Brother VC-500W Compact Color Printer Review
A unique full-color label printer, Brother's VC-500W Compact Color Printer ($149.99) uses the same zero-ink (ZINK) technology deployed in today's mini photo printers, including our Editors' Choice HP Sprocket Select or the Canon IVY Photo Printer. With the VC-500W, though, you have a lot more options, including churning out prints in varying widths and lengths up to 17 inches long, as well as Brother's robust (albeit, at times, somewhat clunky) software. Like its pocket-size mini photo printer kin, the VC-500W is somewhat expensive to use, but it's well-developed enough to serve both households and small businesses in printing full-color labels for varying applications, making it the first Editors' Choice in PCMag's new consumer color label printer category.
Mini Déjà vu
The VC-500W is not the first label printer of its kind. Actually, it's the result of Brother's acquisition and makeover of a previous product known as the ZINK hAppy Smart App Printer reviewed here back in March ...
The Brother VC-500W is a specialized sibling of ZINK mini photo printers that cranks out handy full-color labels for homes and small businesses. It's not cheap to use, but it's a nifty little device.
Prints high-quality color labels in varying sizes; Choice of four label widths; Reasonable print speeds
Relatively high running costs; Not suited for printing hundreds or thousands of labels monthly