I am a label maker geek. Everyone should own one. The price point of these devices run the gamut from really inexpensive home machines, to very expensive industrial label makers. I decided to grab one of the low tier, entry level, Dymo LabelManagers. So here is my Dymo 160 LabelManager review.
Dymo 160
I bought it at Walmart for $29.83 sans tax. It came with one Dymo D1 cartridge which was “Silver Glitter”.
On the surface $30 for a solid performing label maker machine is a very good price.
Sadly, the surface has a basement, and a sub-basement, and a sewer.
Literally all you get in the package is the labelmaker and the single cartridge.
You cannot just open the package and begin making labels, which seems strange to me.
For some reason my laser related blog entries have gained some favorable traction.
In an attempt to appear a tad more professional to the laser community I have taken some of my better entries and created a new website. I’ll leave my existing laser content here, but all future laser only content will only be posted to:
I did not in my wildest dreams think that anyone followed my blog in an RSS feed until a plugin I had installed broke my RSS feed and several people told me.
Anyway, thanks for reading and bookmark my new laser page if you come here for the laser content.
One of my obsessions regarding tech is having a darned fine label maker available at all times. Nothing helps with organization better and the results can be impressive and professional. I’m always on a quest for the best one that there is. I’m probably not the average user though and as Mom said I am a special needs child. Wasn’t she sweet?
There are lots of new Label Makers that have been introduced but it seems like the trend is towards bluetooth controlled devices operated from IOS and Android. Meh. I require a manly label maker for manly tasks.
MY REQUIREMENTS FOR BEST LABEL MAKER
Dymo 160 – $30
You can go to Walmart or any office store and buy a cheap label maker for $30. That will actually suffice for most users. But as we said, “I ain’t most users”.
Depicted is the Dymo 160 and to its credit is uses fairly inexpensive D1 tape cartridges that you can find anywhere.
From a functional standpoint something like this probably suits most users just fine. It would probably suit me as well for most tasks but I like to push the limits of all my devices.
I’ve been doing desktop diode lasers since they became mainstream in about 2019. Prior to that they were mostly DIY. Ortur was pretty much first to the game with the Laser Master 1 and subsequently the Laser Master 2. I owned 2 of those. I’ve since picked up a Laser Master 3, an Aufero 2 and now it is time to do an Ortur Laser Master 3 LE Review.
I wasn’t really a fan of the Ortur Laser Master 3 and I wrote at length about that here. My LM3 works fine but I generally think the design has some issues. It sits so low as to be almost unusable for anything over 400mm in width unless you raise the machine. Also there are support issues regarding the lens protective glass that just aren’t right. Continue reading →
I purchased one of the xTool Infrared Laser modules and while it is super cool there does seem to be some internet chatter that the manual focusing mechanism is not 100% accurate.
There is a flip down bar that positions the laser 20mm from the work surface however the optimum focal range is 1mm or less. That means even a tiny positioning error can greatly reduce the effectiveness of the engraving operation.
There are a few strategies for manual focusing the module however the best of the bunch in my opinion is to use a USB microscope to visually dial the beam down to the finest possible size.
I purchased a USB microscope from Amazon a long time ago for my first laser I owned and had to knock the dust off of it. Set up is easy however software doesn’t really exist but the microscope works fine on a Mac with QuickTime Player. It used to work with Photo Booth but doesn’t really seem to anymore. It takes one still shot and then disconnects on my M1 Macs.
Aim and Observe
I wish I could give some kind of detailed, highly technical steps but the reality is that you just aim it at the laser dot, hit fire, and move the xTool Infrared Laser Module until the beam is the smallest you can get it. You have now achieved optimum focus. Here is a video for clarity.
I own two of the very best laser engravers that money can buy. The xTool D1 Pro (20 watt and 10 watt). But they cost a buck or two. In fact, an entry level laser from just about anywhere is in the $500 and up range. What if you just want to get your feet wet in the laser world as cheaply as possible? Or maybe you want an inexpensive back up machine. Let’s find the best budget laser engraver to get you started.
And right away I need to make it clear that I’m not saying that this is the best laser engraver by a long shot. It is my choice for the best BUDGET laser engraver.
To get the optimum bang for your buck you need to leave the country and head to AliExpress to find the best budget laser engraver. You simply are not going go get a similar deal from the US based sales or places such as Amazon. Of course you can always check the classifieds for a used laser but you don’t really know what you are getting there.
If you search for “laser engraver”, you’ll find some good ones that hover around the $200 price point. However, beware potential shipping costs and make sure you are getting a laser with about a 5 watt optical output. Most anything else is a toy. Also check for coupon availability.
There are several no name lasers on there that price out at some ridiculous prices around $120 but once you click on them you’ll find that price is actually an extension kit or just the laser head. Clicking on the box for the full laser that is 5 watts or so pushes you up around $200 again.
Read on to see what I determined the best deal was.
This is one of my favorite subjects. And it kind of goes along with being prepared for the worst. Small devices such as computers can be easily recharged or used on even a small solar set up. So what can you do with a computer when there is no internet? Quite a lot actually.
I’ve done this before in 2018 with a Linux computer but I’m going to do it this time with a Windows laptop. But it is time to update that post a little bit, I suppose.
And as per my previous recommendation you want to probably use an old laptop and preferably something like a ToughBook. If the internet is down, and life is getting harder you don’t need some baby computer that won’t hold up.
TV
Yep, your computer can be a TV with no internet connection. You do need a USB TV Tuner though. I use the Hauppauge 955Q which is probably obsolete since I couldn’t find it anymore on Amazon. This seems to be the latest generation. Despite which tuner you get make sure that it is ATSC and not PAL. ATSC is US and PAL is European. Your tuner combined with software called NextPVR or probably any number of software programs you can download will give you an Electronic Program Guide and allow you to watch Over The Air Live TV. That program guide does come down from the internet though, and you won’t be able to access it if the grid goes down. Still, you know what your local channels are though.
NOTE: I probably should state that my grid down situation is most likely a hurricane and all the local stations are 40 or so (driving) miles away and inland so they will most likely still be operational. Your situation may vary.
Being able to watch TV during a power outage or while you are Sheltering in Place could provide vital, life saving information. Or it could just provide much needed entertainment in a bad situation.
It seems like everyone is doing a side hustle from home. With the advent of reasonably priced craft machines such as Cricut, CNC routers, and laser engravers, everyone is jumping into the game. This is a reasonably new phenomenon as well as desktop laser engraving machines have only been around a couple of years. There is one notable exception. The Chinese K40, CO2 laser.
OMTech K40
I personally think every laser side hustle wannabe should be forced to own one of these first.
Modern, refined laser engravers do much of the heavy lifting for you these days. The K40 made you learn every single skill the hard way. It required a lot of tedious setup, and utilized a rag tag method of water cooling.
Early users had to draw their designs in Inkscape and the color of the line determined whether the software (K40 Whisperer) either engraved it, or cut it out. Additionally, just getting that machine set up, and aligned taught the user vital skills. The K40 forced you to learn the difference between vector and raster drawings. Having dirty lenses and mirrors were anathema to engraving success. DIY upgrades were often vital to keeping the machine operating within recommended parameters. Jumpers were installed on the main board which defeated safety measures such as detection of water flow. Wow! I’ve blogged about much of this in the past.
The answer to that question can only be determined by examining how you intend to use your laser engraver. I’ll try to cover a few things in this blog that most people don’t think about before buying a laser. Here are some ways that a laser engraver can be used:
For a Stay At Home business
For a mobile business as a vendor at local festivals or flea markets
As strictly a hobby device
As a tool at your workplace
As a way to supplement another machine such as a CNC (i.e. applying Makers Marks, logos, etc.)
If you decide that you are a Stay At Home user you can likely buy a larger, sturdier machine where speed may not be the most important requirement. Conversely, if you use your laser engraver as a mobile device you may desire a smaller, lighter, and more portable machine. The ability to make items quickly while customers wait could also be an important consideration. Continue reading →
I have two xTool D1 Pro lasers and I thought it would be easy to hook the xtool’s to Lightburn on one computer. It wasn’t. While the solution is easy, the steps must be done in a specific order to make this work.
Using the xTool software, xTool Creative Space works perfectly. This is a Lightburn / Mac / USB issue.
Fortunately there is a way to make this work.
When I first started this I had the red D1 Pro 20 watt with the extended bed hooked up. It worked perfectly. Then I bought an xTool D1 Pro 10 watt and hooked it to the same computer.
