's easy to put together and display custom labels before printing them.

Labels printed quickly and near-silently and although the resolution of the printer is comparatively low at 180dpi, the labels didn't look ragged unless examined very closely. It can be used with the supplied mains power supply or by inserting eight AA batteries for labelling on the move.

The USB socket on the side of the printer enables connection to a PC or Mac and the supplied label design software is both well-designed and comprehensive. It can be run in Express or Professional modes to fit your level of expertise or the time you have available to design a label.

The running costs depend on the tape width, which runs from 8mm to 24mm. The widest labels cost around 21p per 10cm of length. It's more expensive than an inkjet printer, but the price is reasonable for this kind of hard-wearing laminated tape.

Unfortunately, at the start of every label or sequence of labels, the printer feeds out a blank 23mm of tape. If you're printing 10cm labels individually - a plausible scenario - it will waste nearly a quarter of the tape in each cartridge.

Still, the Brother P-Touch 2370 is about as versatile as a portable label printer can get, producing hard-wearing labels quickly and easily. The recommended price is high but it's available online for under £90.