Dymo Junior Label Maker > Reviews (1)

I am an avid Scrapbooker and I am always looking for ways to add interest to my pages. Whilst looking through a magazine I saw that someone had used Dymo labels as a way of adding journaling. I thought it looked great and immediately went out hunting for a Dymo label maker of my own.

I remember Dymo label makers from my school days but I hadn’t actually seen them for years. They all appeared very complicated and also very expensive so I decided that I would do without. However several months later I spotted the Dymo Junior in my local stationary store reduced to £5. I have since seen them on sale at about £10 so I do feel I got a bargain.

Design

The Dymo junior is six inches long. The handle is about 2 inches wide and it is quite large across the top where the letter disk is situated. The product is also quite deep due to the Dymo cartridge fitting inside the rear. The gadget is blue and green and very light although it does not feel at all flimsy. It is certainly not designed to look sleek and elegant and would appeal more to children I would have thought. This device takes the 9mm Dymo tapes.

Producing Labels

Dymo labels are produced by imprints being forced into coloured plastic, the imprints appear white. To produce a label the coloured tape is put inside the rear of the gadget and threaded through. This is a very quick and simple operation and it is easy to change the tape when a change of colour is desired or the roll runs out.
The actual imprint of each letter is produced by dialling the large green dial to the required letter and the squeezing the two parts of the handle together very firmly. The next letter is then dialled up and you continue in the same manner until you have produced all the words you need. There is also a space marker on the letter dial and numbers and a full-stop. The tape exits the body of the machine at the front and when you have finished you dial it around to the scissor emblem to cut the tape. This requires an even firmer squeeze of the handle. My 12year old son really does not have enough grip strength to manage this as it is very stiff. If I use it a lot it does start to cause pain up my arm.

using the labels

As I first stated I wanted this to add words to my scrapbook page and I have used it a lot for this. There are several colours available for the tape including the traditional red, black and blue. I also have yellow, orange and green. For crafters that maybe reading this it is also possible to put ordinary card through and then use inks to show the embossed words.
The labels are self-adhesive so it is only necessary to peel off the back layer and then press them down. If you have used the “cut” facility there is a handy little bend produced in the tape to help you peel the label apart. If you resorted to cutting the tape with a pair of scissors then you will have to scrape at it a bit with your nail to separate it.
My husband then saw many uses for the Dymo and it became his favourite toy. Like so many people we have an absolute jumble of wires under our desk and now each plug has its own label.

Every time any of us get anything with a recharge plug he labels it immediately. This has been a godsend as we have a whole basket of recharge plugs for phones, tools, games consoles etc so we can easily see which one is needed. I have used it to label camp equipment and storage boxes. In fact I don’t know how we managed without this versatile little gadget!

In Conclusion

We would hate to be without this now but it is not quick and it is really quite hard work to produce a clean image. If you don’t press hard enough the imprint is fainter. If you would like forearms like Mike Tyson then this will certainly help you get there! If I had to replace it I would seriously look at the more expensive versions but would probably still end up with this cheaper model, put in the effort and save some money. It is marketed at children but they may find it too stiff to use.