iDprt SP320 Review
The SP320, like other recent iDprt printers we’ve examined, is reliable and in dire need of an updated user guide. The one included with it fails to specify the software you should be using and instead includes setup instructions for a different suite of programs you can safely ignore. If you can get over the label maker’s installation and functional hiccups, you’ll be rewarded with rapid speeds and high-quality output for labels up to 3.15 inches in width. The list price is $154.99, but you can usually find it for much less than that.
iDprt SP320 Review Specification
| Color or Monochrome | Monochrome |
| Connection Type | Bluetooth |
| Direct Printing From Media Cards | NO |
| Cost Per Page (Color) | NA |
| Maximum Standard Paper Size | 3.15-inch width roll or stack |
| Number of Ink Cartridges/Tanks | 1 |
| Number of Ink Colors | 1 |
| Rated Speed at Default Settings (Mono) | 180mm per sec / 7ips |
| Type | Printer Only |
Design
The SP320 is just a black box, albeit it does have some subtle beveling on the top. On top is a form feed button, and on either side is a little blue release button that can be used to open the body and input a roll. Stacks of fanfold labels or rolls with a diameter too large to fit inside the box can be fed through a slot on the back. The SP320 can print on brands with a width of 0.98 inches up to 3.15 inches, depending on your paper feed option. The physical dimensions of the printer are (HWD) 5.30 x 6.1 x 8.10 inches. However, you’ll need some extra space behind it to use an external roll or stack, which results in reduced label costs and requires less frequent loading. External label-roll holders are available in various sizes and prices online. A short starter roll of labels is included with the SP320, but you’ll go through those soon. Its 1.25-by-3.5-inch mailing labels can be purchased on Amazon for $13.99 for two rolls of 300 titles, or 2.3 cents per label. Using Brother and other lesser-known brands, I verified that various vendors’ thermal label stock is available. For this assessment, it also provided a roll of round labels from a different manufacturer with a diameter of 1 inch. The price per label will change depending on the label supplier, label size, and label quantity.
Overall construction
There are two different Windows drivers available for the input SP420, neither of which can coexist on the same computer, and one of them is incompatible with the label program you’ll probably want to use, as I highlighted in my review. After learning the hard way about these problems, I checked to ensure the SP320 had the same software and then disregarded the user manual’s recommendations (which led you to install the wrong software and driver). In a nutshell, head over to iDprt’s homepage to grab the Seagull Driver and Seagull BarTender. With the Seagull installer, you may deploy BarTender’s free UltraLite edition, a capable basic label application that supports barcodes (QR codes included), among other things. In previous evaluations, I’ve mentioned how simple it was to pick up and use iDprt. The HeleLabel app for Android and iOS can connect to the printer through Bluetooth, while it also provides drivers for macOS and Linux. I explored HeleLabel’s label-making and -editing tools, but I didn’t put it to the test because I was warned that it would “collect information data, even if the application is closed or not in use.”
Wireless printing from a mobile device.
The other thing I don’t like about the software is that label sizes must be defined in millimetres (mm), so you might want to open an inches-to-millimetres conversion webpage while you’re working. That’s much simpler to control on a desktop than on a mobile device. Ultimately, I had to conduct the calculations while sitting at my desk, using my desktop computer. Its own Label Designer, available as a Windows program and web software accessible from within a web browser, is another option for making labels. Both the Windows program and the HeleLabel mobile app provide access to the online Label Designer. Label Designer’s PC and cloud interfaces are very straightforward. After some trial and error, they were easy to pick up when I tried them out with a different input model.
Designing Program
On the other hand, I experienced the same problems with the SP320 with other input devices. In my experiments, the cloud-based program did not yield desirable results when printed from Firefox, Chrome, or Edge. It also made every label have a header and a footer. I needed to save the title to my computer before printing it, though. Since a Windows driver is pre-installed, it should be possible to use any conventional application on your PC to print labels. I’ve had to find the proper input settings for this in the past, but with the SP320, I could use Word’s Labels function with no issues.
Setting Up
- As the name suggests, barTender is a capable basic label application that includes barcodes, including QR codes, in its feature set.
- The Seagull setup program allows you to install the free UltraLite version of BarTender, allowing you the option to do so. In some of my earlier evaluations of input, I’ve said this before, but I found the program intuitive and straightforward to use.
- In addition to offering drivers for macOS and Linux, the iDprt website also provides the HeleLabel software for Android and iOS devices.
- This app lets users connect their devices to the printer and print using Bluetooth. Even though I glanced at HeleLabel’s label-creation and -editing functions, I decided not to test how well it printed after obtaining the warning that if I did, it would “collect information data, even if the application is closed or not in use.”
- Even though I looked at those features, I decided not to test how well it printed.
