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15 best label makers for crafting or home organisation in 2023

All recommendations within this article are informed by expert editorial opinion. If you click on a link in this story we may earn affiliate revenue.

A LABEL maker can make a huge difference when it comes to getting organised, and these nifty gadgets don't cost a fortune.

They basically allow you to easily mark up storage drawers, tubs, boxes, letters, and packages - and even gardening, or garage items.

It means you know exactly where everything goes, and where to find anything.

Some label printers print using ink and toner, while others use embossing to make their mark - and both can be pretty cheap.

Although when you're buying one of the embossing models, you’ll need to factor in extra for the tape and ribbon.

Alternatively, you can pay a little extra for a thermal printing label maker, a machine that doesn’t require additional tape, and could save you money in the long run.

We’ve done the hard work for you and selected the best label makers available to buy on the market right now.

Best label makers at a glance:

  1. Best budget embossing label maker: Dymo Omega home embossing label maker
  2. Best for versatility:
  3. Best for personalisation:
  4. Best for custom design:
  5. Best large label maker:
  6. Best for crafting:
  7. Best for ribbons:
  8. Best bluetooth printer:

Best budget embossing label maker: Dymo Omega home embossing label maker

A personal favourite of Mrs Hinch, if it’s a simple, fuss-free label maker you’re after, the Dymo Omega home embossing label maker is cheap, cheerful and perfect for basic labelling.

It doesn’t have any major bells and whistles, but it's easy to use and does the labelling job nicely, embossing 49 different characters onto 9mm wide 3D strips.

You set the dial to the appropriate letter and press the trigger. That’s it, no batteries needed.

The marking tape comes in red, blue, green, and black and costs £5 for a single roll.

There’s a retro feel to the labels that the Dymo Omega home embossing label maker creates and these labels can be used for food storage, spice racks, notebooks, school bags and much more.

Weight: 201g, dimensions: 16 x 8.8 x 20.2 cm, colour: white/blue

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Best for versatility: Dymo LetraTag LT-100H label maker

With five font sizes, seven print styles, eight box styles, a keyboard and a super easy-to-use screen, it’s no wonder the Dymo LetraTag LT-100H is so popular.

The alphabetical keyboard makes it easy to type what you want the label to say and you can see, at a glance, exactly how the font you’ve chosen will look. You can then change the size of the font, make it emboldened, italicise it, add one of 195 symbols, and more.

The LT-100H prints on paper, plastic, metallic and iron-on LetraTag LT labels (sold separately for around £7) and you can print up to two lines per label.

The catch is that the labels are only available in 12mm; you can’t print labels of varying sizes with the LT-100H like you can on other more expensive machines in this list.

The ABC keyboard, rather than QWERTY which we're used to on our laptops and PCs, is a little tricky to get your head around - but we're nit-picking.

Weight: 150g, dimensions: 12 x 8.4 x 26.5 cm, colour: blue

Best for personalisation: Brother PT-H200 label maker

If you want a handheld label maker but the ABC keyboard on the LT-100H puts you off, try the Brother PT-H200.

It offers similar features as its rival but comes with a QWERTY keyboard so it feels more like typing on a regular laptop or phone.

Designed with crafting in mind, the PT-H200 comes in a range of colours, compared to the LT-100H black and blue design, and prints handheld ribbons, as well as tape labels.

These ribbons could be used for personalised gift wrapping, or on homemade jam jars.

The PT-H200 offers six fonts, decorative frames, patterns and emojis - and you can print labels and ribbons from 3.5mm up to 12mm wide.

Brother's tapes (up to 12mm) can be used with this P-touch model and are available in up to 60 colour and size combinations.

It's battery operated too, so super-portable and easy to use on-the-go.

Weight: 400g, dimensions: 20.4 x 11.1 x 5.8 cm, colour: white/violet

Best for custom design: Dymo LabelWriter 450 Turbo

Whereas many of the label makers in this list use tape cartridges to print their labels, Dymo’s LabelWriter 450 Turbo cuts these costs by using thermal printing technology.

Instead of ink or toner, this machine effectively “burns” the image onto reactive labels and ribbons, making it ideal for printing finer details found in barcodes and graphics.

The LabelWriter 450 connects to a PC or Mac and, using Dymo’s Label software, and allows you to design your labels on your computer and send these designs to the maker.

It also gets its Turbo name from the fact it can print 71 labels, featuring up to four-line addresses, in just one minute.

This obviously makes the label maker a little more expensive than others in this list, but it’s worth the money if you're invested in organising your life.

Dimensions: 18.7 (W) x 18.7 (D) x 13.4 (H) cm, colour: black

Best large label maker: Brother PT-D600VP label maker

This label maker produces high-quality and durable labels up to 24mm wide.

It supports a variety of tape colours and materials and offers speeds of 30mm per second.

The machine comes with four built-in fonts and ten different writing styles, together with 99 label designs.

You can also connect the label maker to a PC to produce your own, customised designs.

Its QWERTY keyboard and full-colour screen make the PT-D600VP easy to use, and up to seven lines of text can be added to each label.

This label maker is not exactly light at 950g, but it's sturdy enough to justify its weight and price tag.

Brother is an expert when it comes to label makers and the PT-D600VP delivers as expected.

Weight: 1.16kg, dimensions: 9.21 x 4.92 x 5.71 cm, colour: grey/black

Best for crafting: Cricut Joy cutting and printing machine

Like to add some flamboyancy to your label making? Then the Cricut Joy is the one for you.

The Cricut Joy is not your conventional label maker as it can also cut and create pictures, hand-drawn designs, and cut-out words.

Easy to set up with no wires needed, this compact cutting and label machine helps you make more labels in less time - with multiple projects taking just 15 minutes.

Like to upcycle, too? The Cricut Joy works with popular materials you may already have in your home such as iron-on, cardstock, vinyl, paper and more.

The Cricut Joy machine connects to your computer or mobile via Bluetooth technology, so you can control your Cricut machine without wires for total ease and convenience.

It even has an Offline Mode so you can use it without Wi-Fi to download images and projects on-the-go, or when you don’t have access to the internet. You can also import your own designs and font, and use images for free in a variety of file formats.

This Cricut is compact, easily transportable and its sleek design means it even looks great on an office counter or worktop.

Dimensions: 10.8 x 13.8 x 21.4cm, colour: white/blue

Best for ribbons: P- Touch Embellish ribbon and tape printer

If you want a label maker that is aimed specifically for gifts, party items and kitsch crafty projects then the P-Touch Embellish machine is a perfect addition to your collection.

Designed for adding a decorative touch, this ribbon and tape printer can easily personalise satin ribbons and pattern tapes with a wide selection of fonts, borders, symbols and patterns.

This 9.5 x 10 x 3.75-inch printer contains one ribbon and tape printer with pre-designed templates, 14 fonts, 94 frames and over 400 symbols.

It also has one-touch keys which make it super easy when formatting and it looks very stylish and sleek, too.

Weight: 889g, dimensions: 24 x 9.5 x 27.9 cm, colour: white/blue

Best bluetooth printer: Phomemo M200 bluetooth printer

On the, perhaps, more affordable end of the scale for heavier-duty label makers, the small but mighty Phomemo works entirely by bluetooth.

No need to use a different ribbon, it works as a sticky label printer that you simply slot into the back and roll into place, very much similar to a shop receipt machine.

Using bluetooth and the Print Master App, you can then pick font size and style, as well as label type. They have various templates to make this process easier or you can create your own bespoke designs.

It’s a pocket printer that works via a rechargeable battery in it, continuously working for 4-5 hours, 2.5 hours charging time and a 1-week standby time.

Dimensions: 16 x 7 x 6 cm, colour: pink

Best portable label maker: Brother Zink colour label printer

Zink stands for 'zero ink' and this nifty little label printer is smaller than average, but certainly effective.

Its P-touch Editor label design software - which is free to download from Brother - allows for powerful editing tools to create the ideal label for home, or work.

With hundreds of built-in clipart, symbols, colourful backgrounds and frames to choose from, you’ll be spoilt for choice.

The label maker simply connects to your Wi-Fi connection from your smartphone or tablet, the same way any wireless printer would, giving you labels on the go.

The full colourful roll cassettes which are available in five different widths, provide zero ink printing technology to produce full-colour labels without ink or toner cartridges.

Weight:0.66 kg, colour: black/grey

Best portable thermal printer: YuLinca smart label printer D11


Suitable for business or home, the YuLinca All-in-one printer can be used for clothing, jewellery, kitchen, restaurant labels and more.

Its thermal printing technology eliminates all cost of ink and toner, meaning the Jack-of-all-trades label maker comes in at a very reasonable cost.

Its small, super-portable size means it’s easy to take from place to place and, since it is connected via Bluetooth, it can be used anywhere.

Its powerful functions include printing various texts, numbers, graphics, symbols, logos, barcodes, with intelligent recognition of voices and pictures.

We think this one comes in at one of the most cost-efficient on the market without compromising on making good clear labels.

And, it comes in an array of great, stylish colours - including pink, ocean blue and black.

Weight: 360g, dimensions: 15.9 x 11.4 x 4.6 cm, colour: green

Best smart printer: Brother PT Cube bluetooth label printer

 

If we're talking about aesthetics, this dinky Brother PT Cube label printer is up there with the best of them.

The sleek cube houses within it a set of solid features – it can connect via bluetooth to print directly from a smartphone and the accompanying design app gives you the creativity to make a whole array of different labels. There's even a choice of 1,000 symbols and emojis to liven up your designs.

It also prints quickly, has a quality finish and is priced very competitively.

Weight: 380g, dimensions: 115 x 115 x 61 mm, colour: grey

Best small label maker: Phomemo D30 bluetooth rechargeable thermal mini label maker

This cute little label maker is super easy to use - simply load up the roll of stickers, connect to your phone or tablet via Bluetooth and print away.

Using the handy app, you can produce plenty of different designs, fonts and languages for your stickers.

The printer doesn't require ink toner but instead uses longer-lasting thermal paper, which is waterproof and tear proof.

This little gadget also looks great with baby pink, mint green or white styles to choose from.

Weight: 159g, dimensions: 2D x 5W x 1H mm, colour: green

Best pricing gun: Avery two-line labeller

If you need to price things up for a shop or market stall, this pricing gun is ideal.

The easy to use handheld device can churn out price labels as quickly as you can squeeze the trigger.

Unlike the most basic pricing guns, this one will let you print out up to two lines, which means you can add more detail to your products if needed.

Weight: 525g, dimensions: 68 x 134 x 68 cm, colour: grey/red

Best for cute design: Bunnyboo mini thermal printer

This cute thermal printer is ideal for printing on the go.

You just have to connect it to the app to get it to print the design you want and you can use the device to print photos too.

The gadget comes with five colouring pens so you can print stuff off for your kids to colour in.

Weight: 470g, dimensions: ‎10.92 x 7.87 x 3.56 cm, colour: white/blue

Best budget bundle: Phomemo D30 label maker bundle

If you know you’re going to make a lot of use out of your label maker, it’s well worth picking up this bundle.

It includes the Phomemo D30 label maker, a thermal label maker that you can connect to your phone via bluetooth.

It also comes with five roles of coloured tape so you can colour code.

Weight: 380g, dimensions: 10 x 6 x 8 cm, colour: white

What connections do I need on a label maker?

Label makers have been traditionally connected to computers via USB or an ethernet cable.

Newer models, however, integrate various wireless technologies, including Wi-Fi and bluetooth.

The obvious advantage of these label makers is that they don't need to be physically tethered to a device to work - and are super-portable.

Wi-Fi Direct and Bluetooth also allow these label makers to be used through mobile devices, eliminating the need for desktop and laptop computers.

Do I need monochrome or colour labels?

This is entirely up to your needs, but suffice to say that monochrome-colour printers are traditionally cheaper.

Incidentally, monochrome does not mean black and white, and many machines under this umbrella can print, for example, white on green, or yellow on pink.

More expensive, colour label printers support a variety of colours, and are ideal for more elaborate prints and often offer decorative features like borders or even emojis.

What about labels' size and materials?

Different label printers support different tapes and rolls, as well as various width ranges and materials.

Aside from paper, advanced printer models can work with plastic, fabric and even foil.

Many models today support different roll lengths and widths to allow for diverse applications.

Make sure to pick a label printer supporting the lengths and materials you need.

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