Seiko Instruments USA on Tuesday introduced the Smart Label Printer (SLP) 450, a new Mac and PC-compatible label printer that can output labels at approximately one per second. It can also print 2D barcodes and works on a network. The SLP 450 costs $189 and will be available in May.
The SLP 450 is the latest in Seiko’s series of dedicated label printers. Using thermal printing technology, the compact SLP 450 can print on rolls of adhesive or paper labels up to 2 1/8 inches wide at 300 dots per inch (DPI) — useful for business or home users who want to print out labels for envelops, files, storage boxes, disks and more. Because it’s thermal, there’s no need to change ribbons, ink or toner cartridges.
The software included with the SLP 450 lets you import text and graphics from most applications — a SmartCapture feature lets you “grab” an address or text from other desktop applications.
The 2D barcode capability lets you print out barcodes which contain information in the vertical dimension. Not available with the printer’s initial retail release, the 2D barcoding function will be made available as a free software download, according to Seiko. The device connects to a Mac using USB and can be shared over a network using Mac OS X’s printer sharing capability.
System requirements call for Mac OS X v10.2 or later, G3 or faster (including Intel Macs), 128MB RAM, 30MB hard disk space, available USB port and CD or DVD drive.