Print Postage and Address Labels from your Desktop with the Dymo Twin Turbo

September 24, 2007

Okay, I’m like everybody else who has to use the United States Postal Service. What’s the deal with the constant rate increases? I haven’t seen my service get any better. Besides, didn’t we just have a rate increase (or at least if feels like it). Since 1999, when the rate to mail a First Class letter was $.33, rates have increased by a whopping $.08. Actually, rate increases aren’t constant either. The increase to $.41 for First Class postage is only the fourth rate increase since 1999. I guess it just seems to be too much too often because the service hasn’t seemed to have gotten any better. The hardest hit with this last increase has been small business, especially people who send out catalogs and magazines. My sincere sympathy to those of you who fall into this category!

Enough with the whining, already! We all know that there will be postage rate increases as long as there’s a postal service. My biggest complaint is stamps. I must say I was very happy when stamps stopped being lick-able but still stick-able. It just seems like every time there’s a rate increase, I have to go and buy extra stamps to use along with the ones that don’t have enough postage on them anymore. You know the ones I’m talking about…1 cent, 2 cent, 3 cent stamps. I don’t know about you but I always get stuck with outdated stamps when the rates change. As a small business owner who mainly sends out invoices and quotes for new business, I’m pretty much a one-stamp gal. I like it that way. Those extra few cents stamps never look like the old ones I have left over and call me picky, but I like my stamps to have some type of consistency.

Well, I’ve found a postage tool that fits me just fine: The Dymo LabelWriter Twin Turbo. This handy little two-in-one tool has solved several postage problems for 2 Smart Chix. First of all, I don’t have to go to the post office anymore. The Dymo software that comes with the Twin Turbo allows me to securely purchase postage online. I can put $20 in my account and every time I print postage on my Twin Turbo, I see the balance in my account on the Dymo screen before and after I print it. If I have a really fat quote to send somebody, I don’t have to guess at how much postage I need. I used to put two stamps on the envelope just to make sure my prospective client didn’t receive a “Postage Due” notice along with my quote. How was I to know how much postage I needed? I could have gone to the post office but with gas prices the way they are, I’d end up spending more money to drive there than it cost me in the extra postage I dutifully stuck to my envelopes. That’s no longer a problem since my Twin Turbo comes with a postage scale. All I have to do is weigh my envelope and the Dymo screen displays how much postage my Twin Turbo will print. How cool! The very coolest part of the Twin Turbo is the “twin” part. It not only prints postage, it prints address labels. If you have a current address book in .csv or .txt format, you can import it right into Dymo Label and start printing address labels for all you current mail recipients. Address labels look so much neater than handwritten addresses, too. If you’ve ever used a whole 8-1/2” by 11” sheet of labels to print just a couple, you can see how much more convenient it is to print a single label at a time from a roll of labels.

I also work in a small office. It’s not actually an office but the extra bedroom in my Mom’s (and business partner) house. We both have desks with our computers, printers, bookcases, etc. so I don’t have any extra surface space to put a big postage meter. Once again, the Twin Turbo fits my situation just great. I have both the scale and the dual postage/label printer on my desk in less space than it takes to put a 3 ring binder.

If you have a small business or even if you mail a lot from your home, the Dymo LabelWriter Twin Turbo is a great investment. You can get one for less than $200 at your local office supply store or at a multitude of online office stores. The Twin Turbo comes with two rolls of labels, one for postage and the other for address labels. The Dymo software that’s included with the Twin Turbo lets you purchase postage and print labels from an address book included in the software. You can even order new label rolls from your desk! The next time the postal rates change (and they will), you won’t be stuck with outdated stamps. You won’t need to buy any small denomination stamps to make sure you have enough postage. You may never have to go to the post office and stand in line again, well, at least not unless you have a really cool package waiting for you to pick up. If you want to know more about the Dymo Twin Turbo, just visit the Dymo website.

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