Nelko Shipping Label Printer (Model PL70-e BT) Review
A budget-friendly thermal shipping label printer that offers great value and performance.
I’ve seen this printer come up in several different circles over the last few months, and based on everyone’s feedback, I added it to my best shipping label printer list as the best budget-friendly option. That didn’t feel like enough, though, and I couldn’t stop thinking about whether the Nelko printer was as good as everyone was claiming, given its price. Acting as a mild-to-substantial undercut of other rear-fed shipping label printers like the Rollo X1038 (the grey one) or the Rollo X1040 Wireless (the white one) and even HP’s new KE100 shipping label printer, I had to see for myself what the fuss was all about.
In this review, we’ll look at the Nelko shipping label printer (model PL70-e BT) and figure out what folks love about it and if the price cut means a sacrifice in quality, too, or if the Nelko is the new entry-level king.
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If you're on a budget (less than $100) and need a quality shipping label printer, we recommend looking at the Nelko PL70E thermal shipping label printer. Mimicking the same form factor as our much-appreciated Rollo printers, The Nelko sets a new floor for printing shipping labels without breaking the bank.
Optionally, connect to the printer over Bluetooth if generating shipping labels on your mobile device is a requirement. No WiFi connectivity is available on this device. Use the included USB drive to install the printer drivers, and when you're done, you'll have a free USB drive!
- Print quality is on par with other 203 DPI devices
- Print speed is about what I'd expect
- The best bang-for-your-buck rear-fed printer
- Includes helpful instructions on setting up the mobile app
- Included flash drive contains installation software
- Cannot use Bluetooth on macOS
- Power supply is on the cheap side
- Security-conscious users will be turned off by having the software provided on a flash drive
Comparison & Alternatives
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Best on a Budget
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Prints Quickly
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Wifi Connectivity
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The OG
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$199.99
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$279
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$179
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Labels per Minute:
up to 60
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Labels per Minute:
up to 70
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Labels per Minute:
60
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Labels per Minute:
60
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Supported OS:
Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
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Supported OS:
Windows, macOS
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Supported OS:
Windows, macOS
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Supported OS:
Windows, macOS
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DPI:
203
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DPI:
203
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DPI:
203
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DPI:
203
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Nelko PL70E-BT Unboxing and Setup
The Nelko PL70E is packed with everything you’ll need to get going. You’ll find a handful of documents, including the manual, a USB cable, a small packet of free labels, and a couple of additional small pouches. One of these pouches contains a USB-C to USB-A adapter, and the other is a flash drive. On that drive is the software you need to install the drivers for this printer on your computer. You can also download the drivers from Nelko’s website, though the manual doesn’t say what their website is (nelkoprint.com).
I’m unsure how I feel about the installation software being provided on a flash drive. There is enough risk of that flash drive being malicious (intentionally or otherwise) that my more security-minded readers will be turned off by the prospect of shoving a drive with unknown origin and unknown contents into their computer and hoping for the best. Unless you lack Internet access, download the software directly from Nelko and toss the flash drive.
The printer is a black plastic device with a blue release lever to open the device and a subtly designed button-indicator light combo on the right-hand side of the top surface. This seems to be the standard placement location for power buttons and indicator lights for all of these devices–the Rollo X1038 and X1040 have buttons and indicators in the same place.
You’ll also find another smaller white box containing the 24V 2A power supply brick with a wall cord. The power supply is nothing special as far as power supplies go. The last thing you’ll find is a test sheet that confirms the printer was functioning correctly when it left the factory. On my test sheet, though, I noted a rather peculiar statistic.
But I would Print 500 Labels, and I Would Print 500 More.
…just to be the man who sent you a printer that printed over a thousand labels – The Proclaimers, if they were singing about this printer, probably.
My test sheet described a bunch of various stats that mean little to nothing for most people, but having handled and used more than a healthy number of shipping label printers over the last few years, I’ve come to have an eye for the subtle with these devices. The last line on the test sheet was labeled PRT LIFE. A metric that likely stands for “print life” or “lifetime print,” this number measures how many labels it has printed as a distance in meters.
The test sheet described how this printer had expelled 194 meters worth of shipping labels from the box. Rounding out to just a smidge over 636 feet, new, out of the box, this printer has already dutifully printed 1,260 shipping labels. Assuming this is some test run, that still seems excessive, and that’s a lot of labels.
You know what’s 636 feet tall? The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO. (630 feet).
Printing Tests
The Nelko PL70E is not the fastest shipping label printer I’ve tested, though the print quality is better than others with this same rated DPI. The device was about 20% slower than the KE100, but it’s no slouch. A per-label speed of 1.2 seconds is plenty for most people, though I think it’d be much quicker if it didn’t slow down on dark areas of a label.
There are also times when the printer takes a pass at re-detecting the edge of the label, a behavior I’d expect to see if the stock had just been changed. This can add a second or so to the print job, but one extra second is a big deal for multi-label printing.
Otherwise, the print quality is good. I have no qualms about how the labels look and their scannability. I generally don’t mention print quality beyond that, but because the tin says 203 DPI, and it’s printing better than any 203 DPI printer I’ve used over the last few years, I feel it’s worth calling out, specifically.
Test Measurements
Wired Print Tests
Bluetooth Print Tests
Testing Notes
Our Verdict
The Nelko PL70E shipping label printer is no-nonsense and prints shipping labels with a quality that rivals much more expensive units. The print speed can’t hold up to those pricier boxes, though, and for most people, that’s probably okay. The Bluetooth connectivity works well, though it’s a little disappointing that it doesn’t support macOS. Including the software as a flash drive is a nice touch, though security wise is risky; you have no idea what’s on that flash drive before you stick it into your computer. This is one of the best ones out there for a sub-$150 shipping label printer (and sometimes sub-$100 when on sale). I just hope other units are less worn in from the factory than mine.
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