Dymo LabelWriter 5XL Review – Do Not Buy

It’s no secret that a reliable and capable label printer is essential to any successful business. Whether your company operates mainly online or in brick-and-mortar locations, having the right printing technology can optimize productivity and efficiency within daily operations. This post will review the Dymo LabelWriter 5XL, the natural successor to the incredibly popular and versatile LabelWriter 4XL, a printer we recommend in our best thermal label printer roundup. 

In this review, we’ll cover all its features, including durability and cost-effectiveness, to determine if it is a worthwhile investment for businesses like yours. Keep reading to learn more about why the Dymo LabelWriter 5XL is worth considering to print shipping labels and the potential downsides it might bring to your workflow.

Dymo LabelWriter 5XL Overview

“The Dymo LabelWriter 5XL is part of Dymo’s refreshed 5-series lineup and is a direct thermal label printer designed to print labels of all sizes, from small return address labels to large 4x” shipping labels. The 5-series line updates all the major desktop thermal label printers with the Dymo brand, including the Dymo LabelWriter 550 and LabelWriter 550 Turbo, two units built for printing file folder labels, address labels, and other smaller sizes.

The 5XL is Dymo’s only 4×6″-compatible label printer with its wider print surface and larger body to hold rolls of shipping labels.”The Dymo LabelWriter 5XL is part of Dymo’s refreshed 5-series lineup. It is a direct thermal label printer designed to print labels of all sizes, from small return address labels to large 4×6″ shipping labels.

The 5-series line updates all the major desktop thermal label printers with the Dymo brand, including the Dymo LabelWriter 550 and LabelWriter 550 Turbo, two units built for printing file folder labels, address labels, and other smaller sizes. The 5XL is Dymo’s only 4×6″-compatible label printer with its wider print surface and larger body to hold rolls of shipping labels.

With its USB interface, the LabelWriter 5XL is compatible with both Windows PCs and Apple’s line of Mac computers, so you can get up and running quickly with their included software. A USB cable is provided in the box.

Once the printer is connected to a computer, the free Dymo software will allow you to print labels of all sizes one at a time or in bulk. Import spreadsheets of addresses to print address labels quickly or create mailing labels with barcodes in just a few clicks.

“Dymo printers are known for their quick printing speeds–with the Turbo line turning out as many as 60 mailing labels per second). The Dymo LabelWriter 5XL label printer is no different and can output up to 53 labels per second depending on the label size. The max output speed for 4×6″ shipping labels will be much less, given their larger size. Dymo printers are known for their quick printing speeds–with the Turbo line turning out as many as 60 mailing labels per second). The LabelWriter 5XL label printer is no different and can output up to 53 labels per second depending on the label size. The max output speed for 4×6” shipping labels will be much less, given their larger size.

Dymo LabelWriter 5XL Features

“Supports 1″ Dymo Label Rolls. I wish the Dymo 5XL supported larger roll sizes, but being smaller than most, it also requires small rolls.”Supports 1″ Dymo Label Rolls. I wish the Dymo 5XL supported larger roll sizes, but being smaller than most; it also requires small rolls.

E-commerce Support. For those that run businesses online, the Dymo LabelWriter 5XL will print shipping labels from all platforms, including Shopify, Amazon, and more.

Print labels at 300 DPI. Not all shipping label printers print at 300 DPI. This level of print quality ensures labels will come out crisp and easy to scan.

Feed controls and Power Button. Turn off your LabelWriter 5XL when not in use and control the label position with the added buttons on the front face.

USB 2.0 and Ethernet Ports. Connect the LabelWriter 5XL to your Windows or Mac computer using the provided USB 2.0 cable or to your network using an Ethernet cable (not included).

Takes less desk space than most thermal printers. If you’re short on work surface real estate, the LabelWriter 5XL takes up less room on your desk or table.

No ink is required. Thermal label printers like the LabelWriter 5XL do not require ink or ribbon to print labels, meaning the only supplies you’ll need to purchase are labels.

What’s New with the Dymo LabelWriter 5XL

The three buttons on the front face are the first thing you’ll notice as new on the Dymo LabelWriter 5XL. The previous model had a single button for advancing the label roll, whereas the 5XL has three buttons: reverse feed, power, and advance feed. 

But as far as appearances go, that’s about it. The LabelWriter 5XL looks almost identical otherwise.

A dedicated power button is excellent if you want to turn off your printer after using it; most other thermal printers support powering off when not in use. One could argue that the reverse feed button is useful. I could argue you’ll likely rarely use it.

Historically, if you wanted to put your thermal printer on the network, you were limited in choice. Some printers, like the Zebra ZP-450, supported Ethernet, and others, like our favorite Rollo X1040 Wireless Thermal Printer, supported network connection over Wi-Fi. Also new with the Dymo LabelWriter 5XL is the edition of an Ethernet port. 

Having an additional network-connected option will be appreciated by those printing labels away from their desk or looking for a device that can be placed in a central location without needing a computer.

Additionally, the LabelWriter 5XL supports automatic label recognition. If you change label sizes, the printer will detect that change after the new labels are loaded and report to your installed Dymo software. Such a feature comes with a hefty price tag that we’ll get to in the following sections.

Where the LabelWriter 5XL Falls Flat

It’s nice that Dymo added a couple of buttons and an Ethernet port, but I’m not sure those would be enough to convince me to jump to the new hotness. It’s still slow at printing shipping labels. Units like our recommended Rollo X1040 wireless printer and its USB-only counterpart, the X1038, are way better values. 

Beyond that, adding even more DRM disguised as automatic label recognition. Yep. Dymo went full bore on DRM this time around.

Dymo Takes Vendor Lock-in to a Whole New Level

While a neat feature, automatic label recognition is only possible because the printer only supports official Dymo-branded labels. 

We’ve seen this behavior before in the LabelWriter 4XL, only supporting label rolls with little lozenge-shaped hole punches between each label. This punch, however, was easy to copy, and third-party labels started appearing on the market that copied the design.

Dymo decided to take things further and create a form of DRM that third parties can’t easily copy.

The Dymo 5XL now looks for an RFID chip in the label roll to detect which label type is in use. This also means that the printer will not function when non-Dymo labels are installed. 

This unfortunately eliminates a lot of the value and allure of the updated 5-series of Dymo label printers, and will perhaps draw folks to the older, yet still fully capable Dymo Labelwriter 4XL, 450 Turbo, and 450 Twin Turbo.

To make matters worse, if you already have rolls of existing older Dymo labels from Dymo that do not have the RFID chips built in, they’ll also not work. This shortsighted position Dymo took with the 5XL can only be described as being done for the money. 

A roll of 220 4×6″ labels of any generic brand that work in the older LabelWriter 4XL runs for about $5 per roll (~$0.022 per label). A roll of 4×6″ authentic Dymo labels that will work in this printer is $26 per roll (~$0.12 per label). 

With Dymo labels currently selling for 6x the price, it may be a hard sell for businesses that print labels regularly or in large quantities. The idea of needing older proprietary labels may be enough to turn folks away from the Dymo brand once the older Labelwriter 4XL is no longer available.

Dymo’s Shady Review Practices for the LabelWriter 5XL

In researching this article, I came across a review by the great folks at SmithCorona. They pointed out something a little sketchy about the Amazon listing for the Labelwriter 5XL.

There are a lot of great reviews, four and five stars, from 2021 and earlier.

Based on what the SC team found, Dymo repurposed their official listing for the LabelWriter 4XL and replaced all the information and photos. They were able to piggyback off the decent-to-great reputation of the 4XL and boost the 5XL to the top of the charts, powered by the fandom of the 4XL. However, a lot of the recent reviews from 2022 and forward are terrible, and rightly so.

I don’t expect things to stay rosy for long as new reviews start piling on and bringing the average down. As I write this, the average is 3.5 out of five stars. 

Dymo LabelWriter 5XL Pros and Cons

Pros

• Great use of desk or table space
• Prints high-quality labels at 300 DPI
• Supports Ethernet connectivity along with USB

Cons

• User-hostile DRM requires you to buy overpriced first-party labels
• Expensive long-term usage with vendor lock-in
• There’s nothing fundamentally different or better than the LabelWriter 4XL

Summary

The Dymo LabelWriter 5XL was supposed to be the natural successor to the LabelWriter 4XL, but instead, Dymo took the concept of user hostility to a whole new level. With the introduction of truly offensive DRM that requires users to purchase high-priced official Dymo labels and the lack of actual new features besides a couple of neat buttons on the front, I have a hard time recommending this printer to anyone, period.

Is the LabelWriter 5XL an awesome label maker and shipping label printer? No. Is it a decent label printer? Also no.

If you need the form factor the LabelWriter printer line provides, or have your heart set on a Dymo label printer, get a LabelWriter 4XL, instead. Don’t punish yourself by having to buy Dymo brand labels. 

Once you can no longer buy a 4XL new, start shopping for a used unit in good condition.

Under no circumstances should you spend your money on the Dymo LabelWriter 5XL.

Frequently Asked Questions

I’ve seen a few questions pop up from folks on the web about the Dymo LabelWriter 5XL so I thought I’d cover them here.

What’s the difference between Dymo LabelWriter 4XL and 5XL?

The LabelWriter 5XL is almost the same as the 4XL, except for a couple of new buttons on the face, an Ethernet port, and a money grab by Dymo in the form of label roll DRM.

Does Dymo LabelWriter 5XL work with Shopify, eBay, Amazon, etc.?

Yes, but you shouldn’t buy it. Get a LabelWriter 4XL, instead.

Which Dymo Printer is the Best?

For shipping labels, the LabelWriter 4XL. For mailing labels, the LabelWriter 450 Turbo.