Brother QL-570

The QL-570 is Brother's second generation office label printer for labels up to just over 2.4 inches wide. Earlier models combined an impressive piece of hardware with less than impressive software. The QL-570 retains everything good about the previous hardware (most notably, the ease of switching between different rolls of labels) improves some hardware features, like speed and size and brings the software almost up to same level as the hardware, putting it within shooting distance of "impressive."

The first generation Brother label printers the QL-500 and QL-550 were noticeably larger than their direct competitors from DYMO and Seiko Instruments, making them more obtrusive on an office desk.

The QL-570 is still a bit larger than the competition, but not by as much as its predecessors, with a 4.9 by 7 inch footprint compared with the typical 4 by 6 inches.

Not so incidentally, the only difference between the QL-500 and QL-550 was an automatic cutter in the QL-550. The QL-570 also comes with an automatic cutter, but matches the QL-500's price.

Another plus is that Brother sells an unusually wide variety of labels for the QL-570 both paper and film, and both precut labels and continuous rolls. According to Brother, the four most popular formats are standard address labels (1.2 by 3.5 inches), file folder labels (0.7 by 3.4 inches), shipping labels (2.4 by 4 inches), and the 2.4 inch wide, white paper continuous roll.

The full range of choices includes ten precut labels, with seven rectangular formats ranging from 0.7 by 2.1 inches to 2.4 by 4 inches two round formats at 0.5 and 1 inch diameters plus disc labels with a 2.3 inch diameter. Other choices include 100 foot long paper and 50 foot long film, and continuous rolls at widths from 0.5 to 2.4 inches. Some of the film rolls are available in white, clear, or yellow. There is also a removable paper label roll with a weaker adhesive, available in both white and yellow.