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Personalized ribbons have been popular since I married in the early 80’s, but until now you had to have them done by a Printer, and they were expensive. Now Epson has brought ribbon printing to the home crafter! The Epson LabelWorks LW-300 Portable Label Printer is exactly what I needed to prepare for the holidays as well as an upcoming baby shower. It’s a portable printer I can take with me and I can print, cut, and create a personalize ribbon in minutes for any gift, party favor, craft, etc.

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The only limitation is your imagination and the fact that you must use an Epson LabelWorks Ribbon LC Cartridge. That means the color of the ribbon and ink are predestined. You’re also limited by the number  of fonts, symbols and frames installed on the printer.  Still, though limited, there are  plenty to choose from and using the printer is as easy as any portable label maker. Once you get the hang of it you’ll be producing new ribbons for every event, gift, or scrapbook page.

Epson LabelWorks Printable Ribbon Kit (LW-300) Details

Number of Fonts: 14
Types of Fonts: Sans Serif, Sans Serif HG, Sans Serif ST, Gothic, Bold Gothic, Roman, US Roman, CL Roman, Mincho, Gyosho, Reisho, BR, CB, Script PL
Number of Font Styles: 10
Number of Font Sizes: 5
Number of Font Widths: 2
Built-in Symbols: 300+
Built-in Frames: 75+
Maximum Characters Per Label: 80
Auto Numbering: Yes
Multiple Print Option: Yes
Vertical Printing: Yes
Mirror Printing: Yes
Number of Languages: 7 (English, Spanish, French, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, German)

Because you’ll likely want to reuse some of your designs, the Epson LabelWorks Printable Ribbon Kit lets you store up to 30 for easy reprinting. But how does it look? The results from the home ribbon printer are as well done as any professional ribbon I’ve had printed and being able to create it with exactly the words or phrase I want is fantastic. The borders are a bit dated and I likely won’t use them very often, but the actual print is fabulous. This particular ribbon printer can only print the 1/2″ wide ribbon which is actually a very versatile size.

Epson Ribbon Printer - Personalization At Home Epson LabelWorks Printable Ribbon Kit  -  LW-300 printer - ad

Current 1/2″ LabelWorks Ribbon LC Cartridges compatible with the LW-300 (each is about 16′ long):

1/2″ Black on Beige | Black on Gold |Black on Pink | Black on Sky Blue | Gold on Black | Gold on Brown |Gold on Navy | Gold on Red | Gold on White

My Recommendation – Skip the Epson LabelWorks  LW-300 and Upgrade to the LW-600

While I really like the Epson LabelWorks LW-300 Portable Label Printer, for someone with failing eyesight like me, it’s difficult to use. The tiny screen is gray on gray so not much contrast and you only see a small portion of the text that you’ve typed in one key at a time so it’s easy to lose track of where you are. If you’re an older crafter or someone with poor eyesight, or you just want more features including ribbon size, I recommend you spend about $30 more and get the Epson LabelWorks™ LW-600P Portable Label Printer. Though still portable, you can use your compatible smartphone, tablet, PC or Mac to create and preview the label before printing it wirelessly to the printer. It accepts more types of media up to 1″ wide including: standard labeltape, Iron-on, Metallic, Reflective, Strong Adhesive, Glow-in-the-Dark, Ribbon (1/4″ to 3/4″), Cable Wire, Pearlized, Tab, Fluorescent and Clear tape. While I haven’t tested this one  myself, because of the increased capacity, smartphone and PC/MAC compatibility, and wireless printing, it’s definitely the one I’d purchase.

Epson LabelWorks Accessories

Want to save the earth and use less batteries? Purchase the LabelWorks™ AC Adapter.

Want to find out more about the Epson LabelWorks Printable Ribbon Kit (LW-300)?  Visit epson.com/labelworks.

I can’t wait to start adding personalized ribbons to my crafts soon. What would you craft with one? I’d love to hear your ideas!