DYMO LabelManager 280 Handheld Label Maker with QWERTY Keyboard - Black (UK Plug) | Perfect for Office Organization, Shipping Labels & Home Storage

First - there is nothing wrong with this device - it's great. PROVIDING you are not already a user of an older DYMO machine.I have used a Dymo1000 for years, and I finally got fed up of mistyping labels due to the ABC type keyboard. I am so used to QWERTY that I've always found an ABC keyboard awkward.The only reason I chose a DYMO QWERTY keyboard machine was that I have a fairly large collection of tape cassettes. As these are VERY expensive (which is where DYMO make their profit, rather like ink-jet printer ink printer manaf. do) I did not want to replace them.So I checked that the 280 used the same type of cassettes, it did, the D1 type. However this is not true.Somewhere along the line Dymo have changed the design of the tape cassette and STILL call it a D1The D1 cassette that was supplied with the 280 DOES NOT fit the Dymo1000 at all.The D1 cassettes I have almost fit the 280. A bit of investigation showed a difference in the plastic cassettes in that there was an additional notch. This allowed a plastic pillar in the 280 machine to engage into this slot.I drilled a hole in the cassette to clear this pillar and the cassette then fitted. However it only printed intermittently. A little more investigation found that this pillar was in fact a small lever and it moved about 1mm - there was a ramp in the slot on the newer D1 cassette that activated this . A little fettering fitted a small plastic plug behind this pillar to lock it into the "active" position. The 280 now prints on the D1 tapes that I have.If this had not worked the 280 would have been returned for refund as not fit for purpose.I can only conclude that the design change has been done to force users to buy new cassettes. Despite the cassettes having the same designation D1 they are not compatible. There is no other obvious reason for the design change that I can see.Changing the design and still calling it a D1 is WRONGDeliberate attempt to mislead ?Sharp practice?Con trick?Dishonesty ?You decide.Fast and easy to use with great results (once you've had a play to find the fonts and sizes that print best). It looks like it has a touch screen, but it's just a soft plastic sheet hiding real buttons which is a bit of a swizz. I'd be happier with normal buttons like its cheaper sibling. The screen doesn't light up either (as Dymo product images would have you believe) so it's quite hard reading the smaller information - type size especially...But it's its connectivity to a computer that sets it apart.The desktop software works well - but it's more Word than InDesign so the controls are pretty basic. You can't access proper weights and italics from font families, it just lists single regular weights and then allows you to choosea faux-italic or bold but this is probably ok given the unit's resolution shortcomings.Type is mostly jaggy and it can't really handle anything intricate. You can find sizes and fonts that work well with trial and error, but I'd rather have better resolution in the first place. I don't think anyone else does higher res either so it must be the 'acceptable standard' in the market place at this price point - at the moment.Over to you Dymo.this is a great tool. I have so many different bits and bobs I needed some way of keeping track of and this has done it very well. I was able to label it all very effectively and thanks to this devices computer app I can add barcodes and other useful organisational bits to items to help me keep track of them. very pleased and definitely recommend to anyone who needs this kind of tool. however I do also recommend to get the vinyl tape to go with it as its standard tape is only really good for paper and card. Vinyl works great on tools and hardware.This machine accepts 6mm, 9mm and 12mm wide Dymo Label cassettes. The machine comes complete with the rechargeable battery, charger and 3m long 12mm black text on white tape cassette. After installing the rechargeable battery and connecting the charger the machine counts down 10 minutes after which printing can commence. It's easy the enter in text and select formatting options. There are a wide range of tape colour combinations available.Out-of-the-box this unit arrived set up in Estonian! So had to download a PDF file to figure out how to sort that!This unit has a shiny screen covering which reflects light and makes viewing the worst LCD screen I've seen for years difficult.(Dymo must try hard to find such a crap screen these days!). The keyboard is of the Dead-Flesh variety and is quite unpleasant to use, providing poor feedback when pressed/squeezed.I wouldn't buy this again or recommend it.However, it has a fantastic rechargeable battery and prints to the usual Dymo standard. The PC interface allows printing using PC keyboard too.