Is the Brady still the reference? Has anyone used anything better? How about the "Rhinos"? that were shown at CEDIA?

Quality/Ease of Use/Features etc. is the determining factor, Not price.

I bought the Dymo RhinoPro 5000 for the guys after reading about it here... They like it, and use it, and have asked for the polyester labels, and sent me out to buy three more.

QQQ,

we us this one. REALLY durable, and it works in extreme temps as well. Ours are the last generation, the K2500...this one looks really spiffy!

[Link: kroy.com]

avdude,

Have you also used the Brady? If so, any comments one versus the other?

Q, I have this Brady in my wire tool box: [Link: grainger.com] It is literally one of my favorite tools. I honestly can't say enough good things about it. I have dropped it from the top of my 6 foot ladder twice with no ill effects. I go through the cloth labels (like them the best) at a rate of about a roll a week. I use it that much. And its cheap from Grainger and the label cartriges are cheap from grainger.

Let me know what else you need to know, but I am really happy with mine. Only problem I have seen is the actual tape inside the cartridge where it comes out is kind of flimsy. If something happens to it at that point, the cartridge is toast. But I have only had a problem with one cartridge out of about 25. Literally.

E. J.

I'll cast my vote for the DYMO Rhino PRO 5000. Kick ass little labeler. Has a mode for wrapping labels around cable, and the labels stick like crazy. Beauty of it is that it's only $150 so you can afford to send one with everyone!

I'd really like to hear from someone that has experience with both the Brady and the Rhino. Anyone?

Black sharpie and white electrical tape. Dropped off a roof several times and still works. Batteries never die. Fits nicely in my tool pouch Replacement ink and tape are rather cheap.

Just make sure that you don't use any black RG-6 or 59 right?

Thats where the white tape comes in.
I prefer this method also.
It may not look as cool, but is very hand and indistructable.

I got Bradys for all my guys, and they worked great for about 6 months, then they all pretty much fell apart. We recently replaced them with the Rhinos, only had them for about 6 weeks, but they seem more durable and they work great.

We extensively use the Brady ID Pal labelers. Like AUGSYS, we found they work for 4 to 6 months then start having reliability issues. The guys jam some paper in to put more pressure on the electrical contact between the cartridge and housing.

We found out that if you Register the labeler on-line they send out some rubber bumpers that may help protect the unit a slight bit. But with the bumpers, they extend the warranty to 1 year.

So we just cycle them out(under warranty) every 6 months or so at the local electrical parts house for new ones. If they built them more reliable, we would not have to do that.

I'm reluctant to spend much more than these cost as they will get abused out in the field. (we do use the hard plastic cases)

We use the 750-439 labels exclusively. They stick great and work for a lot of uses beyond wire.

George P.

QQQ,

sorry, it took me a couple to get back to you on this. Like augsys and geoerge p say above. The experience I've had with Brday is mixed. They work well, REALLY well for 6-8 months then just disentigrate.

I've had no experience with the rhino, but it looks pretty tough...

I'm going through the same process and I'm down to two products. Either the cheaper Rhino or the more expensive Kroy 5100. I like the Kroy as you are able to printer on several different types of mediums such as shrink tubing as well as labels.

[Link: kroy.com]

The local Kroy distributor, who sells to a nickel ore mill, says the 5100's are very durable and will withstand a drop off a 10' ladder. Apparently, the people who work for the mill are not gentle with their equipment.

In addition, certain supplies for the Kroy are cheaper than the Rhino. The old market strategy of selling cheaper equipment and making up the difference on supplies. I'm leaning towards the Kroy even though the initial cost is greater.

I have a few dumb labeler questions from someone who hasn't been in the field much - when pulling rough wiring, do you use the labelmaker (because chances are you'll cut them short once they are pulled and trimmed out)? For rough-in, my guys usually label with sharpie on elec. tape, then they use the labeler for trim/finish work. We use the DYMO RhinoPro 5000, but the widest label they make is 3/4" - it doesn't fit the whole way around RG-6 - install looks a bit hoakie with these labels like that, and they don't like to stick in the cold. Also, I've had guys go back after a year and they all fell off. The wrap feature is nice, but you don't get very many letters when you use this setting. Maybe this is why the DYMO is so inexpensive....