Dymo Rhino 4200 Label Printer Preview

Affordability and usability are, apparently, no longer mutually exclusive with respect to pro-quality label printers. Dymo Industrial has just introduced its newest Rhino 4200 labeling tool. This one s a compact, easy-to-use professional label printer that comes in at an almost unbelievable $79.99 price point. We got our hands on it at CEDIA and it's really like a big Blackberry. Your hands fall naturally into position on the QWERTY keyboard and the labeler just feels "right". This is a HUGE deal for Dymo Industrial, as putting out a product of this caliber for under $80 is certain to shake up the industry.

The Dymo Rhino 4200 is built purposefully for the professional electrician, custom installer, or tradesman who needs to prints labels up to 3/4" wide in a variety of materials and colors. It can even print directly onto heat-shrink tubing - which is very cool if you're looking to do two things at once or want top brand your own cables or installation job. We reviewed the Dymo Rhino Pro 5200 and 6000 label printers before and the 4200 also includes many of the same features, like one-touch “Hot Keys” that quickly create and format wire/cable wraps, flags, fixed-length labels and more. A "Favorites" key delivers single-key access to your most commonly used labels and you can even save settings for individual label formats to custom keys. Reproducibility is not a problem with the 4200 - we loved the way this feature worked.

What we also liked about the Rhino 4200 was that the reduced size didn't keep the company from figuring out hos to include a QWERTY keyboard layout on front - something that we wish all of their labelers had (though it's often an option). Like most other Rhino printers, the system includes a large orange backlit display and it has integrated rubber overmold to give it durability. It will also auto-save your current label and power down automatically to conserve battery power. 

Key Features

• QWERTY keyboard
• One-touch "hot keys" shortcuts
• Prints directly on heat-shrink tubes
• New "Favorites" key
• New "Custom" key
• Support for 1/4", 3/8", 1/2" and 3/4" wide labels in a variety of materials and colors

The $79.99 Dymo Rhino 4200 label printer is also compatible with a quick-charging, lithium-ion battery, which (along with a charger) is sold as a separate accessory (but one we highly recommend after having used them in other label printers). The i-ion battery is also compatible with the company's 5200, so you can begin to build up your field units and interchange the batteries as needed without issues of proprietary fit (though the flagship 6000 printer uses a different version). For more information please visit http://di.dymo.com/enUS/industrial/printers/rhino-4200/

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.